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Should the Economic Life Course be Redesigned? Old Age Security in a Time of Transition

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 November 2010

John Myles  and
Debra Street
John Myles
Affiliation:
Florida State University
Debra Street
Affiliation:
Florida State University
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Abstract

The last “great pension debate” in Canada came to an end in the early 1980s but is now about to resume. The terms of debate have changed significantly, however. As a contribution to the debate, this paper aims to identify emergent positions and the new social, economic and political conditions to which they are a response. “Conservative” strategies have emphasized privatization of the pension function and greater emphasis on providing income-tested benefits to the low income elderly. New “progressive” alternatives have advocated a redesign of the welfare state to allow for a more flexible model of retirement and the economic life course more generally. Each is a response to real changes in the fiscal capacities of governments, the conditions for successful economic performance and the distribution of economic risk among age groups. The empirical core of the paper uses data from the Survey of Consumer Finances to show how the age distribution of economic well-being has changed since the the 1960s when the current welfare state was designed. Our aim is not to resolve the debate but to set it in context and identify the main assumptions and models underlying alternative strategies for reform.

Résumé

La dernière «grande polémique» sur la question de la retraite au Canada s'est terminée au début des années 80, mais celle-ci est sur le point de reprendre de plus belle. Les points soulevés cette fois ont considérablement changés. Afin de contribuer au débat, cet article a pour but de souligner les prises de positions émergentes ainsi que les nouvelles conditions sociales, économiques et politiques auxquelles elles répondent. Les stratégies «conservatrices» ont mis l'accent sur la privatisation de la fonction du régime de retraite et souligné l'importance d'offrir des rentes adéquates aux personnes âgées à faible revenu. De nouvelles solutions de rechange «progressistes» ont proposé une reformulation du système de bien-être afin de permettre l'établissement d'un modèle de retraite plus flexible et un parcours de vie économique plus général. Chacune de ces possibilités est une réponse aux changements concrets apportés aux responsabilités financières des gouvernements, aux conditions qui assureront un meilleur rendement économique, et à la répartition des risques sur le plan financier entre les divers groupes d'âge. Cet article se fonde sur des données empiriques tirées du Survey of Consumer Finances (sondage sur les finances du consommateur) afin de mettre en lumière les changements survenus dans la distribution du bien-être économique au sein des groupes d'âge depuis les années 60, période durant laquelle le système de bien-être actuel a été conçu. Notre objectif ne consiste pas à résoudre la question, mais plutôt à la placer dans son contexte et à souligner les principaux modèles et hypothèses qui sous-tendent les possibilités de rechange pour la réforme.

Keywords

PensionsIncomes of the ElderlyPension Reform.Pensionsrevenus des aînésréforme des pensions.
Type
Articles
Information
Canadian Journal on Aging / La Revue canadienne du vieillissement , Volume 14 , Issue 2 , Été/Summer 1995 , pp. 335 - 359
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Association on Gerontology 1995

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