Deck 14: Pensions and Economic Security for Older Canadians

Question 1

In 2005, the National Advisory Council on Aging issued a Report Card on Seniors in Canada and awarded Canada a

A) A grade
B) B grade
C) C grade
D) D grade
E) F grade

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Another name used to describe the public pension system is

A) social assistance
B) social welfare
C) retirement wage
D) worker's wage
E) superannuation wage

Answer 2

C

Question 3

The purpose of social insurance is to provide

A) subsistence to those in need
B) continuity and security in income
C) a safety net during recessions
D) a state based on social assistance for the elderly
E) subsistence and continuity to those in need

Answer 3

B

Question 4

One of the first compulsory industrial pension plans in Canada was established by the

A) CPR
B) Grand Trunk Railway
C) Hudson Bay Company
D) Imperial Oil
E) the military

Question 5

In 1911, which of the following established the first state-run old age pension program?

A) P.E.I.
B) New Brunswick
C) Nova Scotia
D) Newfoundland
E) Alberta

Question 6

Canada's first national pension legislation was the Old Age Pension Act of 1927 which

A) copied the Elizabethan Poor Laws
B) targeted workers 65 and over
C) omitted women
D) was administered by the federal government
E) covered First Nations peoples

Question 7

The Old Age Security Act of 1951

A) was based on a social security model
B) was based on a social relief model
C) was based on a social assistance model
D) was based on a social risk model
E) was based on a social economic model

Question 8

The problem with the Old Age Security Act of 1951 was

A) not everyone was covered by the pension
B) women were treated differently under the terms of the pension
C) everyone was equally poor
D) everyone had to be 70 to receive the pension
E) everyone had to pass a means test

Question 9

The Canada Quebec Pension Plan (C/QPP) was called the citizen's wage because

A) every citizen received the pension
B) every citizen supported the pension
C) every citizen paid into the pension
D) it was based on the market and citizenship entitlements
E) non-British citizens were exempt

Question 10

The Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) was

A) introduced in conjunction with the Old Age Security Act
B) aid for those not yet retired
C) a form of social security
D) repealed in 1975
E) intended as an interim measure

Question 11

All but which of the following are true of the Spouse's Allowance (SPA) of 1975?

A) was income-tested
B) was not controversial
C) was for heterosexual couples
D) covered people ages 60-64
E) was paid to the spouse of GIS recipients

Question 12

At the inception of the C/QPP, it covered about

A) 20 percent of the average industrial wage
B) 25 percent of the average industrial wage
C) 50 percent of the average industrial wage
D) 75 percent of the average industrial wage
E) 100 percent of the average industrial wage

Question 13

The third tier of the pension system is comprised of

A) OAS and GIS
B) employer pensions and RRSPs
C) C/QPP and employer pensions
D) SPA and the GIS
E) employer pensions and GIS

Question 14

The remnants of social assistance for the poor in Canada are found in what pension program?

A) RRSPs
B) C/QPP
C) OAS
D) GIS
E) disability pensions

Question 15

The Great Pension Debate that started in 1976 was because

A) the first tier of the pension system was inadequate
B) the second tier of the pension system was inadequate
C) the third tier of the pension system was inadequate
D) the fourth tier of the pension system was inadequate
E) none of the tiers were adequate

Question 16

The end result of almost ten years of pension debates was

A) no change
B) the Green Paper on Canadian Pensions
C) a National Pension Conference
D) the Pension Benefit Standards Act
E) the Task Force on Income Policy

Question 17

The pension debate in Canada in the 1990s was driven by

A) the inadequacy of women's pensions
B) the politics of the debt
C) the graying of Canadians
D) how to expand the pension system
E) how to improve RRSPs

Question 18

All but which of the following are government-administered pension plans?

A) OAS
B) GIS
C) C/QPP
D) Provincial Low Income Supplements
E) Registered Pension Plans (RPPs)

Question 19

The "clawback" of 1989 refers to

A) a 10 percent cut of the C/QPP
B) a clawback of RRPs
C) means testing the GIS
D) means testing the OAS
E) means testing the SPA

Question 20

An indication of a renewed receptiveness to social assistance in the Canadian pension system is

A) the increase in the rates for GIS
B) the end of universalism of the OAS
C) the indexing of the clawback to inflation
D) the targeting of pensions to middle earners
E) the change in the low income cut-offs for Canada

