Report – Prosper Canada Learning Hub

Seniors’ poverty in Canada: Why it exists and why it doesn’t have to

Thriving in the City: A Framework for Income and Health in Retirement

Measuring discrimination in rental housing across Canada

Exiting homelessness: Results from the 2022 Canadian Housing Survey

CASE STUDY | Niagara Region’s Poverty Reduction Strategy: Working Together to Prevent and End Poverty and Increase Well-Being in Niagara

Measuring unmet housing need and housing instability in households with roommates and extended family

Deep income poverty: Exploring the dimensions of poverty in Canada

Consumer research: Financial Planners and Financial Advisors

Barriers to moving: Potential implications for the life satisfaction of young families

FCAC Report: The financial well-being of Canadian homeowners with mortgages

The Embedded Financial Coaching Project: Insights Report

Empowering Futures: Boosting Girls’ Financial Confidence Through Gamified Learning – A Gender Equality Research Brief

From Clicks to Confidence: Using Quick Online Interventions to Increase Young Women’s Financial Confidence and Behaviours – A Gender Equality Research Brief

Benefits on the street: Increasing access to benefits for street-involved individuals and families

The CRA’s Indigenous Strategy 2024-2027

Understanding do-it-yourself (DIY) account holders

New data on household food insecurity in 2023

Developing an automatic enrolment model for the Canada Learning Bond

Refund to Savings Canada Pilot Study Evaluation

Fair4All Finance’s Customer Engagement Support Guide

Increasing program uptake: practical ways that behavioural science can reduce barriers

National standards for emergency shelters across Canada

Understanding Financial Capability Interventions within Employment-Related Contexts for Adults with Low Incomes

Insights summary: Building financial wellness in First Nations

Closing the gap in tax filing and improving benefit access for under-served populations

The financialization of purpose-built rental housing

From Surviving to Thriving: Embedding a well-being framework into financial counselling practice

The Value of Behaviorally-Informed Financial Advice Study

Prosper Canada Learning Hub Digest

Rainy Days Don’t Retire: Older Adults, Financial Shocks and the Promise of Emergency Savings Tools

Motivations and barriers to seeking debt advice

Housing in First Nations Communities

Focus groups –Understanding Canadian investors

Final Report: Upholding dignity and human rights: the Federal Housing Advocate’s review of homeless encampments

An unrecognized barrier to retirement income security: poor longevity literacy

Resourcing rights claimants: closing the gap to exercising the national housing strategy act

Journey to impact: unlocking purpose through social finance

Increasing Access to Benefits for Peoples with Disabilities Project: Insights and recommendations

Seneca College: Report – Online assistance system for tax filing

Supporting Benefits Access: A blueprint for what is possible

A Digital Canadian Dollar: What we heard 2020–23 and what comes next

The profound drop in Working Poverty in the Toronto Region

Why Communities Leave Money on the Table: The Struggles & Strategies of Tax Credit Outreach

A case study: Community Volunteer Income Tax Program in 5 Municipalities of Grey Bruce

The new wealth agenda: A blueprint for building a future of inclusive wealth

SeedChange: Impact report 2022

Unfunded: Black communities overlooked by Canadian Philanthropy

Social policy implications for a less-cash society

The barriers we face: Newcomers and the financial markets

Banking inclusion at work: How workplace banking can boost financial wellness

Study explores Canadian attitudes about Crypto

Highlights from a new study on the lifetime earnings growth of individuals with childhood-onset disabilities

Market basket measure research paper: Child care expenses

Effect of Canada Child Benefit on Food Insecurity: A Propensity Score-Matched Analysis

Financial literacy, longevity, and retirement readiness

Financial Planning: A Pathway to Improved Financial Resilience

Building the case: poverty and food insecurity among working-age, single adults in Canada

Backgrounder: poverty and food insecurity in Canada

You worry about your family's physical, mental and spiritual health. You take care of yourself and make sure you and your family are healthy, safe and happy. Many people do not realize that you also need to be financially healthy.

Financial wellness is understanding and managing your own money. Money is a big way that others control and influence our lives. Sometimes we need to depend on others to give us money and tell us what to do with money. Opening a bank account, understanding where your money is coming from, and saving money will help you to become financially independent and financially healthy.

This report from The Native Women's Association of Canada covers the importance of financial health and has sections on financial information covering bank accounts, insurance, budgeting, saving, credit cards, car loans, income taxes and housing.

The multiplying movement: the state of the children’s savings field 2022

The Multiplying Movement: The State of the Children’s Savings Field 2022 shares findings from Prosperity Now’s 2022 Children’s Savings Account (CSA) program survey. The report highlights the incredible growth of the field with over 4.9 million children and youth with CSAs across the US. In addition, this report analyzes trends among CSA programs and spotlights new programs across the country. As you will see in the report, the CSA field shows no signs of slowing down.

Women living in subsidized housing in Canada

Using data primarily from the 2021 Canadian Housing Survey, this study applies a gender lens to examine the characteristics of Canadians living in subsidized housing. It examines the experiences of renters in subsidized housing and their satisfaction with their dwelling and neighbourhood, drawing comparisons with their counterparts living in non-subsidized rental housing.

Missing for those who need it most: Canada’s financial help gap

A new study by national charity Prosper Canada, undertaken with funding support from Co-operators, finds that Canadians with low incomes are increasingly financially vulnerable but lack access to the financial help they need to rebuild their financial health.

The report, shows that affordable, appropriate and trustworthy financial help for people with low incomes is a critical but missing piece in Canada's financial services landscape. People with low incomes are unlikely to find help when they need it to plan financially, develop and adhere to a budget, set and pursue saving goals, file their taxes outside of tax season, and access income benefits.

Executive summary: Canada's financial help gap

L’aide qui manque pour ceux qui en ont le plus besoin

Sommaire Exécutif: L’écart en matière d’aide financière au Canada

Consumer Vulnerability: Evidence from the Monthly COVID-19 Financial Well-being Survey

The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada’s (FCAC) COVID-19 Financial Well-being Survey, which began in August 2020, is a nationally representative hybrid online-phone survey fielded monthly, with approximately 1,000 respondents per month. The survey collects information on Canadians’ day-to-day financial management and financial well-being.

As of September 2022, the survey results show that over the past several months, financial hardships have increased for many Canadians due to the rapidly evolving economic environment. While financial vulnerability can affect anyone regardless of income, background or education, hardships have increased more for those living on a low income, Indigenous peoples, recent immigrants, and women, due to the disproportionate financial impact of the pandemic on these groups (households with low income, Indigenous people, new immigrants, and women.)

This brief report provides an overview of survey results collected between August 2020 and September 2022. In publishing this report, FCAC’s goal is to provide insight into the financial well-being of Canadians, to identify which groups are experiencing greater vulnerabilities and hardships, and to inform and target our collective response as financial ecosystem stakeholders.

Weathering the storms: modernizing the U.S. benefits system to support household financial resilience

For most households in America, financial shocks are inevitable. The car will break down. The house will need a repair. A key earner for a household will be laid off. These shocks can be devastating to household finances. And while the COVID-19 pandemic, which we are still recovering from, was a once-in-a-generation economic and health shock for households and our economy, we also know that it is just one example of the uncertainty and volatility of the world we now live in. When public and private benefits—such as unemployment insurance and paid sick leave—are not accessible and not designed or delivered in a timely manner to effectively support families in weathering financial shocks, families suffer.

To effectively modernize our benefits system to help people weather financial shocks—both small and large— requires an evidence-based framework focused on what households need to be financially resilient and on opportunities for benefit leaders to address those needs. This paper lays out the framework by:

Providing the evidence for how households experience financial shocks and how financial resilience can mitigate the hardship caused by those shocks;
Sharing a framework of the four functions benefits play to support resilience and the role of specific public and private benefits, to demonstrate to benefit leaders how their work contributes to household financial resilience; and
Highlighting opportunities for action to improve the accessibility, sufficiency, interoperability, and delivery of benefits, including examples of how benefit leaders are already modernizing benefits to support resilience.

Insights into the risks and benefits of digital financial services for consumers

One of the consequences of social distancing and other restrictions, during the pandemic, such as those on business operating hours, is that consumers spent more of their time searching for information, shopping, and streaming entertainment on-line. With more free time on their hands and money in the bank, a larger percentage of the population took up an interest in investing, often through on-line brokerage platforms or in the cryptoasset markets.

Because consumers have been spending more time on-line since the start of the pandemic, they have been more exposed to on-line fraud. In addition to phishing and malware, consumers are dealing with known scams but in digital form, often on social media.

For some consumers, the evergrowing number of reliable and accessible information sources could lead to information overload, also known as “infobesity, where there is so much information that the consumer cannot process it all. Infobesity can lead to decision paralysis.

In this paper the AMF make the most of their 360-degree view on the financial industry’s digital transformation to review the main changes that occurred in each of their areas of focus, describe the risk of digitalization for the consumers of financial products and services and present the potential opportunities that have been identified to mitigate these risks.

Ottawa should soften bite of benefit clawbacks for low-income families

Canada’s tax system has a punitive impact on lower income families with children hoping to earn more money, according to a new report from the C.D. Howe Institute. In “Softening the Bite: The Impact of Benefit Clawbacks on Low-Income Families and How to Reduce It,” authors Alex Laurin and Nicholas Dahir reveal how benefit reductions serve as hidden tax rates and reduce the effective gain from working to generate additional income.

Read full report here.

Financial Vulnerability of Low-Income Canadians: A Rising Tide

Accessible financial services incubator

Drive through a low-income neighborhood in virtually any American city and it quickly becomes apparent that the area’s financial health is at risk.

The giveaway? The abundance of payday lenders. According to the St. Louis Federal Reserve, there are now more than 20,000 of these organizations across the country—which tops even the ubiquitous McDonald’s storefront by roughly 40%.1

These alternative financial services providers offer short-term loans at interest rates that can top 400%. They appeal to desperate consumers with no access to traditional, more affordable credit and offer an immediate fix that can lead to months, if not years, of financial pain. In its Payday Lending in America series, the Pew Charitable Trusts reports that Americans spend roughly $7.4 billion (B) on payday loans each year.

Could traditional financial institutions find a way to deliver credit to this consumer niche without compromising their own health? The Filene Research Institute, a consumer finance think-and-do tank, hypothesized that the answer was yes.

Read the full report.

Canada’s new working class: A modern understanding of the 6.5 million Canadians in the working class

The pandemic has accelerated a polarization of jobs that has become a structural trend in the Canadian economy. Previous Cardus research has shown that this polarization of the labour market between low- and high-skilled occupations, with a declining share of jobs available for mid-skilled workers, has led to an “hourglass economy.”

Yet, even while the share of the labour force employed in professional occupations rises, the working class retains the largest share of workers in the Canadian economy, making them an important political economy constituency. But who is the working class in Canada? This paper seeks to answer this question by proposing a modern taxonomy of the workforce and a picture of the working class that draws on a rich body of demographic, economic, and labour-market data.

Social prescribing: A holistic approach to improving the health and well-being of Canadians

Social prescribing is a means of connecting people to a range of community services and activities to improve their health and well-being. These services vary based on each person’s needs and interests, and can include food subsidies, transportation, fitness classes, arts and culture engagement, educational classes, peer-run social groups, employment or debt counseling, and more. Social prescribing is a holistic approach to healthcare that looks to address the social determinants of health, which are the non-medical factors that play a role in an individual’s overall health. These factors may include socioeconomic status, social inclusion, housing, and education.

Financial literacy around the world: insights from the S&P’s rating services global financial literacy survey

The Standard & Poor's Ratings Services Global Financial Literacy Survey is the world’s largest, most comprehensive global measurement of financial literacy. It probes knowledge of four basic financial concepts: risk diversification, inflation, numeracy, and interest compounding.

The survey is based on interviews with more than 150,000 adults in over 140 countries. In 2014 McGraw Hill Financial worked with Gallup, Inc., the World Bank Development Research Group, and GFLEC on the S&P Global FinLit Survey.

Engaging youth as leaders in poverty reduction

The impact of the enhanced child tax credit on lower-income households

The American Rescue Plan, one of the most significant policy responses to alleviate child poverty in decades, made fundamental changes in enhancing the Child Tax Credit (CTC). In response to the pandemic, the law expanded the CTC for tax year 2021 to ensure a minimum level of economic support to all families raising children.

Commonwealth, SaverLife, and Neighborhood Trust Financial Partners followed up with CTC-eligible families after most filed their 2021 tax returns. We conducted interviews and surveys to assess the impact of the enhanced credit on families’ financial health. Although we focused on the second half of the CTC payment, which was delivered as a lump sum payment as part of the tax refund, we also asked recipients about their tax filing experience and what a continuation of an expanded credit would mean for their families.

Emergency savings features that work for employees earning low to moderate incomes

Workers earning low to moderate incomes (LMI) continue to face challenges in financial security. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the financial situation of many workers earning LMI. Along with the current macroeconomic environment, it has become even more challenging to build liquid savings for unexpected expenses. In this brief, we will share insights from our latest research with DCIIA Research Retirement Center on how employers and service providers can build and offer emergency savings solutions that are inclusively designed for workers earning LMI.

Social determinants and inequities in health for Black Canadians: a snapshot

The following snapshot aims to highlight how Anti-Black racism and systemic discrimination are key drivers of health inequalities faced by diverse Black Canadian communities. Evidence of institutional discrimination in key determinants of health is also presented, including education, income, and housing. Finally, national data is shared demonstrating inequalities in health outcomes and determinants of health. Readers are invited to reflect on how racism and discrimination may contribute to these inequalities.

Turning aces into assets

Ontario has just become the first province to open its legal gambling market to private internet gaming providers. As of April 4, 2022, Ontarians can play casino-style games online and place bets on sports, including single games, through sites regulated by iGaming Ontario. According to the provincial regulator, the launch of iGaming marks the triumph “of a legal internet gaming market” over “its previous grey market standing.” But as with all forms of gambling, this development has a dark side. It was only a matter of time before Ontario expanded its gambling market—not because of popular demand, but because the provincial government is addicted to gambling money and is eager to seize any opportunity to get more of it, regardless of the costs to the people it is supposed to protect.

This report provides the background of gambling in Ontario, outlines the new risks with iGaming and offers four policy options.

101 solutions for inclusive wealth building

Having wealth, or a family’s assets minus their debts, is important not just for the rich— everyone needs wealth to thrive. Yet building the amount of wealth needed to thrive is a major challenge. Nearly 13 million U.S. households have negative net worth. Millions more are low wealth; they do not have the assets or liquidity needed to maintain financial stability and invest in themselves in the present, nor are they on track to accumulate the amount of wealth they will need to have financial security in retirement.
Together, these groups represent at least half of all U.S. households.

This report examines what it will take to create truly shared prosperity in the United States. It is focused on solutions that would grow the wealth of households in the bottom half of the wealth distribution, and it explores reparative approaches to building the wealth of Black, Indigenous, and other people of color (BIPOC).

Guidance on digital delivery of financial education

Innovative uses of digital technologies in the delivery of financial education can serve multiple complementary objectives and effectively support the building blocks of financial education. This Guidance was developed to assist policy makers in deciding when to adopt digital delivery, and how to effectively design and implement digital financial education initiatives, by offering non-binding actionable directions. It builds on the work undertaken by the OECD and its International Network on Financial Education, including the G20/OECD-INFE Policy Guidance Note on Digitalisation and Financial Literacy and international comparative analyses on how public authorities design, deliver and evaluate digital financial education initiatives, notably in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The report on digital delivery of financial education design and practice builds on over 70 case studies from members of the OECD International Network on Financial Education, contributes to a better understanding of how public authorities worldwide are designing, delivering and evaluating digital financial education initiatives, and prepares forthcoming work on the development of high-level international guidance on the digital delivery of financial education.

Action-oriented public health resources on financial wellbeing and financial strain

2022 Budget submission

Prosper Canada has submitted a budget to highlight that a plan is needed to ensure that vulnerable people are not made to repay unmanageable CERB/CRB debts, to pay back the income people lost when their refundable tax benefits were clawed back because of CERB, and to guarantee that CRB and CWLB are not clawed back from refundable tax credit payments in the 2021 and 2022 tax years.

Protecting aging investors through behavioural insights

This report identifies behaviourally informed techniques dealers and advisers can use to encourage their older clients to provide the necessary information for enhanced investor protection measures.

Access to Identification for Low-income Manitobans

Government-issued identification (ID) is essential to gain access to a wide range of government entitlements, commercial services and financial systems. Lack of ID on the other hand, represents a critical barrier that prevents low-income Manitobans from accessing these services and benefits, and ultimately results in further marginalization and deepening poverty. Other provinces are now recognizing that ID is necessary to navigate the modern world and are doing something to support those who fall through the cracks.

A new study, Access to Identification for Low-Income Manitobans researches what can be done to address these challenges and offers recommendations to reduce barriers to ID for low-income Manitobans.

Hunger, Poverty, and Health Disparities During COVID-19 and the Federal Nutrition Programs’ Role in an Equitable Recovery

The health and economic crises brought on by the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has made the federal nutrition programs more important than ever. An unacceptably high number of people in America do not have enough to eat, and it is likely that the economic recovery for families who struggle to put food on the table will take years.

Recovery will be particularly challenging for those groups that have suffered disproportionate harm from COVID-19. Inequities, also referred to as disparities, “adversely affect groups of people who have systematically experienced greater obstacles […] based on their racial or ethnic group; religion; socioeconomic status; gender; age; mental health; cognitive, sensory, or physical disability; sexual orientation or gender identity; geographic location; or other characteristics historically linked to discrimination or exclusion.”

Household Food Insecurity in Canada, 2017-2018

Food insecurity – inadequate or uncertain access to food because of financial constraints – is a serious public health problem in Canada, and all indications are that the problem is getting worse.

Drawing on data for 103,500 households from Statistics Canada’s Canadian Community Health Survey conducted in 2017 and 2018, we found that 12.7% of households experienced some level of food insecurity in the previous 12 months. There were 4.4 million people, including more than 1.2 million children under the age of 18, living in food-insecure households in 2017-18. This is higher than any prior national estimate.

Household food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic

This study presents data on levels of household food insecurity in the 10 provinces from the September to December 2020 cycle of the Canadian Community Health Survey. In this survey, household food security status within the previous 12 months was measured using a scale that has been routinely used to monitor levels of household food insecurity in Canada. This provided the ability to draw comparisons with pre-pandemic levels.

Both before and during the pandemic, certain population groups were more vulnerable to food insecurity in their household. They included people with lower levels of education, those who rent their dwelling, those in lone-parent-led households and those in households reliant on social assistance as their primary source of income. Compared with the pre-pandemic period of 2017/2018, levels of household food insecurity were either unchanged or slightly lower in fall 2020 among groups vulnerable to food insecurity.

Eyeing the ID: Bio-metric Banking for Saint John

NB Social Pediatrics and the Saint John Community Loan Fund recently surveyed 157 New Brunswick and Nova Scotia residents about their experiences with finances, banking, and ID to better understand if biometrics or ID banks could be effective solutions for people living without ID.

