Within the last few years, thousands of people have been re-assessed as not eligible for CPP benefits and some have been required to return overpayments. Many may seek provincial social assistance unless they can find employment, which is often difficult given the current employment market and lack of support to work flexible hours tailored to accommodate fluctuating disabilities. We recommend that all people eligible for CPP or provincial disability benefits should automatically be considered eligible for the federal disability tax credits. These final figures do not represent income for the federal government, per se, but do represent substantial savings on the social cost of disability and disabling policies. It is important to understand the specific ways that CPP programs affect women differently than men.
Women are often unpaid community volunteers and, more often than men, work part time.
Neither part-time work nor volunteering qualifies women for private pension plans. The CPP program does recognize part-time employment but only proportionately, leaving women working part time with far lower pensions than women and men who worked full time during their careers. Women on average still earn less than 75 percent of what men do and are more likely to be single heads of households, divorced or living on their own as compared to men of similar age. In fact, inadequate pensions result in women using social welfare programs and supplements to sustain their meagre existence. These demographic facts are true for most women in Canada but they have a specifically negative effect on women with disabilities.