Question 21

The performance of the GIS in reducing poverty depends on

A) the degree of poverty in Canada
B) consensus about definitions of poverty in Canada
C) how poverty is measured by Statistics Canada
D) how poverty is defined by politicians
E) how poverty is defined by Canadians

Question 22

The low income rate measures

A) the proportion of people receiving GIS
B) the official level of poverty
C) the depth of low income among those who fall below the cut-off
D) the proportion of people above the low income cut-offs
E) the proportion of people below the low income cut-offs

Question 23

The Allowance, introduced in July 2000, was extended to

A) single, divorced and separated women aged 60 to 64
B) single, divorced and separated women aged 65 and over
C) same-sex and common-law partners aged 60 to 64
D) same-sex couples and common-law partners aged 65 and over
E) single, divorced and separated men aged 65 and over

Question 24

The general drop-out provision of the C/QPP refers to

A) 10 percent of months of child care dropped from calculated pension
B) 15 percent of months ill dropped from pension calculations
C) 10 percent of months in school are dropped from pension calculations
D) 10 percent of months are dropped due to unemployment
E) 15 percent of the months of lowest income are dropped from pension

Question 25

The C/QPP is funded by

A) the Canadian government
B) the worker
C) the worker and the employer
D) the employer
E) the government and the worker

Question 26

The C/QPP covers all but which of the following

A) retirement pensions
B) disability pensions
C) educational benefits to the disabled
D) benefits to dependent children of deceased recipients of C/QPP
E) lump-sum death benefits

Question 27

Which of the following has been described as woman-friendly?

A) OAS
B) GIS
C) C/QPP
D) RRSPs
E) RRPs

Question 28

Which of the following is true about the Canada and Quebec Pension Plans?

A) the programs are identical
B) CPP benefits are taxable, but QPP benefits are not
C) the Canada Pension Plan can only be changed with the approval of two-thirds of the provinces, excluding Quebec
D) the C/QPP program includes reciprocal agreements with other countries
E) the plans are financed in the same way

Question 29

The C/QPP is now financed in the following way

A) pay-as-you-go-plan
B) steady-state financing
C) a head tax
D) a government fund established through taxes
E) by the worker

Question 30

Provincial and territorial supplements are based on

A) indexed benefits
B) need
C) marital status
D) request
E) demand

Question 31

The third tier of the pension system is expected to make up approximately what percent of pre-retirement income to maintain the same standard of living?

A) 40 percent of pre-retirement income
B) 50 percent of pre-retirement income
C) 60 percent of pre-retirement income
D) 70 percent of pre-retirement income
E) 80 percent of pre-retirement income

Question 32

The bottom line is that employer pensions plans are

A) the largest source of income for retired Canadians
B) a form of deferred wages
C) the actual citizen's wage
D) a form of savings on the part of the worker
E) a form of investment for companies

Question 33

Experts use two ways of measuring private pension coverage - a percent of paid workers or a percent of the labour force. The difference between these two measures is

A) the paid workers measure increases the number of persons covered
B) the labour force measure increases the number of persons covered
C) the paid worker measure includes the self-employed
D) the paid workers measure includes the unemployed
E) the labour force measure includes paid family members

Question 34

The employer-pension coverage for paid workers dropped from 1992 to 2002 because

A) of an increase in part-time work
B) union membership has dropped
C) self-employment has dropped
D) of an increase in seasonal work
E) large corporations are withdrawing from the pension field

Question 35

An employee pays 7 percent of her paycheque to an employer-sponsored pension program. Her employer matches her contribution on each paycheque to the pension program. This type of program is

A) GIS plan
B) C/QPP plan
C) registered retirement savings plan
D) contributory plan
E) non-contributory plan

Question 36

In defined contribution plans

A) the level of benefits are guaranteed
B) the level of benefits are established by a formula
C) the level of contributions are fixed
D) the level of contributions is defined by the government
E) the level of contributions depends on the rate of return on investment

Question 37

The majority of defined benefit plan members are in

A) the manufacturing sector
B) the goods producing sector
C) the service sector
D) the public sector
E) the private sector

Question 38

Locking in benefits means

A) benefits have to paid upon retirement
B) benefits have to be paid at a later date, usually age 55
C) benefits are automatically paid at age 65
D) benefits are lost if the worker goes to another job
E) benefits are locked-in to investments by the firm

Question 39

Employer sponsored pension plans

A) are indexed to inflation
B) are less likely to cover workers in large firms
C) are more likely to cover female employees
D) are not indexed to inflation
E) are the same as the C/QPP

Question 40

Private pension plans make up approximately what proportion of women's retirement income?