Eyeing the ID: Bio-metric Banking for Saint John identifies access to identification, as well as stringent identification requirements as the most prevalent barriers to receiving services in the community and were also inherently linked to other barriers, such as housing and finances. For example, lack of address was identified as a barrier to accessing an ID because government agencies require a mailing address to send ID documents to customers, but lack of ID is also directly linked to precarious housing because you often need ID to be placed on local subsidized housing lists, and to set up power and utilities. Cyclical barriers to services could be improved by addressing ID requirements and making ID more accessible.

The top three solutions identified to mitigate ID barriers were biometrics, ID banks, and an ID acquisition service.

Also available in French: Un regard sur l’identification : Services bancaires à identification biométrique à Saint John

Ethnography of vulnerable newcomers’ experiences with taxes and benefits

This report presents the findings of an ethnographic research project undertaken by researchers at the Accelerated Business Solutions Lab (ABSL) at the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). It is the second of a series of ethnographic reports on the experiences of vulnerable populations. The objective of this study is to develop the CRA’s understanding of newcomers’ experiences as they first encounter the Canadian tax and benefit system. These findings illuminate potential directions for improving tax and benefit information and services available for newcomers.

The Role of Credit Unions in Providing Alternatives to Payday Lending

High levels of household indebtedness in Canada has been a concern for policymakers at all levels of government over the past decade. As the economic costs of COVID-19 grow, household indebtedness becomes a faster growing and increasingly more serious concern.

While responsive government policy, such as the federal government’s Canadian Emergency Response Benefit (CERB), has curbed some short-term impacts on indebtedness, the program was developed to fill a temporary gap. The most vulnerable households are low-income households with limited access to credit, who frequently turn to high cost payday lending for financial relief. While regulations on the payday lending industry have increased substantially, low-income Canadian households remain left with few, if any, practical alternatives.

The low-income households in greatest need of alternatives are the financially excluded, specifically the underbanked and the unbanked.

At the same time, it is important to recognize that not all payday loan clients are in low-income households. A 2016 report by the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada states that close to 40% of payday loan borrowers have household income of $55,000 or greater and 20% having income of $80,000 or greater.

Thus, payday loan borrowers are not a homogeneous group.

Some Canadian credit unions have developed payday loan alternatives for the financially excluded, however, these more reasonably priced loans are only accessed by a very small portion of would-be payday loan clients.

The objective of this research is to review the alternative payday loan products currently offered by Canadian credit unions, to identify the barriers to offering more payday loan alternatives, and to make recommendations to expand the offerings.

Welfare in Canada, 2020

Maytree released the 2020 edition of the Welfare in Canada report. For each province and territory, this report provides data and analysis on the total welfare income that households receiving social assistance would have qualified for in 2020, including COVID-19 pandemic-related supports.

Welfare in Canada is a series that presents the total incomes of four example households who qualify for social assistance benefits in each of Canada’s provinces and territories in a given year.

Welfare in Canada, 2020 looks at the maximum total amount that a household would have received over the course of the 2020 calendar year, assuming they had no other source of income and no assets. Some households may have received less if they had income from other sources, while some households may have received more if they had special health- or disability-related needs.

The report looks at:

Social assistance program eligibility tests for assets and earned income;
How welfare incomes vary across Canada;
The components of welfare incomes in each province and territory;
Long-term changes in welfare incomes in each province and territory; and
The adequacy of welfare incomes in each province compared to poverty and low-income thresholds.

In addition, this year the report includes a new section that looks at the adequacy of welfare incomes in each province over time, an analysis that hearkens back to past reports prepared by the National Council of Welfare. Also, please note that this report measures the adequacy of welfare incomes relative to both the Market Basket Measure (MBM) – Canada’s Official Poverty Line – and the Deep Income Poverty threshold (MBM-DIP), which is equivalent to 75 per cent of the MBM. This analysis will replace the low-income threshold comparisons in future reports. We hope these additions will be helpful for those using the report.

In each jurisdiction, the total welfare income for which a household is eligible depends on its specific composition. For illustrative purposes, this resource focuses on the welfare incomes of four example household types:

Unattached single considered employable;
Unattached single with a disability;
Single parent with one child, age two; and
Couple with two children, ages ten and 15.

Financial Coaching Initiative: Results and Lessons Learned

In 2015, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau launched the Financial Coaching Initiative, a pilot program that provided financial coaching services to veterans and economically vulnerable consumers. Professional coaches were embedded into 60 host sites across the country, where they provided free, one-on-one help to consumers to address their personal financial goals. A range of organizations served as host sites, such as one-stop career centers, social services organizations, and legal aid groups.

Over four years, the Financial Coaching Initiative served over 23,000 consumers, demonstrating that financial coaching can be successfully implemented at scale in many different settings for a wide range of consumers.

This report and summary brief describe the basic structure of the Initiative, present data about the program’s results, and summarize key lessons learned for practitioners and organizations interested in coaching.

The Financial Resilience and Financial Well-Being of Canadians with Low Incomes (republished January 2024)

Countervailing Power: Review of the coordination and funding for financial counselling services across Australia

In 2019, the Australian Government committed to additional actions to improve the financial outcomes of Australians, including undertaking an immediate review of the coordination and funding of financial counselling services that disadvantaged Australians rely on.

The review noted the benefits of financial counselling to the community, including early intervention and prevention of further financial hardship, advocacy support, and referral to other services for complex issues. The review also highlighted the challenges faced by the financial counselling sector, including increasing demand, fragmented delivery, and the array of complex situations and financial products that can lead to financial hardship.

The review:

Assessed whether existing financial counselling services adequately support clients’ current, emerging or changing needs, including areas such as small business and natural disasters;
Explored the most efficient and appropriate way to deliver financial counselling services;
Considered how to improve the coordination and consistency of delivery of financial counselling services across all jurisdictions in Australia;
Recommended options for improving the predictability and sustainability of funding financial counselling services, including by drawing on successful international funding models and considering options for industry funding; and
Considered how the use of data can inform policy, service delivery and demand trends.

Strengthening Canada’s External Complaint Handling System

Canada’s external complaint handing structures and processes play a critical role in levelling the playing field for consumers and financial service providers, helping to offset the inevitable imbalance of power between large financial institutions and individual consumers. Prosper Canada welcomes the opportunity to provide recommendations for strengthening what is currently a weak and inadequate alternative dispute resolution system.

National Financial Empowerment Champions Project: Summary Report

Low-income persistence in Canada and the provinces

Each year, some Canadians fall into low income, while others rise out of it. For example, over one-quarter (28.1%) of Canadians who were in low income in 2017 had exited it by 2018. This study examines the low income exit rate in Canada—an indicator that can be used to track the amount of time it takes for people to rise out of low income. Although a potential surge in low income in 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic was avoided by temporary government support programs, the rising long-term unemployment rate in 2021 suggests a possible increase in poverty and low-income persistence in the future.

Partnering for impact: From crisis to opportunity (Case studies of corporate-nonprofit partnerships during COVID-19)

This report delves into one of the community investment trends that emerged during the pandemic: innovative partnerships. This research follows the Wake Up Call study, released in the Fall of 2020, and continues to answer the question of: how can corporate philanthropy do better, and do more?

Answers emerge through nine case studies, representing various initiatives that are either entirely new, have undergone significant change during the pandemic, or have achieved unprecedented growth. Each case study provides invaluable insights for companies looking to achieve greater impact through their partnerships.

Imagine Canada conducted close to 40 interviews with the individuals involved in the partnerships, complemented by documentary evidence collected in 2020-21. The case studies involve partners from leading companies and social impact organizations, such as Cisco, AstraZeneca, RBC, CanadaHelps, and Second Harvest.

Make Change that Counts: National Financial Literacy Strategy 2021-2026

The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada’s (FCAC’s) mandate is to protect Canadian financial consumers and strengthen financial literacy.

The National Strategy is a 5-year plan to create a more accessible, inclusive, and effective financial ecosystem that supports diverse Canadians in meaningful ways. The National Strategy is focused on how financial literacy stakeholders can reduce barriers, catalyze action, and work together, to collectively help Canadians build financial resilience.

Ganohonyohk (Giving Thanks): Indigenous Prosperity

The Ganohonyohk/Prosperity Research Project explored how seven Indigenous Friendship Centre communities in Ontario understood the concept of prosperity. The guiding research question of “How do urban Indigenous Friendship Centre communities in Ontario view a prosperous/wealthy life?” was used to gauge the meaning of prosperity through a community driven lens.

This strength-based research explores culturally appropriate approaches to urban Indigenous prosperity and considers the role of Friendship Centres in promoting prosperity. It concludes that approaches to Indigenous prosperity need to be context-specific and allow for self-determination in establishing communities’ priorities.

The effects of child tax benefits on the income of single mothers

The financial resources available to families with young children are an important factor affecting child development, and they can have long-term impacts on socioeconomic outcomes in adulthood.

This article summarizes the findings of a new study using Statistic Canada’s data and analyzes the effects of expanding child tax benefits on after-tax income among single mothers, in the context of the 2015 reform to the Universal Child Care Benefit (UCCB) and the 2016 introduction of the Canada Child Benefit (CCB).

Designing a remote financial help service

ProsperCanada-DesigningRemoteFinancialHelpService

Resources

Project reports, journey maps, and toolkit

Reports
These slide decks describe the goals and outcomes of this project.
Socialization deck: Supporting the design of a remote financial help service (Bridgeable)

Client Journey maps
These journey maps offer a visual explanation of the process used by the 3 participating community agencies offering one-on-one client support.
Family Services of Greater Vancouver
SEED Winnipeg
Thunder Bay Counselling

Toolkit
This toolkit was developed in collaboration with community partners, and shares tools for coaches and clients in the virtual one-on-one process.
Virtual service delivery tools (Toolkit)

Federal Spending on First Nations and Inuit Health Care

An analysis of provincial/territorial health care funding and funding for First Nations and Inuit by Indigenous Services Canada through the First Nations and Inuit Health Branch.

This report provides an analytical overview of federal and provincial/territorial government health spending for the First Nations and Inuit population.

parliamentarybudget-firstnationsinuithealthcare

The Wealth of Unattached Men and Women Aged 50 and Older, 1999 to 2016

The evolution of the wealth, assets and debts of various groups of Canadians since the late 1990s has been documented in several studies. Yet little is known about the evolution of the wealth holdings of unattached men and women aged 50 and older, who make up a large part of the population. This study assesses how the wealth holdings of unattached men and women aged 50 and older evolved from 1999 to 2016 using data from the Survey of Financial Security of 1999, 2005, 2012 and 2016, and fills this information gap.

Cash Back: A Yellowhead Institute Red Paper

This report looks at how the dispossession of Indigenous lands nearly destroyed Indigenous economic livelihoods and discusses restitution from the perspective of stolen wealth.

Innovations in Financial Capability: Culturally Responsive & Multigenerational Wealth Building Practices in Asian Pacific Islander (API) Communities

The Innovations in Financial Capability report is a collaborative report by National CAPACD and the Institute of Assets and Social Policy (IASP) at Brandeis University’s Heller School for Social Policy and Management, in partnership with Hawaiian Community Assets (HCA), and the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement (CNHA). This survey report builds upon the 2017 report Foundations for the Future: Empowerment Economics in the Native Hawaiian Context and features the financial capability work of over 40 of our member organizations and other AAPI serving organizations from across the US. IASP’s research found that AAPI leaders are adopting innovative multigenerational and culturally responsive approaches to financial capability programming, but they want and need more supports for their work.

Measuring the Financial Well-Being of Hispanics: 2018 Financial Well-Being Score Benchmarks

This report provides a foundational set of benchmarks of the financial well-being of Hispanics ages 18 and older in the United States in 2018, as measured by the CFPB Financial Well-Being Scale, that practitioners and researchers can use in their work. The benchmarks were developed using data from the FINRA Foundation’s 2018 National Financial Capability Survey. This report specifically shows financial well-being score patterns for Hispanic adults by socio-demographics, financial inclusion, safety nets, and financial literacy factors. The report highlights key findings in the data and the implications for organizations that are planning to use the benchmarks.

Report – Social and economic impacts of COVID-19 on transgender and non-binary people in Canada

A survey led by researchers at Western University explores the experiences of trans and non-binary Canadians during the COVID-19 pandemic. Initial research from the Trans PULSE Canada survey highlighted that many trans and non-binary Canadians will avoid seeking necessary health care because of a fear of discrimination. The survey findings also show that trans and non-binary Canadians had disruptions in primary health care, mental health care and gender-affirming care during the pandemic, and a high frequency of interruptions to hormone regimens. They also found that twice as many trans and non-binary people reported that they stopped accessing mental health support than those who started accessing support. The team also looked at the social and economic impacts of the pandemic and found that a majority of trans and non-binary people in Canada are experiencing negative financial and social impacts of COVID-19. Almost 60 per cent of respondents said they their access to trans and non-binary social spaces has decreased.

Financial Anxiety and Stress among U.S. Households: New Evidence from the National Financial Capability Study and Focus Groups

A snapshot: Status First Nations people in Canada

This is a custom report produced in collaboration between the Assembly of First Nations and Statistics Canada. It includes a variety of social and economic statistics for Status First Nations people living on and off reserve and includes comparisons with the non-Indigenous population.

Urban, Rural, and Northern Indigenous Housing

This report examines Indigenous housing in urban, rural, and northern areas, an expression which is taken to refer to Indigenous housing in all areas of Canada other than on reserves. This report is intended to provide an analysis of unmet Indigenous housing need and homelessness in these areas, and of government spending to address those issues. The report ends with a range
of estimated costs for addressing housing need to various extents under various programs.
This report was prepared at the request of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities (HUMA).

Impact of the COVID-19 Crisis on Montreal “Cultural Communities”

This exploratory study aims to better understand the challenges experienced by members of cultural communities in Montreal, particularly the most disadvantaged groups, during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Spring of 2020.

Unconnected: Funding Shortfalls, Policy Imbalances and How They Are Contributing to Canada’s Digital Underdevelopment

In an effort to understand the challenges and opportunities facing civil society and community organizations working to improve the quality of Canada’s internet, the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) commissioned research firm The Strategic Counsel to conduct a qualitative and quantitative assessment of stakeholder perceptions of the nation’s digital philanthropy landscape.

The research results show that digital development in Canada is underfunded, piecemeal, ad hoc and unorganized despite stakeholders sharing many of the same goals. The research results show that digital development in Canada is underfunded, piecemeal, ad hoc and unorganized despite stakeholders sharing many of the same goals – the connecting of Canadians to the internet in an affordable and reliable manner so that they can comfortably and knowledgeably participate in an increasingly digital economy and society. The research also found that these goals and the challenges surrounding them have only become more pressing with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, a global crisis that has pushed nearly every aspect of our daily lives online.

Barriers to Digital Equality in Canada

Internet is an essential service. As technology increasingly shapes our world, it is important that Canadians can keep up with the rapid changes, latest skills and emerging industries. Unfortunately, not every resident of Canada is able to access these opportunities to unlock a potentially brighter future.

AIC and ACORN partnered to undertake research with low and moderate income Canadians, in order to uncover the barriers to digital equity that exist in Canada today and shine a light on the urgent need to tackle these barriers to ensure equal access to digital opportunities.

National Report on High Interest Loans

ACORN Canada undertook a study focusing on high interest loans, especially when taken online. For the purpose of the study, high interest loans were defined as loans such as payday loans, installment loans, title loans etc. that are taken from companies/institutions that are not regular banks or credit unions.

The study was conducted to examine the experience of lower-income consumers in the increasingly available online high-cost credit markets.

The study was divided into three phases - conducting a literature review and webscan which was undertaken by Prosper Canada; legislative scan to understand the regulatory framework; and a national survey to capture experiences of people who have taken high interest loans, especially online.

Ongoing Impacts of the COVID-19 Crisis on the Charitable Sector

While most charities have been able to adapt and innovate to continue to offer services and programs to their communities since the onset of the pandemic, the situation remains challenging. For the vast majority of organizations, the constraints and uncertainty of the pandemic, paired with social distancing mandates, are driving significant shifts to organizational priorities. Nearly a year since the onset of the pandemic, the COVID-19 crisis continues to have a significant impact on demand, capacity, and revenue, and is influencing staffing decisions and volunteer contributions.

The crisis is dramatically changing how many organizations operate. Findings from Imagine Canada's second COVID-19 Sector Monitor study show the ongoing effects of the pandemic on the charitable sector.

The relationship between COVID-19 pandemic and people in poverty: Exploring the impact scale and potential policy responses

This research project aims to identify the relationship between COVID-19 pandemic and poverty in Vancouver, by analyzing how the COVID-19 pandemic has pushed people into poverty and the impact of COVID-19 on people already living in poverty. Several examples of COVID-19 recovery policies and projects being implemented elsewhere that could support people experiencing poverty in Vancouver are also provided.

Control, Sufficiency, and Social Support Lessons from Low-income Canadians about Financial Wellbeing

This report examines how diary participants achieve the financial wellbeing that they have. The evidence we found is that low-income people work very hard to manage their finances. They endeavor to control their finances so that, as one participant said, their finances don’t control them. They must prioritize needs and wants because there is not enough for both. One participant talked about her goal of having a ‘little bit more’ than her needs so that there was a little extra for savings or small purchases or trips. Finally, we saw that family and friends are terribly important for achieving financial wellbeing because social supports can provide loans, gifts, and emotional support. Having a low-income means that banks offer few financial supports. Of course, family and friends also make demands.

The Differential Impact of the Pandemic and Recession on Family Finances

This report summarizes the results of a follow-up survey with nineteen low- and modest-middle income Winnipeggers, undertaken in June through September 2020. These respondents were drawn from the 29 Canadian Financial Diaries (CFD) participants who completed a year-long diary in 2019. The results of the survey illustrate that low- and moderate-income earners are feeling stressed with increased expenses and uncertainty about future economic stability.

Proposals for a Northern Market Basket Measure and its disposable income

As stated in the Poverty Reduction Act, the Market Basket Measure (MBM) is now Canada’s Official Poverty Line. The Northern Market Basket Measure (MBM-N) is an adaptation of the MBM that reflects life and conditions in two of the territories – Yukon and Northwest Territories^Note. As with the MBM, the MBM-N is comprised of five major components: food, clothing, transportation, shelter and other necessities. The MBM-N is intended to capture the spirit of the existing MBM (i.e., represent a modest, basic standard of living) while accounting for adjustments to the contents of the MBM to reflect life in the North.

This discussion paper describes a proposed methodology for the five components found in the MBM-N, as well as its disposable income. This discussion paper also provides an opportunity for feedback and comments on the proposed methodology of the MBM-N.

Impacts of the Covid-19 Pandemic on Women: Report of the Standing Committee on the Status of Women

The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have been profound and far-reaching. Beyond endangering the health of Canadians, the pandemic has worsened inequalities among groups of people. Women, girls and gender-diverse people have faced unique challenges during the pandemic.

The Committee recommends that the Government of Canada take various actions to assist women, girls and gender-diverse people during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Many recommendations relate to improving women’s health and labour force participation. Some recommendations focus specifically on women’s paid and unpaid care work. The Committee also recommends interventions to help reduce trafficking and violence against women.

