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Last updated: May 17 2016
Disability Probability: 14% of Canadians Must Plan for It
A reality for retirement income planning specialists is that the difficult subject of “disability probability” must come up. But, the best time to discuss it with clients is when they are still healthy. According to Statistics Canada1 close to 4 million adults had a disability which limited daily living activities in 2012, or about 14% of Canada’s population.
The median age of Canadians—where as many are older as younger—has risen steadily since 1966 from 39.5 years in 2006, to 40.6 in 2011.2 This is a sweet spot in disability planning. Meanwhile, one in seven Canadians, or more than five million, is now considered to be elderly; two thirds of the very elderly are women, and they have significantly more health issues than men do, as shown in the chart before from Stats Canada:
| Prevalence of disability by sex and age group, Canada, 2012 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Age groups | Both sexes | Men | Women |
| % | |||
| Total - aged 15 and over | 13.7 | 12.5 | 14.9 |
| 15 to 64 | 10.1 | 9.5 | 10.7 |
| 15 to 24 | 4.4 | 4.5 | 4.3 |
| 25 to 44 | 6.5 | 6.0 | 7.1 |
| 45 to 64 | 16.1 | 15.2 | 17.1 |
| 65 and over | 33.2 | 30.8 | 35.2 |
| 65 to 74 | 26.3 | 25.0 | 27.5 |
| 75 and over | 42.5 | 39.8 | 44.5 |
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Over 11% of people reported living in pain or with mobility or flexibility issues, but more seniors had them: 22.1% for pain, 20.5% for mobility and 19.3% for flexibility. Importantly, the prevalence of hearing disabilities was also high among seniors, 10.4%.
According to the survey, 10.1% of working-age Canadians (15 to 64) reported having a disability in 2012, compared to 33.2% of Canadian seniors—those aged 65 or older. Those aged 45 to 64 commonly reported pain, 12.7%; flexibility, 9.8%; and mobility issues, 8.6%.
For seniors those three afflictions were the most common too, but more people had them: 22.1% for pain, 20.5% for mobility and 19.3% for flexibility. Importantly, the prevalence of hearing disabilities was also high among seniors, 10.4%.
| Prevalence of disability by type, Canada, 2012 | |
|---|---|
| Disability type | % |
| Pain | 9.7 |
| Flexibility | 7.6 |
| Mobility | 7.2 |
| Mental/psychological | 3.9 |
| Dexterity | 3.5 |
| Hearing | 3.2 |
| Seeing | 2.7 |
| Memory | 2.3 |
| Learning | 2.3 |
| Developmental | 0.6 |
| Unknown | 0.3 |
Tax and financial advisors may wish to shore up their knowledge on disability-related income sources, medical expenses and other lucrative tax credits to assist financially as their clients age. This will be a topic at the Distinguished Advisor Workshops next week, as the three phases of retirement planning are discussed. Registrations are still available in Winnipeg, Calgary, Vancouver and Toronto.
1Disability in Canada: Initial findings from the Canadian Survey on Disability. http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/89-654-x/89-654-x2013002-eng.htm
2http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2011/dp-pd/prof/index.cfm?Lang=E
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