Canadians’ health-adjusted life expectancy at 65 stays steady

Health-adjusted life expectancy (HALE) in 2023 was 66.9 years, nearly two years lower than in 2019 and 2020, according to new estimates Statistics Canada released Friday.

While life expectancy measures the average number of years someone is expected to life, HALE measures the number of years in good health (including metrics like vision, hearing, speech, ambulation, dexterity, emotion, cognition and pain).

Meanwhile, HALE at age 65 was 15.3 years, remaining stable since 2019. This means someone who is healthy at age 65 can expect another 15.3 years in good health.

The decline could be partially attributed to the Covid pandemic. Global healthy life expectancies declined during and after the pandemic. In Canada, life expectancy and self-reported health worsened until 2023.

Generally, Canadian women outlive and spend more years in good health than men, but women also spend more years in poor health due to longer lifespans and live a smaller share of their life in good health.

In 2023, females had a life expectancy of 84 years at birth and a HALE of 67.7 years. Males had a life expectancy of 79.6 years and a HALE of 66.4 years. From 2019 to 2023, HALE at birth declined by 1.9 years for females and 1.7 years for males. At age 65 years, females could expect to live another 22.3 years, with 15.8 in good health. Males aged had a remaining life expectancy of 19.7 years and a HALE of 14.7 years.

As Canadians age, more advisors will face clients with early signs of dementia, such as asking the same question repeatedly or forgetting that certain transactions took place. Experts recommend approaching clients with dementia with sensitivity, advising them to set up a power of attorney (POA) with the right lawyer, watching for signs of financial abuse and proactive planning before clients turn 50.

At the same time, advisors can remind clients to start saving for long-term care costs. While the public system is subsidized by provincial and territorial governments, clients must still pay out of pocket for part of the cost. Even provincially subsidized basic long-term care accommodation in Ontario costs $2,000 a month. With median wait times hovering at about 200 days, the costs of home care and private care while on the waitlist are considerable.

Jonathan Got

Jonathan Got is a reporter with Advisor.ca and its sister publication, Investment Executive. Reach him at jonathan@newcom.ca.