Budget 2021: A Recovery Plan for Jobs, Growth, and Resilience

The federal budget released on April 19, 2021 covers the Canadian government's plan for:

Canadians’ Well-being in Year One of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Financial Well-Being: A Conceptual Model and Preliminary Analysis

Based on an extensive literature review and re-analysis of existing qualitative data, this report offers a working definition and an a priori conceptual model of financial well-being and its possible determinants. Using survey data from Norway (2016), ten regression models have been conducted to identify the key drivers of financial well-being and enhance the understanding of the underlying mechanisms responsible for the unequal spread of well-being across the population. The preliminary analyses in this report were consistent with both the definition and the model, albeit with some nuances and unexplained effects.

The empirical analysis identified three sub-domains of financial well-being. It was found that all three measures share three behaviours as their main drivers: ‘active saving’, ‘spending restraints’ and ‘not borrowing for daily expenses’. Also, ‘locus of control’ stood out as an important explanatory variable, with significant impacts on all three levels of well-being. Beyond that, some distinguishing characteristics were identified for each of the measures.

Measuring Health Equity: Demographic Data Collection in Health Care

The Toronto Central Local Health Integration Network (Toronto Central LHIN) provided financial support to establish the Measuring Health Equity Project and has called for recommendations on health equity data use and a sustainability approach for future data collection.

This report describes the journey Toronto Central LHIN and Sinai Health System have taken to embed demographic data collection in hospitals and Community Health Centres. It also summarizes the potential impact of embedding demographic data collection into Ontario health-care delivery and planning. And finally, it describes the use of this data, the lessons learned, and provides recommendations for moving forward.

2020 Second Annual Report of the Disability Advisory Committee

In November 2017, the Minister of National Revenue, the Honourable Diane Lebouthillier, announced the creation of the Disability Advisory Committee to provide advice to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) on interpreting and administering tax measures for persons with disabilities in a fair, transparent and accessible manner. The committee’s full mandate is attached as Appendix A. Key disability tax measures are described in Appendix B.

Our first annual report, Enabling access to disability tax measures, was published in May 2019. Since that time, we believe there has been important progress with respect to the administration of and communications about the disability tax credit (DTC). Our second annual report describes in detail the many improvements that the CRA has introduced over the past year in response to the recommendations in our 2019 report. These changes are summarized in “The Client Experience” on the following pages.

Section 1 of this second annual report presents a review of the 42 recommendations made in our first annual report. Each recommendation summarizes the relevant context and associated follow-up actions.

Section 2 covers the new areas of conversation during the second year of our mandate. Selected topics focus, for example, on DTC data, concerns of Indigenous peoples and eligibility for a registered disability savings plan.

Section 3 includes the appendices, which provide details not covered in the text.

Building Understanding: The First Report of the National Advisory Council on Poverty

In August 2018, the Government of Canada announced Opportunity for All – Canada's First Poverty Reduction Strategy. The Strategy included a commitment to the UN Sustainable Development Goal's target of reducing poverty by 20% by 2020 and 50% by 2030. Opportunity for All included the adoption of the Market Basket Measure (MBM) as Canada's Official Poverty Line and the creation of the National Advisory Council on Poverty (Council) to report on progress made toward the poverty reduction targets.

This is the first report of the National Advisory Council on Poverty. It continues Canada's discussion on poverty by bringing forward the voices of individuals with lived expertise of poverty. It details progress toward our poverty targets and recommends improvements to our poverty reduction efforts.

Opportunity for All – Canada’s First Poverty Reduction Strategy

Canada is a prosperous country, yet in 2015 roughly 1 in 8 Canadians lived in poverty. The vision of Opportunity for All – Canada's First Poverty Reduction Strategy is a Canada without poverty, because we all suffer when our fellow citizens are left behind. We are all in this together, from governments, to community organizations, to the private sector, to all Canadians who are working hard each and every day to provide for themselves and their families.

For the first time in Canada's history, the Strategy sets an official measure of poverty: Canada's Official Poverty Line, based on the cost of a basket of goods and services that individuals and families require to meet their basic needs and achieve a modest standard of living in communities across the country.

Opportunity for All sets, for the first time, ambitious and concrete poverty reduction targets: a 20% reduction in poverty by 2020 and a 50% reduction in poverty by 2030, which, relative to 2015 levels, will lead to the lowest poverty rate in Canada's history.

Through Opportunity for All, we are putting in place a National Advisory Council on Poverty to advise the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development on poverty reduction and to publicly report, in each year, on the progress that has been made toward poverty reduction.

The Government also proposes to introduce the first Poverty Reduction Act in Parliament in Canada’s history. This Act would entrench the targets, Canada's Official Poverty Line, and the Advisory Council into legislation.

The TIAA Institute-GFLEC Personal Finance Index (P-Fin Index)

The TIAA Institute-GFLEC Personal Finance Index (P-Fin Index) measures knowledge and understanding that enable sound financial decision making and effective management of personal finances among U.S. adults. The P-Fin Index is an annual survey developed by the TIAA Institute and the Global Financial Literacy Excellence Center, in consultation with Greenwald & Associates. It is unique in its breadth of questions and its coverage of the topics that measure financial literacy. The index is based on responses to 28 questions across eight functional areas: earning, consuming, saving, investing, borrowing/managing debt, insuring, comprehending risk, and go-to information sources.

Growing household financial instability: Is income volatility the hidden culprit?

On March 9th, 2018, leading American and Canadian researchers and policy makers from all sectors gathered in Toronto to explore the question: Growing household financial instability: Is income volatility the hidden culprit? The policy research symposium was an invitational event co-hosted by the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) and Prosper Canada. Its purpose was to shine a light on an issue that has gained prominence in US economic and policy circles but was just emerging as a topic for exploration in Canada in the context of
growing household financial instability.

This report summarizes key insights, conclusions and next steps from the symposium in the hopes that it will inform, catalyse and support further action on this issue. To view the conference agenda and links to all conference presentations, please see Appendix 1. Presentation videos can be found online at
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLC0J2kAG0MZZ5gd_6ZaHjqqEcenL2jCtP

Yukon Poverty Report Card 2020

This report was released as part of public education movement Campaign 2000's annual assessment of child and family poverty in Canada, providing an overview of the following key issues relating to poverty in Yukon:

the housing crisis and the challenge of food insecurity with a focus of the disproportionate impact on children and youth, Indigenous peoples, and others.
an overview of previous initiatives and ongoing work that can be leveraged to support a comprehensive approach to reducing poverty in the Yukon.
a description of some successful community-driven initiatives that are supporting improvements in the health and wellness of Yukoners.
ten recommendations including several policy proposals to improve the health and wellness of children, youth, and families specifically.

The Cost of Poverty in the Atlantic Provinces

This report costs poverty based on three broad measurable components: opportunity costs, remedial costs and intergenerational costs. The authors state that these costs could potentially be reallocated, and benefits could potentially be realized if all poverty were eliminated. The total cost of poverty in the Atlantic region ranges from $2 billion per year in Nova Scotia to $273 million in Prince Edward Island. It is close to a billion in Newfoundland and Labrador, $959 million, and $1.4 billion in New Brunswick. These costs represent a significant loss of economic growth of 4.76% of Nova Scotia’s GDP to 2.9% in Newfoundland and Labrador. The impact on Prince Edward Island’s GDP is 4.10%, and 3.71% in New Brunswick.
The purpose of this costing exercise is to illustrate the shared economic burden of poverty, and the urgency that exists for Atlantic Canadian governments to act to eradicate it.

Distributional and Fiscal Analysis of a National Guaranteed Basic Income

Several parliamentarians requested that the PBO prepare a distributional analysis of Guaranteed Basic Income using parameters set out in Ontario’s basic income pilot project, examine the impact across income quintiles, family types and gender, and identify the net federal revenue increase required to offset the net cost of the new program. This analysis also accounts for the behavioural response.

2021 Reports of the Auditor General of Canada to the Parliament of Canada – Report 4 – Canada Child Benefit

A report from Auditor General Karen Hogan concludes that the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) managed the Canada Child Benefit (CCB) program so that millions of eligible families received accurate and timely payments. The audit also reviewed the one-time additional payment of up to $300 per child issued in May 2020 to help eligible families during the COVID‑19 pandemic.

The audit noted areas where the agency could improve the administration of the program by changing how it manages information it uses to assess eligibility to the CCB. For example, better use of information received from other federal organizations would help ensure that the agency is informed when a beneficiary has left the country. This would avoid cases where payments are issued on the basis of outdated information. To enhance the integrity of the program, the agency should request that all applicants provide a valid proof of birth when they apply for the benefit.

The audit also raised the concept of female presumption and noted that given the diversity of families in Canada today, this presumption has had an impact on the administration of the Canada Child Benefit program.

Creating Change: Momentum’s Contribution to High-Cost Credit Reform in Alberta

As part of Momentum’s systems change planning process that was grounded in both participant and community experience, the issue of payday loans and other forms of high-cost credit (e.g., pawn, installment, rent-to-own, title and car loans) emerged as a priority issue for Momentum to address the financial barriers for people living on low incomes to exit poverty and build sustainable livelihoods.
To evaluate its work for high-cost credit reform in Calgary and Alberta in the period of 2012 to 2019, an outcome harvest was conducted. This evaluation reflects the collective efforts of multiple partners, identifies outcomes achieved as well as Momentum’s contribution to these outcomes.

Housing insecurity and the COVID-19 pandemic

CFPB released their first analysis of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on housing in the United States. Actions taken by both the public and private sector have, so far, prevented many families from losing their homes during the height of the public health crisis. However, as legal protections expire in the months ahead, over 11 million families — nearly 10 percent of U.S. households — are at risk of eviction and foreclosure.

Disability Inclusion Analysis of Lessons Learned and Best Practices of the Government of Canada’s Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic

This report provides the findings of research conducted to assist Employment and Social Development Canada in identifying good or best practices and lessons learned from the response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada.

Conducted in partnership with the DisAbled Women’s Network of Canada (DAWN), this research helps us better understand how diverse people with disabilities in Canada have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and the effects of government COVID-19 measures on diverse people with disabilities in Canada.

liveworkwellresearchcentre-disabilityinclusionanalysis

Cross Canada Check-up (updated March 2021)

Canada ranks consistently as one of the best places to live in the world and one of the wealthiest. When it comes to looking at the financial health of Canadian households, however, we are often forced to rely on incomplete measures, like income alone, or aggregate national statistics that tell us little about the distribution of financial health and vulnerability in our neighbourhoods, communities or provinces/territories.

The purpose of this report is to examine the financial heath and vulnerability of Canadian households in different provinces and territories using a new composite index of household financial health, the Neighbourhood Financial Health Index or NFHI.

This report is an update of Cross Canada Check-up: Provincial/territorial findings from Canada's Neighbourhood Financial Health Index published in 2018.

Update July 22, 2022: Please note that the Neighbourhood Financial Health Index is no longer available

Family violence in Canada: A statistical profile, 2019

Family violence in Canada: A statistical profile is an annual report produced by the Canadian Centre for Justice and Community Safety Statistics at Statistics Canada as part of the Federal Family Violence Initiative. Since 1998, this report has provided data on the nature and extent of family violence in Canada, as well as an analysis of trends over time. The information presented is used extensively to monitor changes that inform policy makers and the public.

COVID-19 in Canada: A One-year Update on Social and Economic Impacts

This summary provides highlights on the work the Agency has and is undertaking using existing and new data sources to provide critical insights on the social and economic impacts of COVID-19 on Canadians. It covers the first year of the pandemic from March 2020 to March 2021.

Study: Association between food insecurity and stressful life events among Canadian adults

The COVID-19 pandemic and the related business closures and lockdowns have given rise to a series of unprecedented socioeconomic and health-related challenges, one of which is increasing food insecurity.

Throughout the pandemic, Statistics Canada has continued to collect and release data on food insecurity in Canada—including exploring the link between food insecurity and mental health, financial stability and Indigenous people living in urban areas.

This study looks at the characteristics of food insecure Canadians, focusing on how losing a job, suffering an injury or illness, or a combination of events can increase the risk of food insecurity. This release compares the food security outcomes of two different subpopulations: those who had experienced a stressful life event and those who had not.

Social Determinants of Health: The Canadian Facts (2nd edition)

Social Determinants of Health: The Canadian Facts, 2nd edition, provides Canadians with an updated introduction to the social determinants of our health. We first explain how living conditions “get under the skin” to either promote health or cause disease. We then explain, for each of the 17 social determinants of health:

Why it is important to health;
How we compare on the social determinant of health to other wealthy developed nations; and
How the quality of the specific social determinant can be improved.

Improving the health of Canadians is possible but requires Canadians to think about health and its determinants in a more sophisticated manner than has been the case to date. The purpose of this second edition of Social Determinants of Health: The Canadian Facts is to stimulate research, advocacy, and public debate about the social determinants of health and means of improving their quality and making their distribution more equitable.

10: A Guide for a Community-Based COVID-19 Recovery

Our cities and communities are where people live. It is here we see the effects of public policy and it is here where we will address the issues that matter most to Canadians. The choices made today will impact Canada’s recovery from COVID-19. If we want a future where our cities are thriving, we need to work together to achieve a collective community-based response. We are all in this together and it will take all of us in a community to find our way through.

If you are a community leader, such as a mayor, an elected official, a business leader, a community activist, or a concerned citizen, this guide was written for you. We created it to be accessible and easy to use, with five sections and links to resources throughout.

Trends in Intergenerational Income Mobility and Income Inequality in Canada

In this paper, administrative Canadian tax data are exploited to compute measures of intergenerational income mobility at the national, provincial and territorial levels. This work provides detailed descriptive evidence on trends in social mobility. Five cohorts of Canadians, born between 1963 and 1985, are observed as teens living with their parents and again as adults in their late 20s and early 30s.

statscan-intergenerationalincomemobility

Economic Security Programs Reduce Overall Poverty, Racial and Ethnic Inequities

Testing the use of the Mint app in an interactive personal finance module

To advance understanding of effective financial education methods, the Global Financial Literacy Excellence Center (GFLEC) conducted an experiment using Mint, a financial improvement tool offered by Intuit, whose financial products include TurboTax and QuickBooks. This study measures Mint’s effectiveness at improving students’ financial knowledge, attitudes, and behavior. Students at the George Washington University participated in a half-day budgeting workshop and were exposed to either Mint, which is a real-time, automated platform, or Excel, which is an offline, static tool.

The authors found that participation in both workshops was associated with improved preparedness to have conversations about money matters with parents, a greater sense of financial autonomy, and an increased awareness of the importance of budgeting, but that participants in the Mint workshop were more likely to have a positive experience using the budgeting tool, to feel confident that they could achieve a financial goal, and to be engaged in budgeting one month after the workshop. Results show that even short financial education interventions can meaningfully influence students’ financial attitudes and behavior and that an interactive tool like Mint may have advantages over a more static tool like Excel.

The Inequality of Poverty

This report explores the connections between low income, poverty and protected characteristics, how these can shape the experience of poverty, and whether this can result in a similar inequality in terms of when and how poverty premiums are incurred. COVID-19 has thrown light on the link between insecure work, low incomes and protected characteristics, with an opportunity for this link to be formally recognised. The pandemic, and the economic consequences look likely to throw many more people into poverty, and this poverty is falling hardest on those with protected characteristics.

Investing in Financial Coaching with a Racial Equity Lens

In this moment, it is pivotal for philanthropy to support communities of color in achieving financial well-being. Combined with systems-change efforts that would create fairer economic opportunities and conditions, financial coaching is a vital component of providing needed support. Through background information, case stories, and key investment considerations, this brief focuses on financial coaching with a racial equity lens as an important strategy for helping people of color achieve equitable outcomes.

The COVID-19 pandemic and Indigenous people with a disability or long-term condition

This paper uses crowdsourced data to provide an overview of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the health, service access, and ability to meet basic needs of Indigenous participants with disabilities or long-term conditions. Changes in overall health and mental health are examined by disability type, age group and sex. The most commonly reported service disruptions since the start of the pandemic are also presented.

The crowdsourcing data reflected health and other disparities between Indigenous and non-Indigenous participants with a disability or long-term condition. Indigenous participants were more likely to report worsened overall health and mental health, service disruption, and a greater impact on their ability to meet essential needs.

Report on the Charities Program 2018 to 2020

The charitable sector is a major social and economic force, offering vital services to Canadians and people around the world. The Canada Revenue Agency's Charities Directorate employs an education-first approach and client-centric philosophy. It aims to promote compliance with the charity-related income tax legislation and regulations in order to support charitable giving and development of the sector, while protecting charities and the public from abuse.

This report provides an update on the Directorate’s activities over the past two years, including the initial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

State of Fair Banking in Canada 2020: Borrower and Lender Perspectives

The DUCA Impact Lab defines fair banking as any financial product or service that lives up to the following set of principles:

Pricing is clear, transparent, and well understood
Pricing is representative of the cost of funds, cost of administration and risk, rather than what the market will bear
It is clear to all parties how any personal data is being used by the lender
Personal data is only used for purposes agreed to by both the borrower and lender
The terms and conditions, including penalties and the rights of each party are clearly explained and well understood by both lender and borrower
Products are only recommended that will bring the borrower closer to their expressed goals
The borrower is clear on what the institution will do (and not do), with deposits to earn a return
The assessment of risk is objective, transparent and not prejudicial
Financial institution recommendations are not biased towards in-house product recommendations
Products empower consumers when they need access to financial services, not just when they do not

Their Fair Banking 2020 report presents data on the following areas:

Debt load and its impact on Canadians
Financial confidence
Divide between borrowers and lenders
How financial products are priced
Poor credit and ability to access to financial product and services
Demographic snapshot: People of colour and Indigenous Canadians

Pandemic to Prosperity – January 21, 2021: One year after the first announcement of Covid on U.S. soil

The National Conference on Citizenship (NCoC) developed the Pandemic to Prosperity series. It builds on NCoC’s data infrastructure and advocacy network developed for its national Civic Health Index, with The New Orleans Index, which informed many public and private decisions and actions post-Katrina. This series is designed to enable a solid understanding of the damage to lives and livelihoods as the pandemic continues to unfold, as the United States enters the era of vaccines, and the nation grapples with new shocks and stressors such as disasters and civil unrest; it will also examine aspirational goals around strong and accountable government, functioning institutions from child care to internet access to local news availability, effective civic participation, and outcomes for people by race regarding employment, health, housing, and more. With each new report in the series, indicators will change as the recovery transitions. This report highlights mostly state-level metrics with breakdowns by race, gender, and age where available, relying on both public and private data sources.

Together BC: British Columbia’s Poverty Reduction Strategy

British Columbia’s Poverty Reduction Strategy, sets a path to reduce overall poverty in B.C. by 25% and child poverty by 50% by 2024.

With investments from across Government, TogetherBC reflects government’s commitment to reduce poverty and make life more affordable for British Columbians. It includes policy initiatives and investments designed to lift people up, break the cycle of poverty and build a better B.C. for everyone.

