28 percent of retiree-aged Canadians are still working, new report finds

More than a quarter of retirees aren’t retired, according to a report released by the Department of Employment.

Blacklock's Reporter found new figures that follow research indicating the number of Canadians over 65 who remained in the workforce is the “highest on record”. This data follows a 2017 Statistics Canada report labeled “Working Seniors In Canada” where researchers found that more than a million pensioners were still in the workforce.

The most typical jobs for seniors were in sales, transport truck driving, management at retail stores, janitorial and maintenance, and office administration. 20 percent of 70-year-olds worked part time. Seven percent of 80-year-olds were still in the workforce.

The new report, The Old Age Security Program Phase II Evaluation, created by the Department of Employment, has disclosed that 28 percent of Old Age Security recipients are still working. The average earnings for these seniors was $45k and with a pension they could receive up to $614 a month.

The report also says that over 60,000 other people over the age of 65 have deferred benefits to stay working. In 2013 regulations were shifted to allow pension-age workers to defer their payments.

The payments could be deferred for up to five years as a trade off for highly monthly benefits later. Department of Employment staff told Blacklock's Reporter that only 25 percent of seniors were aware they could defer these benefits.