No. 16 - Low income and family status

There is considerable variation in the incidence of low income among seniors depending on their family status. Unattached seniors are far more likely than those that live in families to have low incomes. In 1998, 44% of all unattached individuals aged 65 and over were considered to have low incomes, compared with only 8% of seniors who lived with their family.

The share of unattached seniors with low incomes has fallen sharply since the early 1980s. Indeed, while less than half of these seniors had low incomes in 1998, the figure had been over two-thirds in 1980 (69%).

The proportion of families headed by a senior experiencing low income has also fallen in the past couple of decades, dropping from 19% in 1980 to just 10% in 1998. In fact, senior families are currently less likely to have low incomes than families headed by a person under age 65.

Percentage of seniors with low income, by family status, 1980-1998

Source: Statistics Canada