Basic Living Expenses for the Canadian Elderly
(Link to the PDF document)

by Bonnie-Jeanne MacDonald, Doug Andrews, and Robert L.Brown

Bonnie-Jeanne MacDonald, Doug Andrews, and Robert L.Brown received a grant from The Actuarial Foundation of Canada (AFC) to undertake research concerning the basic living expenses required by Canadian seniors living in different circumstances in terms of age, gender, city of residence, household size, homeowner or renter, means of transportation and health status. The paper develops required expenses for food, shelter, health care, transportation and miscellaneous. The research identifies the typical expenses of seniors in each of these categories. Using 2001 as the base year, the research follows the US Elder Standard to build an elderly threshold for Halifax, Montreal, Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver. The research is unique because it is the first Canadian study of absolute basic living expenses tailored to seniors, rather than simply to adults in general. This information is important to seniors, prospective retirees, financial planners, policy makers and actuaries in assessing the minimum level of income required in retirement and the adequacy of savings and income security programs.

The Bootstrap Method for Calibrating Equity Models
(Link to the PDF document)

by Dr. Mary R. Hardy, ASA, FCIA

Mary Hardy, University of Waterloo, received a grant from The Actuarial Foundation of Canada (AFC) along with The Actuarial Education and Research Fund (AERF) of The Actuarial Foundation (TAF) to explore various aspects of bootstrap methods to provide practical solutions to important actuarial problems.