Canada's Aging Population
May 15, 2009
Within the next two years, the first of the “baby boomers” will turn 65. By the year 2026, when the last of the boomers reaches that age, more than 20 percent of Canadians will be seniors.
Obviously, the demographic shift this suggests has significant consequences for social and financial realities that we all face. Recently, after more than two years of study the Special Senate Committee on Aging released its final report. Entitled Canada’s Aging Population: Seizing the Opportunity, the study identifies a number of issues ranging from health care to pensions to housing that will be affected by the aging of our society.
Issues affecting the country from an aging population certainly aren’t new, but as baby boomers become seniors, these issues will become much more significant and governments will not be able to ignore them, particularly since seniors tend to be voters. Politicians will need to pay particular attention to the needs and wants of this cohort. Governments themselves have also been aware of these issues, but will have to be proactive in planning for the changes that will occur.
More and more people are also choosing to work past the age of 65, for whatever the reason. Governments also need to be able to retrain senior workers if they want to move into different jobs. Workplaces will also have to be ready to adapt, as some seniors will want to retire partially but keep working part-time.
One of the biggest concerns is the effect on the health care system as the risk of Canadians moving in to the “over 65” age group grows. Our system is currently geared towards a crisis-based approach, but with these demographic changes it will need to focus a lot more on ongoing, chronic disease care and management.
Other issues will affect health care as well. Since many seniors lose their health benefits when they retire, the number of seniors with private plans to assist with hospital, dental and prescription costs is much lower than other Canadians who, ironically, probably need them less.
And with the current state of the economy, these and other issues related to our aging population just become that much more exacerbated. Many that have been planning to retire in the next five or ten years are now having to reconsider their decisions. It is a gross understatement that an aging Canadian population will have a profound effect on most of the public services we rely on. We can only hope that governments are well into the planning stage and have concrete plans to deal with these changes.
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