Pension Adjustment/Registered Retirement Savings Plans File (PA/RRSP)

Detailed information for taxation year 1999

The PA/RRSP file provides information on the number of Canadians participating in registered pension plans (RPPs) and contributing to registered retirement savings plans (RRSPs) for the taxation year.

Data release - July 17, 2001

• Description
• Data sources and methodology
• Data accuracy

Description

The Pension Adjustment/Registered Retirement (PA/RRSP) file provides information on the number of Canadians participating in registered pension plans (RPPs) and contributing to registered retirement savings plans (RRSPs) for the taxation year. The PA/RRSP file is a longitudinal and cross-sectional file constructed from the information provided annually to the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency (CCRA) in individual tax returns (T1 forms). The cross-sectional data can be used to generate a profile of those who do and do not participate in these programs, and to determine how much RRSP room is being used and by whom.

The primary users of this file are the federal and provincial governments. Other main users include private consultant firms and insurance companies.

Reference period: Taxation year, the demographic variables such as the age and sex are at December 31.

Subjects

• Income, pensions and wealth
• Income, pensions, spending and wealth
• Older adults and population aging (formerly Seniors)
• Pension plans and funds and other retirement income programs

Data sources and methodology

Target population

The target population is the universe of individuals that filed a T1 return.

Instrument design

This methodology does not apply.

Sampling

This is a sample survey with a longitudinal design.

The data are produced from a 2% sample of all taxfilers. The sample is selected by choosing the last two digits of the Social Insurance Number (SIN). Once the sample selection is completed the SIN is dropped from the file. Each record is then weighted by 50.

Data sources

Data are extracted from administrative files.

This release analyses the most recent information (1993 to 1999) on taxfilers' contributions to registered retirement savings plans (RRSPs) and participation in employer-sponsored registered pension plans (RPPs). The data came from administrative files provided by the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency. The value of the pension accrued in RPPs in a current year is estimated by the pension adjustment.

This analysis was restricted to individuals aged 25 to 64. Including those younger and older could distort the picture, since many individuals under 25 have not entered the labour force or are recent entrants, and many over 64 have already retired. Annual total income before tax was used, and all dollar figures were converted to 1999 dollars.

References to the frequency of saving from 1993 to 1999 were based on individuals who filed a tax return in each of the seven years and were aged 25 to 64 as of December 31, 1999. Income was averaged over the seven-year period. However, references to the number of savers or amounts saved in any one year are based on the returns of all taxfilers aged 25 to 64 as of December 31 that year.

Error detection

The main processing of the data is done by the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency. However; Statistics Canada proceeds with some adjustments when the sample is selected, especially for the following cases:

- when the pension adjustment amount is very large,
- when the date of death of a taxfiler is not known,
- when the birth date of a taxfiler is 0, the record is excluded.

Estimation

As part of the estimation process, the retirement savings data are estimated by multiplying information provided annually to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) in individual tax returns (T1) by its sampling weight. The sample size is about 5% of all taxfilers and the sample is stratified by province. Estimates provide information on the characteristics of both savers and non-savers, on the contributions to RPPs (Registered Pension Plans) and RRSPs (Registered Retirement Savings Plans), and on the extent to which RRSP room is being used and by whom.

Quality evaluation

The Small Area and Administrative Data Division (SAAD) at Statistics Canada produces annual information on RRSP contributions from personal tax returns. These data are used to compare at aggregate level for trends.

Disclosure control

Statistics Canada is prohibited by law from releasing any data which would divulge information obtained under the Statistics Act that relates to any identifiable person, business or organization without the prior knowledge or the consent in writing of that person, business or organization. Various confidentiality rules are applied to all data that are released or published to prevent the publication or disclosure of any information deemed confidential. If necessary, data are suppressed to prevent direct or residual disclosure of identifiable data.

The data are in conformity with the provisions of the Statistics Act and are available only at the aggregate level. Also, data are provided in thousands, for the number of taxfilers, and in millions, for dollars amounts, in order to ensure the confidentiality of the information about individual taxfilers.

Revisions and seasonal adjustment

A conversion with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) is applied to current dollars amounts to derive the amount in constant dollars.

Each year, the PA/RRSP file was updated by adding, to the information on each taxfiler, the preliminary data for the most recent tax year and updated data for the previous tax year. Starting with 1999 tax year, there will be no revision as the data will reflect the most up-to-date information.

Data accuracy

To provide data users with an indication of the reliability of the data produced from a 2% sample file, differences in the 1991 to 1993 data using a 100% file and 2% sample were calculated for various levels of disaggregation.

The reliability of the data increased with the number of taxfilers in a particular level of aggregation. When the number of taxfilers wa less than 10,000, data were accurate within 20% two-thirds of the time; they could be off by 50%. When the number of taxfilers was between 10,000 and 50,000, data were accurate within 5% two-thirds of the time; they could be off by 10%. For aggregations of 50,000 to 100,000 taxfilers, data were accurate within 5% and for those of more than 100,000 taxfilers, they were almost always accurate within 1%.