Joint Retirement Decisions of Married Men and Women in Canada

Grant Schellenberg, Statistics Canada
Bali Ram, Statistics Canada
Martin Turcotte, Statistics Canada

With the increasing prevalence of dual-earner families, many married couples must now make two retirement decisions rather than just one. While evidence indicates that spouses generally prefer to retire together, their ability to do so in influnced by many factors. Using data from the 2002 Canadian General Social Survey on Social Support and Aging, this paper examines the correlates of joint retirement intentions among non-retired individuals aged 45 to 59, and the correlates of joint retirement transitions among recently retired individuals aged 50 and over. The relative importance of age differences between spouses, pension coverage, employment status prior to retirement, contribution to the household income, and health status are documented. Data quality and methodological issues in the measurement of joint retirement are also addressed.