Built on the principles of Affordability, Opportunity, Reconciliation, and Social Inclusion, TogetherBC focuses on six priority action areas:

More affordable housing for more people
Supporting families, children and youth
Expanding access to education and training
More opportunities, more jobs
Improving income supports
Investing in social inclusion

Mapping Toronto’s Digital Divide

This report analyzes Toronto's home internet and device access, quality, affordability, and usage, during pandemic closures of businesses, schools, and community organizations.

Read this report to help you:

Understand the demographics and geographies of who is not connected or cannot afford home internet in Toronto, with comparisons to provincial and national data, how they get online, and where in Toronto they live.
Unpack the digital divide beyond basic access: speed, affordability, quality, and devices per household member.
Identify gaps in existing programs and services meant to close the digital divide.

Food insecurity and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic

Canadians living in households that experienced food insecurity (insecure or inadequate access to food because of financial constraints) during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic were significantly more likely to perceive their mental health as fair or poor and to report moderate or severe anxiety symptoms than Canadians in food-secure households. Approximately one in seven Canadians (14.6%) were estimated to live in a food-insecure household in May 2020.

This study, released in Health Reports, is the first to examine the association between household food insecurity and self-perceived mental health and anxiety among Canadians during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study also estimated that 9.3% of Canadians living in food-insecure households reported having recently accessed free food or meals from a community organization.

Tax Time: An opportunity to Start Small and Save Up

This paper provides a description of how having liquid savings contributes to people’s financial stability and resiliency, and the unique opportunity that tax time offers to begin saving for the short and longer term. Starting to save or continuing to save when receiving a tax refund may lead to longer term financial well-being.

This paper also provides a few examples of how Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) programs creatively used Bureau tools, resources and technical assistance to encourage savings as well as some of the results they reported. It provides insights from a subgroup of the programs in the cohort that collected additional information from consumers on their intent to save, the various types of accounts into which they saved, and the goals they were striving for by saving. Finally, this paper offers recommendations on some strategies that can be employed to increase people’s interest and commitment to saving during the tax preparation process.

2019 Financial Literacy Annual Report

The 2019 Financial Literacy Annual Report of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau highlights the Bureau’s Start Small, Save Up campaign, the Office of Financial Education’s foundational research, in conjunction with the Office of Older Americans, to understand the pathways to financial well-being, the Office of Servicemembers Affairs’ Misadventures in Money Management online training program, the Office of Older Americans’ Managing Someone Else’s Money guides, and the Office of Community Affairs’ Your Money, Your Goals toolkit, along with other direct to consumer tools, community outreach channels, and areas of research.

Planning for tax-time savings

This report presents the results of a large-scale field experiment that the tax preparation company H&R Block (the Company) conducted in collaboration with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (the CFPB). The field experiment investigated whether customers could be encouraged, through consumer communications with and without the offer of a small financial incentive, to use a savings feature on a prepaid card to save a portion of their tax refunds from all sources, including state and federal refunds. The CFPB was particularly interested in whether consumers who receive the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) would be receptive to messages about saving.

2020 Financial Literacy Annual Report

The 2020 Financial Literacy Annual Report details the United States' Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection's financial literacy strategy and activities to improve the financial literacy of consumers. Congress specifically charged the Bureau with conducting financial education programs and ensuring consumers receive timely and understandable information to make responsible decisions about financial transactions. Empowering consumers to help themselves, protect their own interests, and choose the financial products and services that best fit their needs is vital to preventing consumer harm and building financial well-being. Overall, this report describes the Bureau’s efforts in a broad range of financial literacy areas relevant to consumers’ financial lives. It highlights our work, including the Bureau's:

Response to the COVID-19 pandemic
Pivot to financial resilience
Start Small, Save Up campaign
Foundational research to understand the pathways to financial well-being
Misadventures in Money Management online training program
Managing Someone Else’s Money guides
Your Money, Your Goals toolkit
Paying for College tool
Direct to consumer tools, community outreach channels, and areas of research

Retirement Security and Financial Decision-making: Research Brief

A growing number of retirees are not experiencing the expected gradual reduction in spending after they retire. This report summarizes the findings of a Bureau study into whether people who retired between 1992 and 2014 had the income, savings, and/or non-housing assets to maintain the same level of spending for at least five consecutive years after retiring. The study found that about half of people who retired between 1992 and 2014 had income, savings, and/or non-housing assets to maintain the same spending level for five consecutive years after retiring. In addition, the Bureau found that the ability to maintain the same spending level in the first five years in retirement was associated with large spending cuts in later years. The study helps identify ways to protect retirees from overspending their savings in early retirement.

Debt Relief Options in Canada – Long Term Outcome Comparison

This research report compares the long-term financial outcomes of Canadians, based on a study comparing consumers who used a debt management program (DMP), bankruptcy (BK), or a consumer proposal (CP) to obtain relief from debt.

creditcounsellingcanada-debtreliefoptions

Financial Life Stages of Older Canadians

This study, commissioned by the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) and conducted by the Brondesbury Group, provides some insights on the knowledge that older Canadians have about the financial realities of retirement and how they would apply that knowledge earlier in life if they are able to do so. The top financial concerns and main financial risks of older Canadians are identified for each life stage and how they are being managed are discussed.

Behavioural insights: key concepts, applications and regulatory considerations

There are numerous factors that influence the decisions that people make. Behavioural insights (BI) recognizes this and, through a combination of psychology, economic and more recently other behavioural research, examines how people are often neither deliberate nor rational in their decisions in the way that traditional models, strategies and policies assume.

Behavioural insights recognize how people actually behave versus traditional economic and market theory of people as rational actors. This report discusses how leading practitioners and regulators around the world are using behavioural insights to address issues in capital markets and improve outcomes for investors and market participants.

Encouraging Retirement Planning through Behavioural Insights

This research report identifies behaviourally informed ways that government, regulators, employers, and financial institutions can encourage retirement planning.

Thirty different initiatives and tactics that could be implemented by a variety of stakeholders to encourage retirement planning are proposed, and interventions are organized around four primary challenges people face in moving from having the intention to create a retirement plan to the action of making a plan: (1) it’s hard to start, (2) it’s easy to put off, (3) it’s easy to get overwhelmed and drop out, and (4) it’s hard to get the right advice.

The report also includes the results of a randomized experiment that evaluated several of the approaches proposed in the report. This report was published as part of the Ontario Securities Commission’s strategy and action plan to respond to the needs and priorities of Ontario seniors.

Cash Value: How The Financial Clinic Puts Money into the Pockets of Working Poor Families

Practitioners engaged in the nascent field of financial development lack a shared system of tracking and analyzing customer progress toward financial security. Practice leaders—ranging from direct service organizations such as the Chicago-based LISC to NeighborWorks America of Washington, D.C.—define customer progress by their individual outcomes frameworks. But without uniform outcomes measures to assess our customers’ progress—and thus, our own performance—the field as a whole is handicapped. Many factors contribute to this problem, two being most prominent: organizations are grounded in distinct theories of change, are funded by a variety of sources with their own expectations, and lack of clarity about how to measure aspects of our work.

Change Matters Volume 2: Assets

This is the second brief in a new series from The Financial Clinic. Change Matters leverages the data gathered through our revolutionary financial coaching platform, Change Machine, alongside the voices, wisdom, and lived experiences of Change Machine customers. We hope that our action oriented analysis will lead to positive social change. We believe we have a responsibility to ask the right questions, to use our data for good, and to inspire products, practice, and policy innovations that centralize the needs of the working-poor in building economic mobility.

The Pivotal Role of Human Service Practitioners in Building Financial Capability

This report shares remarks by Mae Watson Grote, Founder and CEO of The Financial Clinic, at the Coin A Better Future conference in May 2018.

The journey from financial insecurity to security, and eventually, mobility—what we conceptualize and even romanticize as the quintessential American experience—is one that far too often ensnares people at the insecurity stage, particularly those communities or neighborhoods that have historically been marginalized and deliberately excluded from the traditional pathway towards prosperity. Fraught with debt and credit crises, alongside a myriad of predatory products and lending practices, to a sense of stigma and shame many Americans feel because of their economic status, financial insecurity involves navigating a world on a daily basis where everyday needs are at the mercy of unjust and uncontrollable variables.

Effective Programs and Policies for Promoting Economic Well-Being

Overcoming Poverty Together 3: The New Brunswick Economic and Social Inclusion Plan 2020-2025

The new Economic and Social Inclusion plan for New Brunswick builds upon progress accomplished over the past 10 years. It includes nine priority actions divided into three pillars:

Income Security: includes actions addressing improvements to social assistance, changes to the Employment Standards Act and an increase of the capacity and sustainability of social enterprises.
Co-ordination of Programs and Services: includes actions towards a review of government programs, services and tax policies targeted to low-income individuals, and the implementation of a One-Stop-Shop service to help New Brunswickers access information and navigate government and community programs and services.
Inclusion and Healthy Communities: includes actions bringing improvement to mental and addictions services, the development of regional transportation plans, work with partners to provide inclusive opportunities for recreation activities for New Brunswickers on a low income, and the development of food programs in all schools.

The objective of the plan is to reduce income poverty by at least 50 per cent by 2030, in line with the objectives of Opportunity for All, Canada’s first poverty reduction strategy, and those of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainability of the United Nations.

State of the Child Report 2020: Protecting Child Rights in Times of Pandemic

The 2020 State of the Child Report includes six recommendations and gives a snapshot of some of the challenges New Brunswick children and youth will have to overcome as the province moves forward and juggles the new realities of public health measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 while respecting child rights.

State of the Child Report 2019

This report's release was part of Child Rights Education Week and also in celebration of the 30th anniversary of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). 2019 was declared the International Year of Indigenous Languages by the United Nations.

The report contains an overview of some of the serious challenges facing New Brunswick children and youth, including more than 200 statistics presented in the report’s Child Rights Indicators Framework. A special emphasis was placed on education rights.

Some of the concerning findings revealed in the report include:

nearly half of youths in poverty feel socially excluded;
half of all youths have no one they look up to; and
one in four youths with special needs does not feel that they belong at their school.

Financial Literacy and Wellness Among U.S. Women: Insights on Underrepresented Minority Women

The 2020 TIAA Institute-GFLEC Personal Finance Index (P-Fin Index) survey was fielded in January 2020 and included an oversample of women. This enables examining the state of financial literacy and financial wellness among U.S. women immediately before the onset of COVID-19. A more refined understanding of financial literacy among women, including areas of strength and weakness and variations among subgroups, can inform initiatives to improve financial wellness, particularly as the United States moves forward from the pandemic and its economic consequences.

The long-term labour market integration of refugee claimants who became permanent residents in Canada

Although refugee claimants seek asylum in Canada for humanitarian reasons, their labour market outcomes play a crucial role in their successful integration, which is why it is important to monitor the degree of labour market success achieved by refugee claimants. This study compares the long-term labour market outcomes of refugee claimants who eventually became permanent residents in Canada (RC-PRs) with those of government-assisted refugees (GARs) and privately sponsored refugees (PSRs), as well as with refugee claimants who did not become permanent residents in Canada (RC-NPRs).

Millennials and money: Financial preparedness and money management practices before COVID-19

Millennials (individuals age 18–37 in 2018) are the largest, most highly educated, and most diverse generation in U.S. history

This paper assesses the financial situation, money management practices, and financial literacy of millennials to understand how their financial behaviour has changed over the ten years following the Great Recession of 2008 and the situation they were in on the cusp of the current economic crisis (in 2018) due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Findings from the National Financial Capability Study (NFCS) show that millennials tend to rely heavily on debt, engage frequently in expensive short- and long-term money management, and display shockingly low levels of financial literacy. Moreover, student loan burden and expensive financial decision making increased significantly from 2009 to 2018 among young adults.

Financial wellness: What is it? How do we make it happen?

Achieving financial wellness takes more than just financial resources. It also requires the ability to make good financial decisions and engage in sound money- management practices. To inform policies and programs that promote financial wellness—including those sponsored by employers—the TIAA Institute and the Global Financial Literacy Excellence Center held a roundtable discussion featuring a range of experts. This report presents the key findings and recommendations that emanated from the discussion. To learn more about the roundtable itself, visit TIAA Institute events page.

Launch of the OECD/INFE 2020 International Survey of Adult Financial Literacy

This report provides measures of financial inclusion including elements of financial resilience and a newly-created score on financial well-being.

Twenty-six countries and economies, including 12 OECD countries, participated in this international survey of financial literacy, using the 2018 OECD/INFE toolkit to collect cross-comparable data. The survey results report the overall financial literacy scores, as computed following the OECD/INFE methodology and definition, and their elements of knowledge, behaviour, and attitudes.

The data used in this report are drawn from national surveys undertaken using and submitted to the OECD as part of a co-ordinated measurement exercise; as well as data gathered as part of the OECD/INFE Technical Assistance Project for Financial Education in South East Europe.

The poverty premium: a customer perspective

Fair By Design and Turn2Us (in the United Kingdom) commissioned this research to explore recent changes in the poverty premium landscape, to understand if they are having any impact on the cost of premiums, or the number of people who pay them. Importantly, we did this through the lens of the low-income customer in order to hear first-hand how they experience these extra costs; how they see the problems with the current system; how they respond to initiatives and interventions designed to reduce poverty premiums; and the changes they feel would make the most difference to them and their household.

This research report:

Describes recent initiatives to reduce the poverty premium and reviews any evidence of what works.
Re-calculates the level and types of poverty premiums paid by low-income households in 2019. We focus on high-cost credit use, energy tariffs and insurance (specifically home contents, car and specific item insurance) because our previous work identified these as potentially the most harmful to low-income households (Davies et al, 2016; Davies and Finney, 2017).
Looks in detail at the financial difficulties experienced by low-income households, their impact on individuals and families, and the things that prevent low-income households from getting a better deal.
Sets out ‘user-led’ solutions and ideas that people living in poverty feel could help to reduce the extra costs they pay.

How to really build financial capability

Recent years have seen an explosion in interventions designed to improve financial outcomes of participants. Yet on-the-ground evidence suggests that not all financial education programs are equally successful at achieving this aim.

This paper examines the difference between interventions that work, and those than do not. It attempts to answer the question: “How do you actually build financial capability?” In doing so, we aim to help interested parties enhance the effectiveness of their programs and policies by providing them with evidence-based recommendations to drive positive outcomes in participants.

Race, Ethnicity, and the Financial Lives of Young Adults: Exploring Disparities in Financial Health Outcomes

Young adults of color, particularly those who are Black and Latinx, have borne a disproportionate share of economic hardship, as decades of systemic racism have made their communities more vulnerable to the effects of these crises. This report shares new data on the financial lives of young adults, focusing on Black and Latinx young adults, in order to inform policies, programs, and solutions that can improve financial health for all.

Quarterly Consumer Credit Trends: Recent trends in debt settlement and credit counseling

This report used a longitudinal, nationally-representative sample of approximately five million de-identified credit records maintained by one of the three nationwide consumer reporting agencies. Trends in debt settlement and credit counseling during the Great Recession and in recent years are presented. This report shows that nearly one in thirteen consumers with a credit record had at least one account settled through a creditor or had account payments managed by a credit counseling agency from 2007 through 2019. Since 2016, the number of debt settlements has increased steadily, while credit counseling numbers are relatively unchanged.

Targeting credit builder loans: Insights from a credit builder loan evaluation

This report presents the results of a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) funded evaluation of a Credit Builder Loan (CBL) product. CBLs are designed for consumers looking to establish a credit score or improve an existing one, while at the same time giving them a chance to build their savings.

The study used random assignment to explore four research questions:

How does the CBL affect participants’ likelihood of having a credit score?
For participants who already had a credit score, how does the CBL affect their score?
How likely are CBL borrowers to make late payments on the CBL and other loans?
Does the CBL affect participants’ savings balances?

The Early Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Credit Applications

This report documents the early effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on credit applications, which are among the very first credit market measures to change in credit report data in response to changes in economic activity. Using the Bureau’s Consumer Credit Panel, how applications for auto loans, mortgages, credit cards, and other loans changed week-by-week during the month of March, compared to the same time in previous years was studied.

Beyond Hunger: the hidden impacts of food insecurity

This report illustrates the hidden impacts of food insecurity in people’s lives through a survey of 561 people in 22 communities across Canada. The people interviewed shared that food insecurity makes them ill, breaks down relationships, makes it harder to get stable work, and fully participate in society.

Roadblock to Recovery: Consumer debt of low- and moderate-income Canadians in the time of COVID-19

Almost half of low-income households and 62 per cent of moderate-income households carry debt, with households on low incomes spending 31 per cent of their income on debt repayments, according to a new report published by national charity, Prosper Canada.

This report analyzes the distribution, amount and composition of non-mortgage debt held by low- and moderate-income Canadian households and explores implications for federal and provincial/territorial policy makers as they develop and implement COVID-19 economic recovery plans and fulfill their respective regulatory roles.

Accessing Financial Literacy Education Programs: Barriers and opportunities for women living on low incomes

When women living on low incomes are able to access effective Financial Literacy Education (FLE) programs, they will be better positioned to fully participate in economic life, help build a stronger economy, and improve the quality of life for themselves, their families, and their communities.

This needs assessment was part of Families Canada’s 3-year project titled “Increasing financial literacy opportunities for women living on low incomes: An action plan for change.” Partners included the Canadian Credit Union Association and Vancity. Funding was generously provided by the Department for Women and Gender Equality. The project seeks to ensure organizations have the information they need to adapt their existing financial literacy initiatives and programs to better meet the needs of women living on low incomes.

Cities Reducing Poverty: 2020 Impact Report

The Vibrant Communities – Cities Reducing Poverty 2020 Impact Report is the Tamarack Institute's first attempt at capturing and communicating national trends in poverty reduction and the important ways in which member Cities Reducing Poverty collaboratives are contributing to those changes.

This impact report is meant for poverty reduction organizers and advocates, and public decision-makers to get a sense for how collaborative, multi-sectoral local roundtables with comprehensive plans contribute to poverty reduction in their communities and beyond; and spotlights high-impact initiatives that are demonstrating promising results.

Report on Income and Canadian Financial Consumer Complaints

Lifting the Weight: Consumer Debt Solutions Framework

Aspen Financial Security Program’s the Expanding Prosperity Impact Collaborative (EPIC) has identified seven specific consumer debt problems that result in decreased financial insecurity and well-being. Four of the identified problems are general to consumer debt: households’ lack of savings or financial cushion, restricted access to existing high-quality credit for specific groups of consumers, exposure to harmful loan terms and features, and detrimental delinquency, default, and collections practices. The other three problems relate to structural features of three specific types of debt: student loans, medical debt, and government fines and fees.

This report presents a solutions framework to address all seven of these problems. The framework includes setting one or more tangible goals to achieve for each problem, and, for each goal, the solutions different sectors (financial services providers, governments, non-profits, employers, educational or medical institutions) can pursue.

Indicators for Financial Empowerment: Learnings from the National Financial Empowerment Champions Project

English

Indicators for financial empowerment

French

Indicateurs d’autonomisation financiere

Canada’s Forgotten Poor? Putting Singles Living in Deep Poverty on the Policy Radar

This report presents the findings of extensive research about employable singles on social assistance undertaken by Toronto Employment and Social Services, in partnership with the Ontario Centre for Workforce Innovation. Drawing on data from 69,000 singles who were receiving social assistance in Toronto in 2016, and 51 interviews with randomly selected participants, the report highlights these individuals’ characteristics, their complex needs, and the barriers they face in moving off social assistance and into employment. Complementing the quantitative analysis, the interviews provide important insights into the daily realities of participants’ lives and their journeys on and off assistance.

