RESUMO
For a decade or so starting in the early 1990s, Canada's major income support programs underwent substantial reform. Meanwhile, the economy first lingered in a deep recession and then recovered with a period of strong growth. This paper focuses on how the distributional impact of Employment Insurance (EI) evolved during this period. We find that EI was strongly redistributive throughout the whole period with respect to the earnings of individuals, and somewhat less so for family income. But we also show that the distribution of benefits and contributions changed substantially over time, becoming less redistributive. Somewhat counter-intuitively, both the benefit and contribution sides of the program are shown to be redistributive, even though the contribution structure is regressive. These findings are relevant in the current context, as the economy struggles with a combination of high unemployment and fiscal pressures on government spending.
Assuntos
Emprego , Programas Governamentais , Planos de Assistência de Saúde para Empregados , Benefícios do Seguro , Canadá/etnologia , Emprego/economia , Emprego/história , Emprego/legislação & jurisprudência , Administração Financeira/economia , Administração Financeira/história , Administração Financeira/legislação & jurisprudência , Programas Governamentais/economia , Programas Governamentais/educação , Programas Governamentais/história , Programas Governamentais/legislação & jurisprudência , Planos de Assistência de Saúde para Empregados/economia , Planos de Assistência de Saúde para Empregados/história , Planos de Assistência de Saúde para Empregados/legislação & jurisprudência , História do Século XX , História do Século XXI , Seguro/economia , Seguro/história , Seguro/legislação & jurisprudência , Benefícios do Seguro/economia , Benefícios do Seguro/história , Benefícios do Seguro/legislação & jurisprudênciaRESUMO
Applying an employment-income-based procedure for determining retirement, we analysed a large longitudinal data file of Canadian personal income tax returns for individuals to determine who has retired and to assess how successful they are in maintaining their incomes after retirement. The methodological approach may be of interest for possible application in other countries that have suitable data. Our main conclusions are as follows. First, in the two years immediately after retirement, the after-tax income replacement ratios average about two thirds when calculated across all ages of retirement. Second, the ratios tend to increase with the age of retirement. Third, the ratios increase with years in retirement, at least in the first few years. Finally, income replacement ratios are highest in the lowest income quartile and generally decline as income increases; within each quartile, the replacement ratios are higher for those who retired later than for those who retired earlier.