There’s much more to life than money for Canadian seniors, according to a new study from Statistics Canada, which finds that income alone isn’t associated with life satisfaction among Canadian seniors.
The national statistical agency issued a report today detailing the results of a study into overall life satisfaction among Canadian seniors, based on the 2016 General Social Survey on Canadians at Work and Home. One of the study’s most surprising findings is that family income is not tied to reported life satisfaction.
“Factors other than income seem to be more significant in the life satisfaction of seniors,” the report states. “Health status, in particular, is an important factor associated with life satisfaction, but not the only factor. Personal characteristics such as age, marital status and location of residence also matter, along with other factors like stress levels, satisfaction with the amount of time spent with family and the importance of religious and spiritual beliefs.”
Additionally, the report finds that immigrant seniors report higher levels of satisfaction than Canadian-born seniors. And “resilience” is positively correlated with life satisfaction.
“Such results suggest that, for seniors, non monetary factors such as having a large network of family and friends, and having the capacity to face everyday challenges may matter even more to their life satisfaction than many other factors, including family income,” the report states.
While income alone isn’t a key determinant of seniors’ satisfaction, the report notes, retirees with insufficient income reported lower life satisfaction scores. Seniors who cited finances as a source of stress also reported lower levels of life satisfaction.