The Economic Toll of COVID-19 on SaverLife Members

SaverLife is an organization that seeks to advance savings programs, analytic insights, and policy initiatives through a network of employers, financial institutions, nonprofits and advocacy groups in the United States.

This report provides insight into the financial challenges presented by their savings program members during the COVID-19 pandemic from March to August of 2020.

Debt settlement and financial recovery companies: too risky an option?

This report presents a study of the debt settlement and financial recovery industry and examines Canadian consumer issues from these services.

Data is gathered from company websites and contracts as well as customer surveys and questionnaires completed by governmental and non-governmental organizations. A comparative study of legislation applicable to the industry is also conducted.

A Feminist Economic Recovery Plan for Canada: Making the Economy Work for Everyone

This report offers an intersectional perspective on how Canada can recover from the COVID-19 crisis and weather difficult times in the future, while ensuring the needs of all people in Canada are considered in the formation of policy.
YWCA Canada and the University of Toronto’s Institute for Gender and the Economy (GATE) offer this joint assessment to highlight the important principles that all levels of government should consider as they develop and implement policies to spur post-pandemic recovery.

Hunger Lives Here: Risks and Challenges Faced by Food Bank Clients During COVID-19

This report provides quantitative and qualitative data about the experience of hunger and poverty in Toronto during COVID-19. Based on phone surveys with over 220 food bank clients in May and June 2020 and an analysis of food bank client intake data, the report demonstrates that COVID-19 has led to increased reliance on food banks. The rate of new clients accessing food banks has tripled since the pandemic began. Among new clients, 76% report that they began accessing food banks as a result of COVID-19 and the associated economic downturn.

Changes in the socioeconomic situation of Canada’s Black population

This study provides disaggregated statistics on the socioeconomic outcomes of the Black population by generation status (and immigrant status), sex and country of origin, and is intended to illustrate and contribute to the relevance of disaggregation in understanding these populations and the diversity of their situation. This study sheds light on some of the issues faced by the Black population and shows differences that exist compared with the rest of the working-age population, by sex, generation and place of origin, from 2001 to 2016.

Race to Lead: Women of Color in the Nonprofit Sector

This report reveals that women of color encounter systemic obstacles to their advancement over and above the barriers faced by white women and men of color. Education and training are not the solution—women of color with high levels of education are more likely to be in administrative roles and are more likely to report frustrations about inadequate and inequitable salaries. BMP’s call to action focuses on systems change, organizational change, and individual support for women of color in the sector.

From Emergency to Opportunity: Building a Resilient Alberta Nonprofit Sector After COVID-19

This report presents an analysis of the impact of COVID-19 on the nonprofit sector drawn from data collected in CCVO's Alberta Nonprofit Survey, data from surveys by the Alberta
Nonprofit Network, Imagine Canada, and partner organizations across the country.

The analysis in this report shows that the effects on the nonprofit sector have been magnified through increased service demand, decreased revenue, and diminished organizational capacity coupled by delays in support and inadequate recognition for the leadership role that the sector is being called upon to play.

How Are the Most Vulnerable Households Navigating the Financial Impact of COVID-19?

The COVID-19 pandemic has already had an unprecedented impact on the financial lives of households across the United States. During June and July 2020, Prosperity Now conducted a national survey of lower-income households to better understand the circumstances these households are confronted with and the strategies they use to secure resources to navigate this crisis.

Measuring financial health: What policymakers need to know

This report provides an overview of financial health and the policy responses around the world. Based on this, and the key questions of whether financial health measure more than income and if financial inclusion supports financial health, the report offers recommendations to policy makers on strategies for measuring the financial health of their population.

Weathering Volatility 2.0: A Monthly Stress Test to Guide Savings

In this report, the JPMorgan Chase Institute uses administrative bank account data to measure income and spending volatility and the minimum levels of cash buffer families need to weather adverse income and spending shocks.

Inconsistent or unpredictable swings in families’ income and expenses make it difficult to plan spending, pay down debt, or determine how much to save. Managing these swings, or volatility, is increasingly acknowledged as an important component of American families’ financial security. This report makes further progress toward understanding how volatility affects families and what levels of cash buffer they need to weather adverse income and spending shocks.

U.S. Financial Health Pulse: 2019 Trends Report

This report presents findings from the second annual U.S. Financial Health Pulse, which is designed to explore how the financial health of people in America is changing over time. The annual Pulse report scores survey respondents against eight indicators of financial health -- spending, bill payment, short-term and long-term savings, debt load, credit score, insurance coverage, and planning -- to assess whether they are “financially healthy,” “financially coping,” or “financially vulnerable”. The data in the Pulse report provide critical insights that go beyond aggregate economic indicators, such as employment and market performance, to provide a more accurate picture of the financial lives of people in the U.S.

Financial well-being in America

This report provides a view into the state of financial well-being in America. It presents results from the National Financial Well-Being Survey, conducted in late 2016. The findings include the distribution of financial well-being scores for the overall adult population and for selected subgroups, which show that there is wide variation in how people feel about their financial well-being. The report provides insight into which subgroups are faring relatively well and which ones are facing greater financial challenges, and identifies opportunities to improve the financial well-being of significant portions of the U.S. adult population through practice and research.

Credit Characteristics, Credit Engagement Tools, and Financial Well-Being

This report presents results from a joint research study between the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and Credit Karma. The purpose of the study is to examine how consumers’ subjective financial well-being relates to objective measures of consumers’ financial health, specifically, consumers’ credit report characteristics. The study also seeks to relate consumers’ subjective financial well-being to consumers’ engagement with financial information through educational tools.

Understanding the Pathways to Financial Well-Being

The National Financial Well-Being Survey Report is the second report in a series from the Understanding the Pathways to Financial Well-Being project.

In order to measure and study the factors that support consumer financial well-being, in 2015, the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (the Bureau) contracted with Abt Associates to field a large, national survey to collect information on the financial well-being of U.S. adults. The present report uses data collected from that survey to answer a series of questions on the relationship among financial well-being and four key factors: objective financial situation, financial behavior, financial skill, and financial knowledge. In this study, we aim to enhance understanding of financial well-being and the factors that may support it by exploring these relationships.

New Risks and Emerging Technologies: 2019 BBB Scam Tracker Risk Report

The Better Business Bureau Institute for Marketplace Trust (BBB Institute) is the 501(c)(3) educational foundation of the Better Business Bureau (BBB). BBB Institute works with local BBBs across North America.

This report uses data submitted by consumers to BBB Scam Tracker to shed light on how scams are being perpetrated, who is being targeted, which scams have the greatest impact, and much more. The BBB Risk Index helps consumers better understand which scams pose the highest risk by looking at three factors—exposure, susceptibility, and monetary loss. The 2019 BBB Scam Tracker Risk Report is a critical part of BBB’s ongoing work to contribute new, useful data and analysis to further the efforts of all who are engaged in combating marketplace fraud.

Update February 24, 2022: BBB Scam Tracker- Risk Report 2020

Costing a Guaranteed Basic Income During the COVID Pandemic

The Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) supports Parliament by providing economic and financial analysis for the purposes of raising the quality of parliamentary debate and promoting greater budget transparency and accountability.

This report responds to a request from Senator Yuen Pau Woo to estimate the post-COVID cost of a guaranteed basic income (GBI) program, using parameters set out in Ontario’s basic income pilot project. In addition, the report provides an estimate of the federal and provincial programs for low-income individuals and families, including many non-refundable and refundable tax credits that could be replaced by the GBI program.

Economic and Fiscal Snapshot 2020

The COVID-19 crisis is a public health crisis and an economic crisis. The Economic and Fiscal Snapshot 2020 lays out the steps Canada is taking to stabilize the economy and protect the health and economic well-being of Canadians and businesses across the country.

Taxpayer Rights in the Digital Age

This paper explores the intersection of digital innovation, digital services, access, and taxpayer rights in the Canadian context, in light of the experiences of vulnerable populations in Canada, from the perspective of the Taxpayers’ Ombudsman. Many aspects of the CRA’s digitalization can further marginalize vulnerable populations but there are also opportunities for digital services to help vulnerable persons in accessing the CRA’s services.

Reaching Out: Improving the Canada Revenue Agency’s Community Volunteer Income Tax Program

The CVITP provides people, who may otherwise have difficulty accessing income tax and benefit return filing services, with an opportunity to meet their filing obligations. Often, filing a return is required to gain access to, or continue to receive, the government credits and benefits designed to support them.

This report illustrates that the CRA needs to take a broad, country-wide perspective of the CVITP, while also taking into consideration regional and other differences. Services offered and training provided to volunteers need to reflect the realities of the diverse regional, geographic, socio-economic, workforce, and vulnerable, sectors throughout Canada. Different areas of the country will have different primary needs from the CVITP. The CRA needs to address those needs, both in its actions through the CVITP, as well as in the training provided to CVITP volunteers and the support given to partner organizations.

Defining disability for social assistance in Ontario: Options for moving forward

Narrowing the definition of disability used by the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) could have serious implications. Improving the program’s assessment process would yield better results for applicants, Ontario's social safety net, and the government.

This report explores the role of ODSP, the risks of narrowing the definition of disability, models of disability assessment from other jurisdictions, and alternative ways that the government could reform the program. Most importantly, the paper recommends that the Ministry focus on improving ODSP’s initial application process. A simplified assessment system would save time and money for applicants, medical professionals, legal clinics, adjudicators, and the Social Benefits Tribunal. These savings should be reinvested back into social assistance.

Understanding the perceived mental health of Canadians during the COVID-19 pandemic

While the physical health implications of the COVID‑19 pandemic are regularly publicly available, the mental health toll on Canadians is unknown. This article examines the self-perceived mental health of Canadians during the COVID‑19 pandemic and explores associations with various concerns after accounting for socioeconomic and health factors.

Just over half of Canadians aged 15 and older (54%) reported excellent or very good mental health during the COVID‑19 pandemic. Several concerns were also associated with mental health. Notably, after considering the effects of socioeconomic and health characteristics, women, youth, individuals with a physical health condition and those who were very or extremely concerned with family stress from confinement were less likely to report excellent or very good mental health.

Providing one-on-one financial coaching to newcomers: Insights for frontline service providers

One-on-one financial help is a key financial empowerment (FE) intervention that Prosper Canada is working to pilot, scale and integrate into other social services, in collaboration with FE partners across the country. FE is increasingly gaining traction as an effective poverty reduction measure. FE interventions include financial coaching and supports that assist people to build money management skills, access income benefits, tackle debt, learn about safe financial products and services and find ways to save for emergencies.

This report shares insights on providing one-on-one financial coaching to newcomers captured through two financial coaching pilot projects that Prosper Canada conducted in collaboration with several frontline community partners.

Supporting Financial Health Fintechs in Canada: Trends, Challenges, and Opportunities

COVID-19 and support for seniors: Do seniors have people they can depend on during difficult times?

In an effort to avoid the spread of COVID-19, Canadians are engaging in physical distancing to minimize their social contact with others. However, social support systems continue to play an important role during this time. In particular, seniors living in private households may depend on family, friends or neighbours to deliver groceries, medication and other essential items to their homes. This study examines the level of social support reported by seniors living in private households.

Voice of Experience: Engaging people with lived experience of poverty in consultations

The engagement of Canadians with lived experiences of poverty in government consultations on poverty reduction is critical. But as hard as governments work to try to include people living in poverty as full participating members in their consultation processes, there are many barriers that continue to impede their participation. This paper explores what these barriers and impediments are.

Building Sustainable Communities

Social Prescribing in Ontario

Research has shown that even short-term isolation can have long-term impacts to mental health. Social and community supports are essential for vulnerable persons, especially during times of severe impacts to routine and imposed social distancing. This report discusses the findings of the Rx: Community - Social Prescribing in Ontario pilot, using social prescribing as a tool to better connect social and clinical care and broaden the definition of health and well-being.

Implementing the National Strategy for Financial Literacy – Count me In, Canada

The Government of Canada has long recognized the need to strengthen financial consumers’ knowledge and decision-making abilities, and has made it a key priority. When more Canadians feel more in control of their finances, the benefits are immediate and potentially far-reaching.

In this report, the Financial Consumer Protection Agency (FCAC) looks back over the past four years, beginning in 2015 with the release of the National Strategy for Financial Literacy—Count me in, Canada and its vision to strengthen the financial well-being
of all Canadians. They report on progress in helping Canadians strengthen their financial knowledge and decision-making, manage their day-to-day finances, and plan for their futures.

Canadian Income Survey, 2018

This report from Statistics Canada shares data on median after-tax income and overall poverty rate decline based on 2018 data.

Basic Income: Some Policy Options for Canada

As the need for basic income grows, the Basic Income Canada Network (BICN) is often asked how Canada could best design and pay for it. To answer that in a detailed way, BICN asked a team to model some options that are fair, effective and feasible in Canada. The three options in this report do just that. The three options demonstrate that it is indeed possible for Canada to have a basic income that is progressively structured and progressively funded. BICN wants governments, especially the federal government, to take this seriously—and to act.

Evaluating Tax Time Savings Interventions and Behaviors

This report explores the behaviors and outcomes related to savings and financial well-being of low- and moderate-income (LMI) tax filers in the United States. Findings from research conducted by Prosperity Now, the Social Policy Institute at Washington University in St. Louis and SaverLife (formerly EARN) during the 2019 tax season are presented. This analysis is unique in that it compares tax filers' outcomes over time across three different tax-filing and savings program platforms: volunteer income tax assistance (VITA) sites, online tax filing through the Turbo Tax Free File Product (TTFFP), and SaverLife's saving program.

prosperity now - taxtime savings behaviours

Community Benefits of Supportive Housing

This report highlights mostly B.C.-based research and includes key information, facts, and statistics to answer common questions that neighbours, local government, and other stakeholders may have about supportive housing. The easy-to-read question and answer format also includes infographics to showcase the benefits of supportive housing in neighbourhoods across British Columbia and beyond.

State of homelessness in Canada 2016

Ending homelessness in Canada requires partnerships across public, private, and not-for-profit sectors. Preventative measures, and providing safe, appropriate, and affordable housing with supports for those experiencing homelessness is needed.

This paper provides a series of joint recommendations – drafted by the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness and the Canadian Alliance to end Homelessness – for the National Housing Strategy.

The Collaborative to Advance Social Health Integration: What We’re Learning About Delivering Whole-Person Care

The Collaborative to Advance Social Health Integration (CASHI) is composed of a community of 21 innovative primary care teams and community partners committed to increasing the number of patients, families and community members who have access to the essential resources they need to be healthy. CASHI focused efforts to improve social health practices, spread them to additional sites, and work toward financial sustainability plans.

This report discusses the key learnings and successes as a result of this 18-month collaboration to spread social health integration.

Comparison of Provincial and Territorial Child Benefits and Recommendations for British Columbia

First Call BC Child and Youth Advocacy Coalition has been tracking child and family poverty rates in BC for more than two decades. Every November, with the support of the Social Planning and Research Council of BC (SPARC BC), a report card is released with the latest statistics on child and family poverty in BC and recommendations for policy changes that would reduce these poverty levels.

This report presents data from the latest report card released by First Call on a cross-Canada comparison of child benefits.

Working Without a Net: Rethinking Canada’s social policy in the new age of work

This report explores the implications of new technologies on Canada’s economy and labour market and the adequacy of current social programs and policies supporting workers.

A Scan of Municipal Financial Capability Efforts

As the connection between financial capability and social mobility is made evident, both public and private actors are increasingly interrogating the drivers of personal financial health and investing in the innovation of products and services designed to improve the condition of economically vulnerable individuals.

This high-level scan of existing U.S. financial capability initiatives and the ways they fit together lends insight into the role that cities and their core institutions can play in promoting residents’ personal economic growth. This study, funded by JPMorgan Chase & Co. and executed by Urbane Development (UD), leverages
primary and secondary research to explore features of the broad range of programs and policy efforts that make up the financial capability landscape of the U.S. This examination focuses particularly on programs deployed by and within municipalities.

State of Fair Banking in Canada

Everyone needs to bank and nearly everyone has a relationship with at least one financial institution. Financial Institutions need relationships with consumers too, in order to thrive as businesses. The role these relationships play in financial decision making for Canadians is an important consideration for anyone seeking to understand the financial health of Canadians and the impact of the banking sector in Canada. This report discusses the findings from a national sample of both banking consumers and lenders who were asked about their perspectives on fairness, access, credibility and transparency.

Defining Disposable income in the Market Basket Measure

This paper discusses the concept of disposable income used in the MBM. Disposable income is a measure of the means available to a Canadian family to meet its basic needs and achieve a modest standard of living. The disposable income of families surveyed in the Canadian Income Survey (CIS) is compared to the cost of the MBM basket for the size of the family and the region, and families with disposable incomes below that cost are deemed to be living in poverty.

Financial Health Index: 2019 Findings and 3-Year Trends Report

This report explores consumer financial health, wellness/ stress and resilience for Canadians across a range of financial health indicators, demographics and all provinces excluding Quebec. This report provides topline results from the 2019 Financial Health Index study and three-year trends from 2017 to 2019.

OECD/INFE Report on Financial Education in APEC Economies: Policy and practice in a digital world

This report responds to a call made by APEC Finance Ministers at their 23rd Ministerial Meeting in Lima in 2016 to advance “the design and implementation of financial literacy policies building on the expertise and standards developed by the OECD International Network on Financial Education”.

The findings illustrate that the majority of APEC economies are well-advanced in their efforts to collect relevant data, implement appropriate financial education policies, and address the remaining issues related to financial literacy, inclusion and consumer
protection. They are applying international best practices and making good use of available tools and resources to develop and refine strategic approaches and specific initiatives. However, there is still some way to go in ensuring that everyone living in an APEC
economy has the financial literacy that they need and concerns about financial fraud or abuse, the high complexity of financial services and the low financial literacy of specific population groups are driving policy interest in improving financial education.

Ageing and Financial Inclusion: 8 key steps to design a better future

The G20 Fukuoka Policy Priorities for Ageing and Financial Inclusion is jointly prepared by the GPFI and the OECD. The document identifies eight priorities to help policy makers, financial service providers, consumers and other actors in the real economy to identify and address the challenges associated with ageing populations and the global increase in longevity. They reflect policies and practices to improve the outcomes of both current generations of older people and future generations.

How personality traits and economic beliefs shape financial capability and literacy

An emerging body of international literature is beginning to reveal a significant connection between financial capability metrics and personality, suggesting that what influences our financial well-being may be more nuanced than we previously thought.

This report investigates how the inclusion of personality traits impacts the analysis of the gender difference in financial capability scores.

The impact of personality traits: a fresh look at gender differences in financial literacy

An emerging body of international literature is beginning to reveal a significant connection between financial capability metrics and personality, suggesting that what influences our financial well-being may be more nuanced than we previously thought.

