Department of Economics, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada; School of Public Policy, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Prev Med. 2013 Dec;57(6):963-6. doi: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2013.09.004. Epub 2013 Sep 17.
This study uses a population health intervention modeling approach to project the impact of recent legislated increases in age eligibility for Canadian federally-funded pension benefits on low income seniors' health, using food insecurity as a health indicator.
Food insecurity prevalence and income source were assessed for unattached low income (<$20,000 CAD) persons aged 60-64 years (population weighted n=151,350) versus seniors aged 65-69 years (population weighted n=151,485) using public use data from the Canadian Community Health Survey Cycle 4.1 (2007-2008).
Seniors' benefits through federal public pension plans constituted the main source of income for the majority (79.4%) of low income seniors aged 65-69 years, in contrast to low income seniors aged 60-64 years who reported their main income from employment, employment insurance, Workers' Compensation, or welfare. The increase in income provided by federal pension benefits for low income Canadians 65 and over coincided with a pronounced (50%) decrease in food insecurity prevalence (11.6% for seniors ≥65 years versus 22.8% for seniors <65 years).
Raising the age of eligibility for public pension seniors' benefits in Canada from 65 to 67 years will negatively impact low income seniors' health, relegating those who are food insecure to continued hardship.
本研究采用人群健康干预建模方法，以食品不安全状况作为健康指标，预测加拿大联邦资助的养老金福利资格年龄最近立法提高对低收入老年人健康的影响。
使用加拿大社区健康调查第 4.1 周期（2007-2008 年）的公共使用数据，评估了无配偶的低收入（<20000 加元）60-64 岁人群（人群加权 n=151350）与 65-69 岁老年人（人群加权 n=151485）的食品不安全发生率和收入来源。
联邦公共养老金计划为大多数（79.4%）65-69 岁低收入老年人提供了主要收入来源，而 60-64 岁低收入老年人的主要收入来源则来自就业、就业保险、工人赔偿或福利。对于 65 岁及以上的加拿大低收入者而言，联邦养老金福利带来的收入增加，与食品不安全发生率的显著降低（65 岁及以上老年人为 11.6%，65 岁以下老年人为 22.8%）一致。
加拿大将领取公共养老金老年人福利的年龄从 65 岁提高到 67 岁，将对低收入老年人的健康产生负面影响，使那些处于食品不安全状况的老年人继续陷入困境。
