The federal government is pondering policy changes aimed at making remaining in the workforce more attractive for Canadian seniors.
It would be a win-win situation for seniors and the country's workforce. More accurately, it's a need-need situation. With more Canadians living longer, a growing number of citizens will have to work past age 65 in order to provide the necessary financial foundation for retirement. And goodness knows, the workforce needs seniors. With the first wave of baby boomers due to turn 65 next year, the Canadian workforce will face a massive shortfall of workers unless seniors delay their retirements and remain on the job.
Recognizing that impending need to keep seniors in the workforce, the government is looking at doing away with the mandatory retirement age (65) for workers with federally regulated companies, except for a few specific instances. The federal government has already raised the amount of money seniors are allowed to earn without sacrificing their Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS).
But Diane Ablonczy, minister of state for seniors, said in a Canadian Press story this week that the biggest challenge in making policy changes is to get away from the mindset that the labour market doesn't need seniors and that seniors don't want to work anyway.
Seniors are already playing an important role in the labour market - and that will continue to grow in the coming decades. In Alberta, the number of seniors could approach one quarter of the population by 2050, up from about 10 per cent in 2009.
According to Alberta government statistics, there were about 46,500 seniors (65 and older) in the province's workforce in 2007, accounting for 2.3 per cent of the workforce. That was slightly above the national average of 2.1 per cent. That doesn't sound like a large number but bear in mind, the baby boomers haven't begun to join the seniors crowd yet. When they do, it will put a large portion of the workforce on the verge of retirement - and leave a potentially large gap in the supply of available workers. The workforce will need seniors just as much as many seniors will likely need or want to keep working.
Ablonczy noted Canada's seniors population is expected to double over the next 25 years. Consequently, seniors will become increasingly important in the labour market - and not just from a numbers standpoint. The experience seniors bring to the job is irreplaceable and represents a tangible asset for employers.
To build on Ablonczy's reference to "mindset," the way the workplace views seniors will change. Since the labour market will need the skills seniors have to offer, they won't be so quick to usher older workers toward the exit as they near the traditional retirement age. That will work to the benefit of seniors who want to remain active in the workforce.
Sounds like a win-win situation.