This study investigates how the inclusion of personality traits impacts the analysis of the gender difference in financial capability scores.

Canada’s Colour Coded Income Inequality

Canada’s population is increasingly racialized. The 2016 census counted 7.7 million racialized individuals in Canada. That number represented 22% of the population, up sharply from 16% just a decade earlier. Unfortunately, the rapid growth in the racialized population is not being matched by a corresponding increase in economic equality. This paper uses 2016 census data to paint a portrait of income inequality between racialized and non-racialized Canadians. It also looks at the labour market discrimination faced by racialized workers in 2006 and 2016.

These data provide a glimpse of the likely differences in wealth between racialized and non-racialized Canadians. This paper also explores the relationship between race, immigration and employment incomes.

Taken together, the data point to an unequivocal pattern of racialized economic inequality in Canada. In the absence of bold policies to combat racism, this economic inequality shows no signs of disappearing.

System transformation in Ontario Works: Considerations for Ontario

This paper focuses on proposed system transformation in Ontario Works, and explores the possibilities and limitations associated with the proposed changes in 2018. First, it looks at the broader context within which the government’s social assistance reforms are taking place. Second, it provides an overview of what is known about some of the structural changes in social assistance to date, as well as an overview of experiences in other jurisdictions that have undertaken similar reforms. In conclusion, the paper outlines some key considerations and unresolved questions that the government will need to address before it can move forward with a plan for reform.

Creating a Strong Foundation for Change

This guide is designed to be a resource for programs working with low income families to use when anticipating or implementing a new approach, such as coaching, to doing business. It helps you to systematically – and honestly – look at your foundational readiness for change, so that the improvements you want to make will take root and grow in fertile ground. Making time and space to look deeply into your organization can offer the opportunity to reconsider what quality service delivery looks like, help you discover how coaching (or other techniques) could be a tool, and plan efficiently on where it fits best into your existing context.

Investor Protection Clinic and Living Lab: 2019 Annual Report

The Investor Protection Clinic, the first clinic of its kind in Canada, provides free legal advice to people who believe their investments were mishandled and who cannot afford a lawyer. The Clinic was founded together with the Canadian Foundation for Advancement of Investor Rights (FAIR Canada), an organization that aims to enhance the rights of Canadian shareholders and individual investors.

The 2019 Annual Report summarizes the work of The Clinic, including description of the work and types of cases, example case scenarios of the clients who benefited from The Clinic's services, client data and demographics, and recommendations.

Welfare in Canada, 2018

These reports look at the total incomes available to those relying on social assistance (often called “welfare”), taking into account tax credits and other benefits along with social assistance itself. The reports look at four different household types for each province and territory. Established by the Caledon Institute of Social Policy, Welfare in Canada is a continuation of the Welfare Incomes series originally published by the National Council of Welfare, based on the same approach.

The shared path: First Nations financial wellness

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The shared path: First Nations financial wellness

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Un parcours commun : Le bien-être financier des Premières Nations

Urban Spotlight: Neighbourhood Financial Health Index findings for Canada’s cities

This report examines the financial health and vulnerability of households in Canada’s 35 largest cities, using a new composite index of household financial health at the neighbourhood level, the Neighbourhood Financial Health Index or NFHI. The NFHI is designed to shine a light on the dynamics underlying national trends, taking a closer look at what is happening at the provincial/territorial, community and neighbourhood levels.

Update July 22, 2022: Please note that the Neighbourhood Financial Health Index is no longer available

Homelessness and Brain Injury – Program Findings

Incentivized Savings: An Effective Approach at Tax Time

A tax refund is often the largest amount of money a low-income household will receive throughout the year. It offers a unique opportunity to think long term and save for the future. Thus, in 2018, Momentum launched a new pilot program called Tax Time Savings (TTS), presented by ATB. It was through a dedicated collaboration with ATB Financial, Aspire Calgary, Sunrise Community Link Resource Centre, Centre for Newcomers, and First Lutheran Church Calgary that made it all possible.

This report shares results and highlights from the 2018 Tax Time Savings program. 93% of participants earned the maximum match of $500.

Trends in the Citizenship Rate Among New Immigrants to Canada

This Economic Insights article examines trends in the citizenship rate (the percent of immigrants who become Canadian citizens) among recent immigrants who arrived in Canada five to nine years before a given census. The citizenship rate among recent immigrants aged 18 and over peaked in 1996 and declined continuously to 2016. Most of this decline occurred after 2006. The citizenship rate declined most among immigrants with low family income, poor official language skills, and lower levels of education. There was also significant variation in the decline among immigrants from different source regions, with the decline largest among Chinese immigrants.

Saving for Now and Saving for Later: Rainy Day Savings Accounts to Boost Low-Wage Workers’ Financial Security

This report discusses the vulnerability of millions of people in the US who lack adequate emergency savings. A workplace-based solution—rainy day savings accounts— can potentially help workers with low savings weather financial shocks.

Running in Place: Why the Racial Wealth Divide Keeps Black and Latino Families From Achieving Economic Security

This report examines data from the Federal Reserve System’s 2016 Survey of Consumer Finances to understand how the wealth of median Black, Latino and White families have changed since the findings of its previous survey were released in 2013.

Tax Time: An opportunity to Start Small and Save Up

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s continuing effort to encourage saving at tax time is now part of a larger Bureau initiative to support people in building liquid savings. The new initiative is called Start Small, Save Up. The vision for Start Small, Save Up is to increase people’s financial well-being through education, partnerships, research, and policy or regulatory improvements that increase people's opportunities to save and empower them to realize their personal savings goals.

This paper provides a description of how having liquid savings contributes to people’s financial stability and resiliency, and the unique opportunity that tax time offers to begin saving for the short and longer term. Starting to save or continuing to save when receiving a tax refund may lead to longer term financial well-being.

The Present and Future of Bank On Account Data: Pilot Results and Prospective Data Collection

Bank On coalitions are locally-led partnerships between local public officials; city, state, and federal government agencies; financial institutions; and community organizations that work together to help improve the financial stability of unbanked and underbanked individuals and families in their communities. The CFE Fund’s Bank On national initiative builds on this grassroots movement, supporting local coalitions with strategic and financial support, as well as by liaising nationally with banking, regulatory, and nonprofit organization partners to expand banking access. This report details the Bank On Data Pilot, which collected and measured quantitative data on 2017 Bank On account usage at four pilot financial institutions with certified accounts: Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, U.S. Bank, and Wells Fargo.

cfe - present and future of bank on account data

Accessing the Canada Learning Bond: Meeting Identification and Income Eligibility Requirements

Not having a Social Insurance Number (SIN) and not filing taxes may represent challenges to access government programs and supports such as the Canada Education Savings Grant (CESG) and the Canada Learning Bond (CLB).

Limited data availability has prevented a full assessment of the extent of these access challenges. This study attempts to address this knowledge gap by analyzing overall differences in SIN possession and tax-filing uptake by family income, levels of parental education, family type and Indigenous identity of the child and age of children using the 2016 Census data augmented with tax-filing and Social Insurance Number possession indicator flags.

Low income among persons with a disability in Canada

Persons with a disability face a higher risk of low income compared to the overall population. This report uses data from the 2014 Longitudinal and International Study of Adults (LISA) to study the relationship between low income and characteristics of people aged 25 to 64 with a disability, including disability type, severity class, age of onset of disability, family composition, and other risk factors associated with low income. It also examines the composition of the low-income population in relation to disability, and provides information on the relationship between employment and low income for this population.

Does education pay? A comparison of earnings by level of education in Canada and its provinces and territories

This report examines the relationship between the earnings of Canadians in the labour market and their post-secondary education credentials. Findings are based upon information gathered from the 2016 Census on adults between the ages of 25 to 64 with different levels of education and working in different parts of the country.

The Effects of Education on Canadians’ Retirement Savings Behaviour

This paper assesses the extent to which education level affects how Canadians save and accumulate wealth for retirement. Data from administrative income-tax records and responses from the 1991 and 2006 censuses of Canada show that individuals with more schooling are more likely to contribute to a tax-preferred savings account and have higher saving rates, have higher home values, and are less likely to rent housing.

effects of ed on retirement savings behaviour

Canadian Financial Diaries

The Canadian Financial Diaries Research Project is using the financial diaries methodology to understand the financial dynamics of vulnerable Canadians in a rapidly changing socio-economic context. This includes understanding the barriers and opportunities that people face in trying to improve their financial and overall well-being.

The website shares research insights and news about the project as the different phases of research are synthesized.

Money on Your Mind

Chronic Low Income Among Immigrants in Canada and its Communities

This study examines the rate of chronic low income among adult immigrants (aged 25 or older) in Canada during the 2000s. Data is taken from the Longitudinal Immigration Database (IMDB) for the period from 1993 to 2012, with regional adjustments used for the analysis. Chronic low income is categorized as having a family income under a low-income cut-off for five consecutive years or more.

The study found that for immigrants were in in low-income in any given year, half were in chronic low-income. Including spells of low income which become chronic in later years, this number rises to two-thirds. The highest chronic rates were found in immigrant seniors and immigrants who were unattached or lone parents. Chronic low income is a large component of income disparity and overall low income among immigrants.

Money stories: Financial resilience among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians

This report builds on previous work on financial resilience in Australia and represents the beginning of an exploration of the financial resilience of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Overall, we found significant economic disparity between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. This is not surprising, given the histories of land dispossession, stolen wages and the late entry of Indigenous Australians into free participation in the economy (it is only 50 years since the referendum to include Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as members of the Australian population).

Specifically, we found:

Only one in ten Indigenous Australians are financially secure.
Fewer than two in five Indigenous people can access $2,000 for an emergency, compared with four in five in the broader Australian population.

Severe financial stress is present for half the Indigenous population, compared with one in ten in the broader Australian population. Read the report to find out more about the financial barriers faced by Indigenous people in Australia, and the sharing economy in which money as a commodity can both help and hurt financial resilience.

Backgrounder: Preliminary findings from Canada’s Financial Well-Being Survey

This backgrounder reports preliminary findings from a survey of financial well-being among Canadian adults.

Preliminary analysis of the survey data indicates that two behaviours are particularly important in supporting the financial well-being of Canadians. First, our analysis indicates that Canadians who practice active savings behaviour have higher levels of financial resilience as well as higher levels of overall financial well-being. In other words, regardless of the amount of money someone makes, regular efforts to save for unexpected expenses and other future priorities appears to be the key to feeling and being in control of personal finances.

Secondly, Canadians who often use credit to pay for daily expenses because they have run short of money have lower levels of financial well-being. While this behaviour is likely symptomatic of low levels of financial well-being, our analysis indicates that a person can substantially improve their financial resilience and financial well-being by implementing strategies to reduce the frequency of running out of money and of having to rely on credit to get by.

Promise Accounts: Matched Savings to Help Families Get Ahead

This report from Prosperity Now shows the importance of matched savings programs called 'Promise Accounts' which help families successfully save for their futures. They are especially important for households of color as compared to white households.

Decreasing economic inequality and closing the racial wealth divide means creating saving pathways for low-income households to build wealth. Promise Accounts make some key changes to traditional matched savings programs. Specifically, these accounts would have features including:

Standardized accounts created through one platform, managed by the US Department of the Treasury
A strong role for local organizations
Broadening the uses for Promise Accounts including higher education, work, and housing
Allowing more families to participate
Elimination of savings penalties

Short-term financial stability: A foundation for security and well-being

Short-term cushions are key to longer-term financial security and well-being.

This report shines a light on the central role that short-term financial stability plays in a person’s ability to reach broader financial security and upward economic mobility, a measurement of whether an individual moves up the economic ladder over one’s lifetime or across generations.

The insights presented in this report draw primarily on evidence provided by members of the Consumer Insights Collaborative (CIC), a group of nine leading nonprofits across the United States convened by the Aspen Institute Financial Security Program. These diverse organizations offer a window into the financial lives of the low- and moderate-income individuals they serve.

Accessing the Canada Learning Bond: Meeting Identification and Income Eligibility Requirements

Introduced in 1998, the Canadian Education Savings Program (CESP) was designed as an incentive to encourage education savings for the post-secondary education of a child. The program is centred on Registered Education Savings Plans (RESPs), where savings accumulate tax-free until withdrawn, to pay for full- or part-time postsecondary studies such as a trade school, CEGEP, college, or university, or in an apprenticeship program.

The CLB was introduced in 2004 specifically for children from low income families. CLB provides, without family contribution being required, eligible families with an initial RESP payment which may be followed by annual payments up until the child is aged 15 years old.

The objective of this paper is to assess the extent to which not tax-filing and not having a SIN for a child could pose a challenge to accessing the CLB and the CESG. This study will address the knowledge gap by analyzing overall differences in SIN and tax-filing uptake by family income, levels of parental education, family type and Indigenous identity of the child. The findings will help understand access issues related to the CLB but also to other programs with similar administrative conditions.

En francais: Accéder au Bon d’études canadien: l’atteinte des critères d’identification et d’éligibilité selon le revenu.

2019 First Annual Report of the Disability Advisory Committee: Enabling access to disability tax measures

Trading Equity for Liquidity: Bank Data on the Relationship Between Liquidity and Mortgage Default

For many, homeownership is a vital part of the American dream. Buying a home represents one of the largest lifetime expenditures for most homeowners, and the mortgage has generally become the financing instrument of choice. For many families, their mortgage will be their greatest debt and their mortgage payment will be their largest recurring monthly expense.

In this report, we present a combination of new analysis and previous findings from the JPMorgan Chase Institute body of housing finance research to answer important questions about the role of liquidity, equity, income levels, and payment burden as determinants of mortgage default. Our analysis suggests that liquidity may have been a more important predictor of mortgage default than equity, income level, or payment burden.

Why Community Foundations Make Perfect Partners for Children’s Savings Account Programs

In this brief, we articulate why collaboration between community foundations and CSA programs is in their mutual interest. We describe the variety of roles that community foundations can play in promoting the growth and success of CSA programs, and then identify the primary challenges encountered by community foundations in supporting CSAs. The brief concludes with key lessons learned about collaboration between community foundations and CSA programs.

This brief was designed primarily to educate CSA practitioners and community foundation staff about the benefits of collaboration. It may also be of interest to a wider audience in the fields of asset building and philanthropy. The ideas and findings in this brief are based primarily on in-depth interviews and in-person meetings with board members, executives and senior staff from three community foundations.

Evaluation of the Guaranteed Income Supplement

The Old Age Security program is the largest statutory program of the Government of Canada, and consists of the Old Age Security pension, the Guaranteed Income Supplement, and the Allowance. The Guaranteed Income Supplement is provided to low-income seniors aged 65 years and over who receive the Old Age Security pension and are below a low-income cut-off level.

This evaluation examines take-up of the Guaranteed Income Supplement by various socioeconomic groups, the characteristics of those who are eligible for the Supplement but do not receive it, and barriers faced by vulnerable groups.

Debt and assets among senior Canadian families

Using data from the Survey of Financial Security (SFS), this article looks at changes in debt, assets and net worth among senior Canadian families over the period from 1999 to 2016. It also examines changes in the debt-to income ratio and the debt to-asset ratio of senior families with debt.

This study finds that the proportion of senior families with debt increased from 27% to 42% between 1999 and 2016.

Mortgage and Consumer Credit Trends Report

The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) publishes a quarterly report on Canadian trends relating to mortgage debt and consumer borrowing. Find out the level of Canadian household indebtedness, and emerging trends in outstanding debt balances in different urban areas and by age group.

Are Low-Income Savers Still in the Lurch? TFSAs at 10 Years

The introduction of Tax-Free Savings Accounts (TFSAs) in 2009 transformed how Canadians save. One of the main reasons for creating TFSAs was to provide a taxassisted savings instrument for low-income Canadians to enable them to improve their retirement income. Now, 10 years later, many low-income savers are still not using TFSAs in ways that would allow them to benefit fully from the government transfer programs intended for them in retirement, such as the Guaranteed Income Supplement. Consequently, intended benefits from TFSAs are going untapped. Improving public education and financial literacy may be part of the solution to this problem, but built-in policy nudges and tax adjustments will be more effective.

More Than Just Taxes

Tax time financial capability services offered at Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) sites range from encouraging taxpayers to save a portion of their refund to free credit reviews, to referrals to financial coaching, and others in between.

This report from Prosperity Now summarizes research findings on VITA programs offering asset-building and financial capability services. Specifically, findings address barriers to be overcome, facilitating factors, and the opportunities for targeted outreach, tailored messages, and policy improvements to move the needle on Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) take-up rates.

In sickness and in health: The association between health and household income

This study uses data from the Longitudinal and International Study of Adults (LISA) to analyze the association between health and household income.

Using data on both self-reported general health and self-report mental health, as well as self-reported labour-market outcomes and linked tax records, the association between spouse-pair labour-market income and health is further decomposed into an employment effect reflecting the association between health and the probability of employment, an hours worked effect reflecting the association between health and the number of hours worked, and a wage effect reflecting
the association between health and hourly wages.

Consumer Insights on Managing Spending

The CFPB conducted research on consumer challenges in tracking spending and keeping to a budget. The research found that consumers aspire to manage their spending but for many reasons, many consumers spend more than intended and sometimes have\ difficulty in staying within their budgets. In addition, we found that although most people would like to use budgets and plans, they often don’t use them to guide spending decisions in the moment.

Budgeting and tracking spending are often considered to be overwhelming or too much of a hassle, and even those consumers who have a budget generally do not benchmark their spending to their budget frequently or regularly.

Effective financial education: Five principles and how to use them

Because of the key role that financial education can play in people’s lives, the CFPB has conducted research over its first five years into what makes financial education effective for consumers. What do we mean by “effective?” It does not just mean training that helps people perform better on a test of financial facts. It means equipping consumers to understand the financial marketplace and make sound financial choices in pursuit of their life goals.

Earnings Inequality and the Gender Pay Gap in Canada

This study from Statistics Canada explores how increases in top earnings and the representation of women among top earners affect the overall gender earnings gap in Canada. Results show that even though the representation of women in top earnings groups increased from 1978 to 2015, their continued under-representation in these groups accounted for a substantial and growing share of the gender gap in total annual earnings.

An Evaluation of Financial Empowerment Centers: Building People’s Financial Stability as a Public Service

This report is a three-year evaluation of the Financial Empowerment Center initiative’s replication in 5 cities (Denver, CO; Lansing, MI; Nashville, TN; Philadelphia, PA and San Antonio, TX). Financial Empowerment Centers (FECs) offer professional, one-on-one financial counseling as a free public service. The evaluation draws on data from 22,000 clients who participated in 57,000 counseling sessions across these first 5 city replication partners, and provides additional evidence of the program’s success.

Economic Well-being Across Generations of Young Canadians: Are Millenials Better or Worse Off?

This article in the Economic Insights series from Statistics Canada examines the economic well-being of millennials by comparing their household balance sheets to those of previous generations of young Canadians. Measured at the same point in their life course, millennials were relatively better off than young Gen-Xers in terms of net worth, but also had higher debt levels.

