Understanding the Gender Pension Gap in Canada

By Elizabeth Shilton The gender pension gap in Canada measures the gender difference in combined income from Canada’s 3-pillar system of retirement income instruments: Old Age Security/Guaranteed Income Supplement, Canada Pension Plan/ Quebec Pension Plan and private pensions (including RRSP/RRIF income). In 1976 - the first year for which we have meaningful statistics – that gap stood at 15%, and it has stubbornly refused to close despite substantial increases in overall retirement income and massive advances in women’s labour market engagement...