A) 13 percent of women's retirement income
B) 26 percent of women's retirement income
C) 35 percent of women's retirement income
D) 47 percent of women's retirement income
E) 65 percent of women's retirement income

Question 41

Private pension plans are not very useful to workers who make lower wages because

A) they pay higher taxes on contributions
B) they cannot contribute as much to their RRSPs
C) they are the least likely to be protected from inflation
D) they make higher contributions to their pensions and receive lower benefits
E) they replicate the inequality found in the labour market

Question 42

Private pension plans favour the rich because

A) workers with more income receive a better tax break on pension contributions
B) workers with more income can contribute more to RRSPs
C) workers with higher incomes are protected from inflation
D) workers with higher incomes make smaller contributions
E) workers with higher incomes are in a higher tax bracket and make lower pension contributions

Question 43

RRSPs are based on

A) annual contributions to an annuity
B) saving for old age through tax breaks
C) saving by setting aside part of one's income
D) saving by making non-taxable money on investments
E) saving by buying non taxable stock

Question 44

Who were the biggest contributors to RRSPs in 2004?

A) people aged 25 to 44
B) people aged 45 to 64
C) people aged 65 and older
D) women
E) first-time home buyers

Question 45

The relative economic position of older adults in Canada has

A) become worse
B) improved
C) stayed the same
D) become worse for women
E) become better only for men

Question 46

The incomes of older families have

A) been increasing in the last decade
B) been decreasing in the last decade
C) remained the same over the last decade
D) are similar to the unattached
E) are worse than the unattached

Question 47

The improvement in the incomes of older people can be attributed to

A) the maturation of OAS
B) the maturation of the C/QPP
C) the maturation of employer-sponsored pension plans
D) the maturation of RRSPs
E) the increase in mutual funds

Question 48

Who depends on the public pension system for most of their income?

A) men in general
B) older men
C) women in general
D) older women
E) both older men and older women

Question 49

Currently, most of the pension changes on the immediate horizon focus on tinkering with the pension system to have money by looking to the markets for solutions. Three main strategies have been considered in Canada. Which solution has been the solution of choice for Canada?

A) shifting pension costs from the government sector to the private sector
B) raising the age of retirement
C) introducing partial retirement
D) increasing contribution rates to the C/QPP
E) improvements to RRSP regulations

Question 50

Today's pension policy leans precariously close to

A) bankruptcy
B) non-existence
C) social assistance
D) social welfare
E) political annihilation

Question 51

The prewar welfare state in Canada was based on a social security model.

Question 52

The first private pension plans in Canada were based on a military model.

Question 53

The Old Age Security Act of 1951 was the first national pension legislation in Canada

Question 54

The universal aspect of the OAS pension was terminated in 1989 and is currently means-tested through a "clawback".

Question 55

The baby boom women will have been in paid employment for most of their lives and will have their own private pension plans equal to that of men.

Question 56

How do pension systems based on social security differ from those based on social assistance?

Question 57

Describe the first compulsory industrial pension plan of the Grand Truck Railway in Canada. What were its influences? How did it work? Why did some workers lose their pension rights?

Question 58

Describe the three tiers of the pension system and their contribution to retirement income.

Question 59

What are provincial and territorial supplements? What are some of the problems with them?

Question 60

Discuss the two types of employer-sponsored pension plans, as well as the various methods used to calculate retirement benefits within those plans.

Question 61

What are the strengths and weaknesses of employer-sponsored pension plans?

Question 62

Explain how registered retirement savings plans (RRSPs) offer tax breaks. What are some reasons individuals cash in their RRSPs?

Question 63

Explain why pension policy does not match women's lives.

Question 64

Who is most likely to be below the Low Income Cut-offs for Statistics Canada and why?

Question 65

Discuss the future of pension plans in Canada. What changes are planned? What strategies have been suggested and chosen? What were the consequences of the great pension debate?

Question 66

Trace the history of the development of the Canadian public and private pension systems. Based on this history, where is Canada headed in the future?

Question 67

What was the Great Pension Debate? Discuss, especially its implications for Canada's present pension system.

Question 68

Critically assess the how well the three tiers of the Canadian pension system meet the needs of Canadians.

Question 69

Discuss the pros and cons of employer-sponsored pensions for low-income earners.

Question 70

Why did the National Advisory Council on Aging award Canada's pension system a B grade?