Higher values for principal residences and mortgage debt mainly explain these patterns. Financial outcomes varied considerably among millennial households. Home ownership, living in Toronto or Vancouver, and having a higher education were three factors associated with higher net worth.

Financial Expectations and Household Debt

This Economic Insights article quantifies the degree to which families who expect their financial situation to get better in the next two years have, all else equal, more debt than comparable families.

The study shows that even after a large set of socioeconomic characteristics is controlled for, families who expect their financial situation to improve in the near future have significantly more debt and generally higher debt-to-income ratios than other families.

The Who’s Hungry Report

The Who’s Hungry Report provides quantitative and qualitative data about the experience of hunger and poverty in Toronto. To create the reports, trained volunteers conduct face-to-face interviews with over 1,400 food bank clients at nearly 40 member agencies, collecting demographic data as well as information about the day-to-day experience of living with hunger.

Poverty Trends 2018 report

This annual report on poverty in Canada reports that a staggering 5.8 million people in Canada (or 16.8%) live in poverty. The report uses several low-income indicators, including the Low-Income Measure (LIM), the Census Family Low Income Measure (CFLIM) and the Market Basket Measure (MBM). Each measure of low income provides different information on poverty using different methodologies to calculate rates of poverty.

Debt and assets among senior Canadian families, 1999 to 2016

These results are from the new study "Debt and assets among senior Canadian families." released in April 2018. The study examines changes in debt, assets and net worth among Canadian families whose major income earner was 65 years of age or older.

In recent years, household debt has increased. The level of debt and value of assets are especially important for the financial security of seniors. Because income typically declines during the retirement years, seniors often need accumulated assets to finance their consumption, especially if they do not benefit from a private pension plan. Debt can also be particularly problematic for seniors as repayment can be more difficult on a reduced income.

The Economic Well-Being of Women in Canada

Economic well-being has both a present component and a future component. In the present, economic well-being is characterized by the ability of individuals and small groups, such as families or households, to consistently meet their basic needs, including food, clothing, housing, utilities, health care, transportation, education, and paid taxes. It is also characterized by the ability to make economic choices and feel a sense of security, satisfaction, and personal fulfillment with respect to finances and employment pursuits.

Using Statistics Canada data from a variety of sources, including the Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics, the Canadian Income Survey, the Survey of Financial Security, and the 2016 Census of Population, this chapter of Women in Canada examines women’s economic well-being in comparison with men’s and, where relevant, explores how it has evolved over the past 40 years. In addition to gender, age and family type (i.e., couple families with or without children; lone mothers and fathers; and single women and men without children) are important determinants of economic well-being. Hence, many of the analyses distinguish between women and men in different age groups and/or types of families.

NPW 2018 Employee Research Survey

Working Canadians seem to be making some minor progress towards improving their financial health. But, while 66% report being in a better financial position than a year ago, their debt levels remain high, they chronically undersave for retirement, and put themselves at severe risk in the event of economic changes.

According to the Canadian Payroll Association’s tenth annual survey, 44% of working Canadians report it would be difficult to meet their financial obligations if their pay cheque was delayed by even a single week (down from the three-year average of 48%).

View full suite of news release and infographics from this survey, by province.

Indebtedness and Wealth Among Canadian Households

Understanding the health of the balance sheets of Canadian households is a complex issue that continues to generate considerable discussion. A new Statistics Canada study contributes to these discussions by highlighting the extent to which national measures of indebtedness and wealth mask significant variation across the country. The study is largely based on results from the 2016 Survey of Financial Security (SFS), which allow for a detailed profile by census metropolitan area (CMA) and by income groups.

Tax time insights: Experiences of people living on low income in Canada

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Tax time insights: Experiences of people living on low incomes in Canada

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Données sur la période des impôts: Expériences vécues par des personnes à faible revenu au Canada

The Perils of Living Paycheque to Paycheque

This report, 'The Perils of Living Paycheque to Paycheque: The relationship between income volatility and financial insecurity', examines the relationship between income instability and broader measures of financial well-being.

This study makes use of a unique dataset that collected self-reported month-to-month volatility in household income, measures of capability, financial knowledge and psychological variables.

One in three adult Canadians reported at least some volatility in their monthly incomes, with six per cent reporting that the source and amount were both uncertain. Income volatility is present across a wide swath of the survey respondents, regardless of gender, family status, region of the country, education level and even income sources. Income volatility is correlated with lower financial knowledge, lower financial capability, and stronger beliefs that financial outcomes are up to fate and outside of personal control.

Better Borrowing: How State-Mandated Financial Education Drives College Financing Behaviour

As student loan reform continues to dominate national discourse, a NEFE-funded study shows that financial education in states with state-mandated personal finance graduation requirements causes students to make better decisions about how to pay for college. It increases applications for aid, federal aid taken, and grants — all while decreasing credit card balances. Put simply, financial education makes better borrowers.

This study examines positive effects of state-mandated financial education graduation requirements. As of 2017, 25 states have implemented mandates for personal finance education prior to graduation.

Canadian Millenial Social Values Study

A major national survey conducted in 2016 reveals a bold portrait of Canada’s Millennials (those born between 1980 and 1995), that for the first time presents the social values of this generation, and the distinct segments that help make sense of the different and often contradictory stereotypes that so frequently are applied to today’s young adults.

Key findings from the survey explore Millennials' relationship with money, education, work and career interests, voting turnout, and engagement with social justice.

State of Cities Reducing Poverty

How has the Vibrant Communities – Cities Reducing Poverty (VC – CRP) network contributed to poverty reduction in Canada? In seeking to answer this central question, the State of Cities Reducing Poverty paper highlights the network’s numerous and varied impacts.

2018 Report Card on Child and Family Poverty in Canada: Bold Ambitions for Child and Family Poverty Eradication

The 2018 national report card “Bold Ambitions for Child Poverty Eradication in Canada,” provides a current snapshot of child and family poverty and demonstrates the need for a costed implementation plan to eradicate child poverty in this generation.

In advance of the 30th year of the all-party commitment to eliminate child poverty by the year 2000 and the federal election in 2019, our spotlight is on the central role of universal childcare in the eradication of child poverty. The lack of affordable, high quality childcare robs children of valuable learning environments and keeps parents, mainly women, out of the workforce, education and training. Without childcare, parents cannot lift themselves out of poverty and improve their living standards.

What does poverty look like in Canada? Survey finds one-in-four experience notable economic hardship

What does it mean to be poor in Canada? Does it mean having to rely on food banks and payday loans to make ends meet? Does it mean struggling to afford warm clothes for the winter? What about having to live far away from work or school?

A new, two-part study from the Angus Reid Institute examines the state of poverty in Canada by looking at lived experiences, rather than income, with some striking results.

Integrating Financial Capability Services into Tribal LIHEAP

This brief is a companion resource to Building Financial Capability: A Planning Guide for Integrated Services (also known as the Guide) and provides real-world examples of financial capability integration efforts. The brief shares lessons and approaches for how tribal-serving organizations can integrate financial capability services into LIHEAP and other emergency assistance services.

The brief highlights the experiences of two tribal serving organizations in Alaska that integrated financial capability services: the Kenaitze Indian Tribe and the Aleutian Pribilof Island Association (APIA). It is organized into three sections: understanding households’ financial lives, deciding which financial capability services to integrate, and assessing organizational and community capacity to plan for how to deliver services.

Cross Canada Check-up: Provincial/territorial findings from Canada’s Neighbourhood Financial Health Index

Canada ranks consistently as one of the best places to live in the world and one of the wealthiest. When it comes to looking at the financial health of Canadian households, however, we are often forced to rely on incomplete measures, like income alone, or aggregate national statistics that tell us little about the distribution of financial health and vulnerability in our neighbourhoods, communities or provinces/territories.

The purpose of this report is to examine the financial heath and vulnerability of Canadian households in different provinces and territories using a new composite index of household financial health, the Neighbourhood Financial Health Index or NFHI. The NFHI has been designed to shine a light on the dynamics underlying these national trends, taking a closer look at what is happening at the provincial/territorial, community and neighbourhood levels.

Update July 22, 2022: Please note that the Neighbourhood Financial Health Index is no longer available

Who pays? A Distributional Analysis of the Tax Systems in all 50 States

Who Pays: A Distributional Analysis of the Tax Systems in All Fifty States (the sixth edition of the report) is the only distributional analysis of tax systems in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. This comprehensive report assesses tax fairness by measuring effective state and local tax rates paid by all income groups. No two state tax systems are the same; this report provides detailed analyses of the features of every state tax code. It includes state-by-state profiles that provide baseline data to help lawmakers and the public understand how current tax policies affect taxpayers at all income levels.

Increasing Take-Up of the Canada Learning Bond

The Canada Learning Bond (CLB) is an educational savings incentive that provides children from low income families born in 2004 or later with financial support for post-secondary education. Personal contributions are not required to receive the CLB, however take-up remains low among the eligible population.

The Impact and Innovation Unit (IIU), in collaboration with the Learning Branch and the Innovation Lab at Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) conducted a randomized controlled trial to test the effectiveness of behavioural insights (BI) in correspondence sent to primary caregivers of children eligible for the CLB.

This trial demonstrates the effectiveness of BI interventions tailored to the particular behavioural barriers that affect specific populations in increasing take-up of programs like the CLB. If scaled across the eligible population, the best performing letter would result in thousands more children receiving this education savings incentive on an annual basis.

Supporting Employee Financial Stability: How Philanthropy Catalyzes Workplace Financial Coaching Programs

More than half of all employees in the United States report that they are
financially stressed, and nearly one in three employees reports being distracted by personal financial issues while at work. This financial stress impacts individuals’ health, relationships, productivity, and time away from work.

This report describes different workplace models, the common characteristics and challenges of programs, and provides recommendations for funders who want to invest in workplace approaches to help workers achieve financial stability.

Boosting the Earned Income Tax Credit for Singles

By providing a refundable credit at tax time, the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is widely viewed as a successful public policy that is both antipoverty and pro-work. But most of its benefits have gone to workers with children.

Paycheck Plus is a test of a more generous credit for low-income workers without dependent children. The program, which provides a bonus of up to $2,000 at tax time, is being evaluated using a randomized controlled trial in New York City and Atlanta. This report presents findings through three years from New York, where over 6,000 low-income single adults without dependent children enrolled in the study in late 2013.

The findings are consistent with other research on the federal EITC, indicating that an effective work-based safety net program can increase incomes for vulnerable and low-income individuals and families while encouraging and rewarding work.

High-Cost Alternative Financial Services: The Customer Experience

In early 2017 Momentum reached out to over 50 community members and participants to better understand local experiences with high-cost alternative financial services. In addition to connecting with individuals through interviews, Momentum hosted community consultations in partnership with Poverty Talks! and Sunrise Community Link Resource Centre. The following document summarizes what we learned from these conversations and the loan contracts that borrowers shared with us. It also identifies several themes that emerged from these discussions.

High-Cost Alternative Financial Services: Policy Options

Many Canadians turn to high-cost alternative financial services when they need a short-term fix for a budgetary issue. Though these banking and credit alternatives are a convenient choice for individuals in search of fast cash, particularly those who face barriers to obtaining credit at a bank or credit union, access comes at a steep price and with a high degree of risk. On its own, one high-cost loan has the potential to trap a borrower in a cycle of debt, not only amplifying their short-term problem, but also limiting their ability to secure the income and assets needed to thrive in the long term.

The policy recommendations presented in this brief, and summarized in the chart on page two, are inspired by the regulatory initiatives across the country, and reflect ways in which all three levels of government can contribute to better consumer protection for all Canadians.

The Omega Foundation and the SmartSAVER Program, Lessons in Taking Social Innovations to Scale

This case study is about the Omega Foundation’s SmartSAVER program. It has effectively elevated the Canada Learning Bond (a post-secondary education savings program for low income families) from a struggling idea to a fully-fledged and well-utilized national resource. In so doing, Omega and SmartSAVER have created new pathways out of poverty for thousands of Canadians.

This story gives us significant insight into the process of bringing an innovative idea to life. It offers important observations about the barriers to launching and scaling innovative ideas. It also offers insights into the solutions that can overcome these barriers.

Breaking down barriers: A critical analysis of the Disability Tax Credit and the Registered Disability Savings Plan

The Disability Tax Credit helps Canadians by reducing the amount of income tax they are required to pay. The Registered Disability Savings Plan helps people with a disability or their caregiver save for the future by putting money into a fund that grows tax free until the beneficiary makes a withdrawal.

This report, released by the Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology, makes 16 recommendations aimed at improving both programs. They are divided into short-term objective to make the process for the two programs simpler and clearer, and a long-term philosophical shift in the way Canada deals with people who are in financial distress but cannot advocate for themselves. Recommendations include removing barriers that prevent people from taking advantage of the Disability Tax Credit and making enrolment in the Registered Disability Savings Plan automatic for eligible people under 60 years of age.

Measuring Financial Capability and Well-Being in Financial Coaching Programs

This brief describes the data collected and lessons gleaned from the Financial Coaching Impact & Evaluation Fellowship, which took place over the course of 10 months in 2017. Ultimately, this brief argues that the Financial Well-Being Scale and the Financial Capability Scale are promising tools for financial capability programs seeking to understand the impact of their programs.

Core competencies frameworks on financial literacy

Developed in response to a call from G20 Leaders in 2013, the core competencies frameworks on financial literacy highlight a range of financial literacy outcomes that may be considered to be universally relevant or important for the financial well-being in everyday life of adults and youth.

These documents describe the types of knowledge that youth aged 15 to 18, and adults aged 18 and up, could benefit from.

The Regulation of Group Plan RESPs and the Experiences of Low-Income Subscribers

Through the Group RESP Research and Education Project, SEED Winnipeg, Momentum (Calgary), the Legal Help Centre of Winnipeg, and an interdisciplinary research team studied the regulation of group plan RESPs and the experiences of low-income subscribers, and developed public legal education materials to support low-income RESP subscribers in understanding and making informed decisions about their RESP investments. This report presents the research component of this project.

This report shows that group plan RESPs are complex, and while they can be beneficial, participation in a group plan may be detrimental to a subscriber's financial well-being if the plan is not well aligned with the subscriber's needs. Low-income subscribers continue to be significantly represented in RESPs held by group plan promoters.

Financial Coaching Process Evaluation Report

This report presents the findings of the process evaluation of the Financial Coaching pilot, a part of the Financial Empowerment Collaborative in Calgary. In documenting the procedures and early thoughts of participating programs on the implementation of this pilot project, we assessed how well early goals are being met, documented some promising best practices, identified common roadblocks encountered by agencies, and compiled solutions developed in response to those roadblocks.

My Budget Coach Pilot Evaluation

This pilot study explores the delivery and effectiveness of MyBudgetCoach, a financial coaching program designed to help low- and moderate-income adults develop budgeting skills, set financial goals, and work towards those goals. Specifically, this study compares two modes of program delivery, traditional in-person coaching and fully remote coaching. By testing financial coaching in these two contexts, this project seeks to generate a deeper understanding of the mechanisms that underpin coaching and the role technology may play in facilitating behavior change.

Canada Islamic Finance Outlook 2016

Islamic finance is growing rapidly, outpacing the growth of the conventional finance industry and even grabbing market share from it. This success has been driven in part by the internationalisation of Islamic finance as it reaches beyond its core markets of the Middle East, North Africa and Southeast Asia, and into new ones such as Europe and the Americas, including Canada, which is the focus of this report.
This report provides an introduction to Islamic banking in Canada.

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Data Point: Becoming Credit Viable

Very little is known about the number or characteristics of credit
invisibles or consumers with unscored credit records.

This Data Point documents the results of a research project undertaken by Staff in the Office of Research of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to better understand how many consumers are either credit invisible or have unscored credit records and what the demographic characteristics of such consumers are.

Enhancing access to the Canada Learning Bond

This discussion paper responds to a request from ESDC to develop options for reforms to the Canada Education Savings Program and, more specifically to improve access to the Canada Learning Bond. It reviews individual and institutional challenges to participation in the current system and consider three approaches for reform. It presents a case study of the United Kingdom’s Child Trust Fund, which included an auto-enrolment default mechanism. It concludes that the model used in the UK is not suitable for Canada and instead make a series of recommendations for both incremental and more ambitious reforms to fulfill the Government’s commitment to improve access to the Bond.

Paychecks, Paydays, and the Online Platform Economy Big Data on Income Volatility

An Evaluation of the Impacts and Implementation Approaches of Financial Coaching Programs

Qualitative Research: The Experiences of Indigenous Communities with Tax Filing

Unfinished Business Pension Reform in Canada

Since taking office in the fall of 2015, the Liberal government has made important changes to the publicly administered components of Canada’s retirement income system (RIS). It has restored the age of eligibility for benefits under Old Age Security (OAS) and the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) to 65, it has increased the top-up on GIS benefits for single elderly persons, and it has agreed with the provinces to enhance Canada Pension Plan (CPP) benefits, starting in 2019.
Each of these changes, on its own, contributes to one of the two main objectives of the RIS: to minimize the people’s risk of poverty in old age and to enhance their ability to retain their standard of living as they move from employment to retirement. However, as Bob Baldwin and Richard Shillington show in this study, when examined together, the changes are problematic and incomplete.

The Impact of Credit Counseling on Consumer Outcomes: Evidence from a National Demonstration Program

The Political Economy of Education, Financial Literacy, and the Racial Wealth Gap

This article examines the mismatch between the political discourse around individual agency, education, and financial literacy, and the actual racial wealth gap. The authors argue that the racial wealth gap is rooted in socioeconomic and political structure barriers rather than a disdain for or underachievement in education or financial literacy on the part of Black Americans, as might be suggested by the conventional wisdom. Also, the article presents a stratification economic lens as an alternative to the conventional wisdom to better understand why the racial wealth gap persists.

The Ever Growing Gap: Without Change, African American and Latino Families Won’t Match White Wealth for Centuries

This report examines the growing racial wealth divide for Black and Latino and the ways that accelerating concentrations of wealth at the top compound and exacerbate this divide. It looks at trends in wealth accumulation from 1983 to 2013, as well as projections of what the next thirty years might bring. It also considers the impact public policy has had in contributing to the racial wealth divide and how new policies can close this gap.

Backgrounder: Working Income Tax Benefit

The federal government has indicated that it will expand WITB by approximately $250 million per year beginning in 2019 to “provide additional benefits that roughly offset incremental Canada Pension Plan (CPP) contributions for eligible low-income workers.”1 The changes to CPP will be phased in, starting in 2019. These changes mean that workers will be paying higher CPP contributions from their paycheques. Low-income workers especially could feel the impact on their take-home pay.

This backgrounder provides an introduction to the program, explores how it impacts low-income workers, and how it could be improved.

A Missing Element of Financial Capability – Your Money Mindset

Leaders of workforce development programs have been taking the initiative to integrate financial literacy and capability services into their own curriculum and services. However, this requires resources, knowledge, and capacity that workforce development programs may not have. With support from JPMorgan Chase & Co., The Prosperity Agenda partnered with two workforce development programs with the goal of answering, “How might we improve the financial wellness of graduates in career development programs?”

