abstract: 'This article assesses age-based income inequality among employed

  Canadians using Canadian Census data over a 15-year period from 1996 to

  2011. We show that income inequality has risen for groups of older

  workers since 1996 and that incomes have polarized based on level of

  education and occupation. More specifically, we find that wages have

  stagnated for those with lower levels of education and those not

  employed in management or upper-level professional occupations. Few

  Canadians experienced noticeable income gains (and this is more

  pronounced for men than for women) suggesting that many older workers

  have fallen into relative economic hardship since 1996. We argue that

  this is because, at least in part, Canadian policies have failed to

  adequately consider the dilemma that older workers face when they lose

  their jobs in an economy that requires more highly skilled workers now

  than was true in the past. We argue that increasing the pension

  eligibility age for Old Age Security (OAS) may put older Canadian

  workers at heightened risk of experiencing income insecurity. Hence,

  changes to OAS must be linked to new labor market and education policy

  so that older workers can gain the skills they need to remain in and

  compete for well-paying jobs later life.'
affiliation: 'Curtis, J; McMullin, J (Corresponding Author), Univ Western Ontario,
  Dept Sociol, Social Sci Ctr, Room 5306, London, ON N6A 5C2, Canada.

  Curtis, Josh; McMullin, Julie, Univ Western Ontario, Dept Sociol, London, ON N6A
  5C2, Canada.'
author: Curtis, Josh and McMullin, Julie
author_list:
- family: Curtis
  given: Josh
- family: McMullin
  given: Julie
da: '2023-09-28'
doi: 10.1093/workar/waw003
eissn: 2054-4650
files: []
issn: 2054-4642
journal: WORK AGING AND RETIREMENT
language: English
month: JUL
number: '3'
number-of-cited-references: '45'
pages: 359-371
papis_id: 2f4ecbe80939c164ae1d339d8fed88ad
ref: Curtis2016olderworkers
times-cited: '4'
title: 'Older Workers and the Diminishing Return of Employment: Changes in Age-Based
  Income Inequality in Canada, 1996-2011'
type: article
unique-id: WOS:000378242600006
usage-count-last-180-days: '0'
usage-count-since-2013: '16'
volume: '2'
web-of-science-categories: Industrial Relations \& Labor; Psychology, Applied; Management
year: '2016'