Plan to retire between 60-84
Current Mean Age Between 50-59 55.1 55.1
Level of Education*
No Post-Secondary 7.4 11.1
Trade Diploma 28.0 12.8
College Diploma 29.2 42.4
Certificate < Bachelor 2.8 5.6
Bachelor Degree 19.5 17.6
University Degree > Bachelor 13.0 10.6
Immigration Status*
No 73.7 78.4
Yes 26.3 21.6
Region
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Mean Age Plan to Retire Between 60-84* 64.0 63.5 Belonged To Employer Pension
Increase Your Number Of Work Hrs*
No 93.7 96.4
37 None
No 85 84.5
Yes 15 15.5
Other
No N too small N too small
Yes N too small N too small
In table 5 presenting the logistic regression applied to planning to retire up to age 65 or between ages 66-84, 6.9% of the variance for males and 4.7% of the variance for females is explained by this model.
Marital status influences the age at which near retirees are planning to retire, which differs according to sex. Males who are separated are more likely to retire after the age of 65. Both males and females who are divorced are more likely to retire after the age of 65 compared to their married counterparts. Interestingly, level of education does not play a significant role in understanding factors related to the age at which individuals are planning to retire. One explanation could be that there are competing factors where the more educated started their careers later and most likely have greater work satisfaction while they are also in a better financial situation. These two competing factors can lead these individuals to retire later or earlier, and, as a result, there is no direct impact from this variable. The age of near retirees also does not significantly help to explain the age at which they plan to retire. The assumption was that the closer an individual is to retire, the more likely they are to retire, but this factor does not seem to be closely tied to the age at which an individual plans to retire. However, immigration status for males does contribute to the model such that immigrant males are more likely to retire after the age of 65 compared to non-immigrants males. This trend could be explained by the need to contribute more to the CPP/QPP as immigrants have had fewer opportunities to participate in the Canadian labour force. Furthermore, the region
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in which females live does impact the age at which they plan to retire, but only for Ontarian females who are more likely to plan to retire after the age of 65 compared to females from the East. Personal income for both males and females also plays a role where retiring later is associated with having a higher personal income although the difference is small. This trend could be related to a higher degree of work satisfaction as individuals who earn more are more likely to be in careers that they enjoy.
This second model in table 5 is an expanded model that also includes preparatory steps taken towards retirement. This expanded model explains more of the variance compared to the first; the percentages are 16.5% for males and 11.7% for females. For each step, there are varying levels of control that respondents have over them. For instance, paying off a mortgage or debts is not as feasible for those who have lower socio-economic statuses while gathering information for retirement can be accomplished by anyone regardless of their personal situations.
Similar trends are apparent for marital status except the same trend for divorced males that was apparent in the first model has now disappeared, but the direction of the association remains the same. Two new significant results appear for males where males with a bachelor’s degree and older males are more likely to retire after the age of 65. Two additional trends that are not significant in model 2 compared to model 1 are that male immigrants retire later and that females with a higher personal income retire later although the direction of both associations are in the same direction.
Both males and females who belonged to an employer pension are more likely to retire before the age of 65. These individuals are more likely to have a higher pension income because they have an additional source of income. This extra income security during retirement means that
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they have to rely less on the public pension plan and, thus, do not have to wait until they become eligible for the OAS/GIS and, even if they take their CPP/QPP earlier, any penalty that will accompany their early retirement will be outweighed by the protection of their employer pension.
Another protective aspect of having access to an employer pension could mean that they have better working conditions.
Each way that near retirees use as a means for preparing to retire can either lower or increase the age at which they plan to retire. For instance, decreasing the number of work hours for both males and females means that they are more likely to retire before the age of 65. Another significant result that contributes to retiring before the age of 65 is gathering retirement information for both males and females and having savings or other investments for females only.
These steps taken towards retirement are reasonable for helping to explain why these individuals will retire earlier since many of these ways suggests that retirement will imminently occur especially in the case of decreasing the number of work hours. Both for males and females, gathering retirement information increases the likelihood of retiring earlier. For females, ways for preparing for retirement that are more likely to result in planning to retire after the age of 65 include changing jobs and develop physical activities. Also only for females, having savings or other investments increases the likelihood of retiring earlier, which could be explained by their greater financial independence from the public pension system. For both the patterns for males and females, the likelihood of them retiring later is aligned with the idea that some steps refer to a more long-term plan for retiring. Specifically, developing physical activities could be a mid-term project and changing jobs could be a more long-term project.