Canada

Canada’s aging population, combined with increased life expectancy, pose a real challenge for our pension plans. Current and future retirees risk seeing some of their sources of income decline or, at best, stagnate.

Data released by Statistics Canada shows that life expectancy at birth in Canada has increased, rising from 81.3 years in 2022 to 81.7 years in 2023.

In the province of Québec, life expectancy has increased significantly, climbing to 86 years in 2021 for people who reach the age of 65, compared to 78 years in 1927, according to a study by Retraite Québec.

As co-ordinator of the Observatoire de la retraite, I am concerned about the decline in defined benefit (DB) plans since it diminishes the income of future retirees. Defined benefit plans pay pensions for the entire life of retirees, until their death.