Study on the Abuse and Financial Vulnerability of Senior Women

Submission to the Standing Committee on the Status of Women

The National Institute on Ageing’s submission highlights the significant and interconnected financial and social vulnerabilities facing older women in Canada. Drawing on findings from its 2025 Ageing in Canada Survey of 6,000 adults aged 50+, the NIA shows that older women are more likely than men to experience inadequate income, material deprivation and barriers to retirement. These disparities are rooted in systemic factors such as the gender pay gap, longer life expectancy and career interruptions due to unpaid caregiving, resulting in lower lifetime earnings and reduced pension security.

The submission underscores how financial insecurity is closely linked to social isolation, particularly as older women are more likely to live alone. This isolation can worsen health outcomes and limit access to support.

The NIA emphasizes that the combination of financial vulnerability and social isolation increases the risk of abuse, including economic abuse and coercive control, often within dependent relationships. Together, these factors create compounding risks that make it harder for older women to maintain independence or seek help.

In response, the NIA provides three recommendations to combat abuse and financial vulnerability currently experience by older women in Canada.