Wellesley Institute’s Thriving in the City framework is a valuable tool for understanding what resources an individual needs to live a healthy life and assessing how the current policy environment meets these needs. The previous report focused on working-age adults (25-40 years old), this report focuses on the needs of retired older adults (65-74 years old) in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).
In current policy rhetoric, retirement income adequacy is often measured in terms of replacement rates, which describes the proportion of pre-retirement income received. However, such a metric does not attempt to measure what a retired person actually needs. If there is broad recognition that everyone in Canada should be able to achieve their full health potential, then adequacy of post retirement income can be usefully linked to the best attainable physical, mental, and social well-being.
Thriving in the City: A Framework for Income and Health in Retirement draws on extensive evidence on the health of older adults. The framework identifies the goods, resources, and services required for a retired person to thrive. It introduces a new paradigm for understanding the connections between income and health and offers a lens through which to consider policy opportunities that support healthy aging. In doing so, this framework brings health and well-being to the forefront of the discussion about the needs of older adults.