Using Design to Deepen Relationships in the Financial Sector

This publication reveals the outcomes of Bridgable's work with a federal credit union, cutting through their overwhelming number of offerings to better engage with their low-income members. It also discusses why agility is a better bet than digitization when it comes to our changing financial ecosystem. Finally, it will break down their approach to one of the most popular design methods today, the design sprint, and how it can produce results while also lowering risk. Note: This link will allow you to download the document from the Bridgeable website.

A Much Closer Look: Enhancing Savings Counseling at Financial Empowerment Centers

Building savings is a fundamental strategy for empowering individuals and families with low incomes. Even relatively small amounts of savings can serve as a buffer against inevitable financial shocks that can otherwise undermine social service efforts and successes – and short-term savings offer realistic first steps toward building longer-term savings and acquiring assets.

The CFE Fund conducted a research pilot at municipal Financial Empowerment Centers to better understand how clients are saving, and inform new savings indicators for financial counseling success. This report explains the insights of this research pilot, and client outcomes in savings and goal setting.

Savings for the Future Solving the Savings Puzzle for Low Income Households

People manage their money in a variety of different ways, sometimes in ways that others fail to understand, but that work well for them. The research in this new report focuses on one of those ways: informal saving.

Informal saving can take many forms: saving in cash at home (sometimes literally in jam jars), careful spending and shopping, letting a current account balance mount up, savings stamps and over-payment on prepayment meters. However, there has been very little research carried out into what motivates people to save informally. This report plugs that gap. In so doing we find that low income individuals and households employ a variety of informal savings techniques that help them to be more financially resilient, particularly with budgeting and preparing for unforeseen expenses.

Overall this report helps to dispel the myth that people on a low income do not have savings methods or personal techniques to build financial resilience.

Financial well-being in America

There is wide variation in how people in the U.S. feel about their financial well-being. This report presents findings from a survey by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) on the distribution of financial well-being scores for the U.S. adult population overall and for selected subgroups defined by these additional measures. These descriptive findings provide insight into which subgroups are faring relatively well and which ones are facing greater financial challenges.

MPower Money Coaching Program

This is the final report on the MPower Money Coaching Program. This program was a unique collaboration that brought together Prosper Canada, a national charity, Canada’s leading investment firms and investment industry associations, and the City of Toronto’s Employment and Social Services Division (TESS) to provide neutral, high quality financial help to people living on low incomes.

2017 Financially Underserved Market Size Study

CFSI presents their 2017 Financially Underserved Market Size Study that illustrates the growing opportunity to address the needs of financially underserved consumers and identifies significant trends driving marketplace evolution and growth.

Child Welfare and Youth Homelessness in Canada: A Proposal for Action

Without a Home, conducted by the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness in partnership with A Way Home Canada, surveyed 1,103 youth experiencing homelessness across Canada. Youth in 42 different communities and nine of the 10 Canadian provinces, as well as Nunavut Territory, completed the self-report survey. The results provide the first national picture of youth homelessness in Canada.

Pervasive and profound: The impact of income volatility on Canadians

Transition from Temporary Foreign Workers to Permanent Residents

Implementing Financial Education in Youth Apprenticeship Programs

Where are the Unbanked and Underbanked in New York City?

Poverty Trends Scorecard – Fact Sheet Series – Income, Wealth, and Inequality

Investments in Registered Education Savings Plans and Postsecondary Attendance

Emergency Funds and Savings among Service Members

Skills and Higher Education in Canada

Report on the Economic Well-being of US Households in 2015

Zambia Financial Diaries – Interim Report

Understanding the Gaps in Postsecondary Education Participation Based on Income and Place of Birth: The role of high school course selection and performance

Tackling financial exclusion: A country that works for everyone?

Mobility Report Cards: The Role of Colleges in Intergenerational Mobility

The Widening Academic Achievement Gap Between the Rich and the Poor: New Evidence and Possible Explanations

Participation of Low-Income Students in Ontario

The Case for Social Investment in Microcredit

Closing the Racial Wealth Gap: Establishing and Sustaining an Initiative

YOLO: Mortality Beliefs and Household Finance Puzzles

The health and wealth connection – Opportunities for Investment Across the Life Course

Fraud Facts 2017 – Recognize, Reject, Report Fraud

Integrating Financial Capability Services into Community Health Centers

Consumer Experiences with Debt Collection – Findings from the CFPB’s Survey of Consumer Views on Debt

Financial wellness at work – A review of promising practices and policies

Navigating the Market – A comparison of spending on financial education and financial marketing

Transforming the Financial Lives of a Generation of Young Americans

Living arrangements of Aboriginal children aged 14 and under

Canadian Demographics at a Glance – Second edition

The influence of community well-being on mortality among Registered First Nations people

Literacy and numeracy among off-reserve First Nations people and Metis – Do higher skill levels improve labour market outcomes

First Nations, Metis and Inuit Women

Scaling Impact for Community Development Financial Institutions

Nonstandard Work Schedules and the Well-Being of Low-Income Families

Small-Dollar Credit – Protecting Consumers and Fostering Innovation

Families of Color in the Quest to Build Wealth – A Special Report from CFED

Helpful shortcuts for credit card use: Ideas for financial educators

Portrait of Homelessness in First Nations Communities in Quebec

The Liquid Hand-to-Mouth: Evidence from Personal Finance Management Software

Strengthening Banking in Inner-cities: Practices & Policies to Promote Financial Inclusion for Low-Income Canadians

Family savings for post-secondary education – A summary of Research on the Importance and Impact of Post-Secondary Education Savings Incentive Programs

Minimum Payments and Debt Paydown in Consumer Credit Cards

Income Timing, Temptation and Expenditures: A Field Experiment in Malawi

Consumer Voices on Financial Rules to Live By

Equitable Investments in the Next Generation: Designing Policies to Close the Racial Wealth Gap

A Road Map to Eradicate Child & Family Poverty: 2016 Report Card on Child and Family Poverty in Canada

Social and political attitudes of people on low incomes

LIFT-UP: Innovative City Strategy Reduces Utility Debt and Financial Insecurity for Residents

U.S. Microfinance at the Cross Roads. Scale and Sustainability: Can Lessons from International Experience Help Guide the U.S. Sector?

How are we doing on social policy? Is the recession paralyzing or transformative?

Precarious Employment in Canada: Does the Evidence Square with the Anecdotes?

On the Road: Exploring Economic Security Pathways in Indiana

Meeting People Where They Are: Five Lessons for Integrating Financial Capability Services

Building Bridges to Collaborative Success: An Evidence-Based, Inter-Agency Primer for Health Promotion

Enrolled by Six: Peel Post Secondary Strategy, Saving with the Canada Learning Bond

The Cost of Poverty in Toronto

Access, persistence and financing: First results from the Postsecondary Education Participation Survey

Out of the Shadows: Shining a light on Canada’s unequal distribution of federal tax expenditures

Implementation and Impact Evaluation of Local Interventions for Financial Empowerment through Utility Payments (LIFT-UP) Final Report

Implementation and Impact Evaluation of Local Interventions for Financial Empowerment through Utility Payments (LIFT-UP) Executive Summary

Taking Stock of Ten Years of Research on the Relationship between Assets and Children’s Educational Outcomes: Implications for Theory, Policy and Intervention

First Comprehensive Review of the Market Basket Measure of Low Income. Final Report

Tax Time Savings for Native Communities: Ten Best Practices for Effective Native VITA Programs

Racial Wealth Divide in Miami

The Mental Health of Manitoba’s Children

Federal Spending on Primary and Secondary Education on First Nations Reserves

Precarious Positions: Policy Options to Mitigate Risks in Non-standard Employment

Benefits Screening Tool Project: Phase 1 report

Developing Innovations in Tribal Per Capita Distribution Payment Programs: Promoting Education, Savings, and Investments for the Future

Divided City: Life in Canada’s Child Poverty Capital. 2016 Toronto Child and Family Poverty Report Card

2016 BC Child Poverty Report Card

Insights to Impact: Harnessing Behavioural Science to Build Financial Well-Being

No Vacancy. Affordability & Homelessness in Vancouver.

Thinking Regionally: How to Improve Service Delivery in Canada’s Cities

Racial Wealth Divide in New Orleans

Building blocks to help youth achieve financial capability: A new model and recommendations

Building blocks to help youth achieve financial capability: Report brief

Payday Loans: Market Trends

VITA Sites Serving Native Communities: The State of the Field

Social Determinants of Health: The Canadian Facts

Ending homelessness in Canada: A Study of 10-Year Plans in 4 Canadian Cities

Aboriginal Financial Literacy in Canada: Issues and Directions

Shadow Economies: Economic Survival Strategies of Toronto Immigrant Communities

Closing the gap in a generation. Health equity through action on the social determinants of health

Financial Capability: What is it, and how can it be created?

Break the Barriers: Millions in Canada still struggle to get by

Financial Capability and Essential Skills: An exploratory analysis

FINAL REPORT Public Opinion Research to Strengthen Financial Literacy for Seniors

Canadian Consumer Finance Association: Filling the Gap – Canada’s Payday Lenders

Increasing saving at tax time and promising practices for the field

Geographies of Inequality

TOcore Community Services & Facilities Study Phase One: Taking Stock

We ask because we care. The Tri-Hospital + TPH Health Equity Data Collection Research Project Report

Child Rich Communities: Aotearoa New Zealand’s ‘Bright Spots’

A Profile of the Working Poor – 2014

A Profile of the Working Poor – 2015

The Invisible Crime: A Report on Seniors Financial Abuse

Short-Term Gain, Long-Term Pain: Examining the Growing Payday Loan Industry in B.C.

On the Map: The Atlas of Student Homelessness in New York City

Inclusive Employment for Canadians with Disabilities: Toward a New Policy Framework and Agenda

Paychecks, Paydays, and the Online Platform Economy Big Data on Income Volatility

Vulnerable Households and the Smart Grid in Ontario Emerging Challenges and Opportunities

The childhood origins of social mobility: socio-economic inequalities and changing opportunities

The Very Poor and the Affordability of Housing

International Review: Mobile Payments and Consumer Protection

Tools for saving: Using prepaid accounts to set aside funds

Toronto’s Vital Signs

Banking Fees in Canada: Patterns and Trends

MyBudgetCoach Pilot Study: Summary of Findings

MyBudgetCoach Pilot Evaluation: Final Report

Report on Equality Rights of People with Disabilities

Determinants of Asset Building

An Evaluation of the Impacts and Implementation Approaches of Financial Coaching Programs

Budgeting for a Year with Lumpy Income

Emergency Savings

Relying on Erratic Income Sources

Extended family strives to get ahead

Getting By With Limited Resources

Income Gains and Month-to-Month Income Volatility: Household evidence from the US Financial Diaries

An Invisible Finance Sector: How Households Use Financial Tools of Their Own Making

Keeping Control by Relying on Cash

Using low income and material deprivation to monitor poverty reduction

Building Economic Security in America’s Cities New Municipal Strategies for Asset Building and Financial Empowerment

Welfare Re-form: The Future of Social Policy in Canada

Toronto’s Vital Signs

The Unequal City 2015: Income and Health Inequities in Toronto

The Unequal City 2015: Income and Health Inequities in Toronto – Technical Report

TO Prosperity: Toronto Poverty Reduction Strategy

Aboriginal Life Skills and Financial Literacy Curriculum Development and Education

Fringe Financial Institutions, The Unbanked, and the Precariously Banked: Survey Results from Prince George, B.C.

Favoriser La Santé Financière des Aînés

How Young People View Credit: Predictable Debt Overload?

Financial Stability through Integration of Service Delivery

Taking Back Our Neighbourhoods: Mapping the Need for Neighbourhood Revitalization

The Opportunity Equation: Building opportunity in the face of growing income inequality

Banking the Unbanked? Evidence from Three Countries

The Evolution of Household Income Volatility

Welcome to the financial mainstream? The hazards facing low income people when navigating the financial world

Planning for Retirement on a Low Income

The Working Poor in the Toronto Region: Mapping working poverty in Canada

Aboriginal People and the Labour Market: Estimates from the Labour Force Survey, 2008-2010

What can we learn about low-income dynamics in Canada from the Longitudinal Administrative Databank?

Canadian and US Millenials: One of these is Not Like The Other

Community-led approaches to reducing poverty in neighbourhoods: A review of evidence and practice

An Analysis of the Economic Circumstances of Canadian Seniors

Financial Literacy and the Take-Up of Government Benefits

Mapping momentum: A snapshot of the emerging field of systems change

Integrating Financial Stability Strategies into Workforce Development Programs: An Implementation Pilot in Boston

My Turn to Speak: Voices of Microfinance Clients in Benin, Pakistan, Peru and Georgia

The Rise and Fall of Social Assistance Use in Canada, 1969-2012

The role of financial literacy in financial decisions and retirement preparedness among seniors and near-seniors

Future to Discover: Sixth Year Post-secondary Impacts Report

Learning to Save, Saving to Learn

The link between financial confidence and financial outcomes among working-aged Canadians

Long-term impacts of supporting all students leaving high school to apply to college or university

Report on the Design of the National Demonstration Project

Environmental Scan of the Supply of Financial Capability Information Education and Advice in Canada

Financial Capability and Poverty: Discussion Paper

Capacité financière et pauvreté: Document de discussion

Financial Inclusion for Homeless Persons and Those at Risk

Financial Literacy: Strategies to Meet the Needs of Low Income Albertans

Independent Living Accounts: Leaving Homelessness in the Past

Opportunities Account for Youth in Care

The Registered Disability Savings Plan Program: Why Isn’t It Helping More People?

Building Financial Education: Impact and Insights from the TD Financial Literacy Grant Fund

Financial Counselling For People Living on Low Incomes: International Scan of Best Practices

Financial Experience & Behaviors Among Women

Financial Planning Profiles of American Households: The 2013 Household Financial Planning Survey and Index

The case for Financial Literacy: Assessing the effects of financial literacy interventions for low income and vulnerable groups in Canada

A new (and better) way to measure individual financial capability

The Peel Children and Youth Initiative’s Enrolled By Six: Peel Postsecondary Strategy. A collective impact approach to the Canada Learning Bond in Peel

The Precarious State of Family Balance Sheets

Building an Equitable Tax Code: A Primer for Advocates

Americans’ Financial Security: Perception and Reality

Asset Building and the Escape from Poverty: A New Welfare Policy Debate

USAI Utility Self-Voicing Access Inter-Relationality Research Framework

Income and Health: Opportunities to achieve health equity in Ontario

Planning for Life: Results Report for the Operation Come Home Finance Matters Program

Taking the First Step: Using Behavioral Economics to Help Incarcerated Parents Apply for Child Support Order Modifications

Access to Capital and Credit in Native Communities

Building Assets and Building Lives: Financial Capability Programs in Native Communities

Building Financial Counseling into Social Service Delivery: Research and Implementation Findings for Social Service Programs

Findings from the Citywide Financial Services Study

Immigrant Financial Services Study

NYC’s Paid Sick Leave Law: First Year Milestones

Municipal Financial Empowerment: A Supervitamin for Public Programs. Strategy #2: Professionalizing the Field

Municipal Financial Empowerment: A Supervitamin for Public Programs. Strategy #3: Integrating Safe and Affordable Bank Accounts.

Municipal Financial Empowerment: A Supervitamin for Public Programs. Strategy #4: Targeting Consumer Financial Protection Powers.

Municipal Financial Empowerment: A Supervitamin for Public Programs. Strategy #5: Integrating Asset Building

Municipal Financial Empowerment: A Supervitamin for Public Programs. Strategy #1: Integrating Professional Financial Counseling

Virtual VITA: Expanding Free Tax Preparation. Program Insights

This brief highlights findings from a small-scale pilot that integrated Virtual Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) services at two New York City Head Start programs during the 2013 tax season. The New York City Department of Consumer Affairs Office of Financial Empowerment (OFE) coordinated the pilot in partnership with the Administration for Children & Families (ACF) Region Food Bank For New York City was the VITA provider. Participating Head Start programs included The Children’s Aid Society and Kingsbridge Heights Community Center (KHCC).

No Safe Street: A Survey of Hate Crimes and Violence Committed Against Homeless People in 2014 & 2015

The Dollars and Sense of Solving Poverty

Financial Capability of Adults with Disabilities. Findings from the FINRA Investor Education Foundation 2012 National Financial Capability Study

Measuring Outcomes of Financial Capability Programs: Success Measures Tools for Practitioners

Scaling Financial Coaching: Critical Lessons and Effective Practices

Networked Change: How progressive campaigns are won in the 21st Century

Financial Empowerment: How Delaware Improved Financial Security through Coaching

Umbrellas Don’t Make it Rain: Why Studying and Working Hard isn’t Enough for Black Americans

The Panel Study of Income Dynamics: overview, recent innovations, and potential for life course research

Estimates of the asset-effect: the search for a causal effect of assets on adult health and employment outcomes

The Real Cost of Payday Lending

Since the early 1990s payday lending businesses have become increasingly prolific in most parts of Canada, including Calgary. Social agencies and advocates working to reduce poverty view payday lenders and other fringe financial businesses as problematic for those looking to exit the cycle of poverty. Payday lenders charge interest rates that, when annualized, top 400%. The industry justifies this by stating that comparisons to an annual rate are unfair as loans are not meant to or allowed to last longer than two months. However, the fact remains that these businesses charge far more for credit than mainstream financial institutions and are more prevalent in lower income neighbourhoods.

Emerging Models and Promising Practices: A “snapshot” of Community-based financial capability Practice in Canada

Understanding the Financial Advocacy and Problem-Solving (FAPS) Model

Pathways to Social and Economic Inclusion: An evaluation of the Financial Advocacy and Problem-Solving (FAPS) Program

A Woman’s Guide to Money, Relationships, and the Law in Ontario

Evaluation of the Family Self-Sufficiency Program: Prospective Study

Poverty Interrupted: Applying Behavioural Science to the Context of Chronic Scarcity

Hidden in Plain Sight: Homeless Students in America’s Public Schools

An Asset Account for Looked After Children: A proposal to improve educational outcomes for children in care

Living in the Red – Winnipeg bankruptcy and debt

Weathering Volatility: Big Data on the Financial Ups and Downs of U.S. Individuals

Poverty, Aspirations, and the Economics of Hope: A Framework for Study with Preliminary Results from the Oaxaca Hope Project

Scaling Financial Development: Improving Outcomes and Influencing Impact

Financial Capability in the United States 2016

Financial Capability in the United States 2013

The Workplace as a Platform for Financial Stability: A Profile of Working Bridges

Hunger Count 2014: A Comprehensive Report on Hunger and Food Bank Use in Canada, and Recommendations for Change

The Town with No Poverty: The Health Effects of a Canadian Guaranteed Annual Income Field Experiment

Levels of Financial Capability in the UK: results of a baseline survey

Let’s Do This. Let’s End Child Poverty For Good. 2015 Report Card on Child and Family Poverty in Canada

Overcoming Poverty Together: The New Brunswick Economic and Social Inclusion Plan, 2014-2019

Auto Finance: Market Trends

Payday Loans: An Expensive Way to Borrow

Managing Money and Planning for the Future: Key Findings from the 2014 Canadian Financial Capability Survey

Strengthening Financial Literacy Through Collaboration: Highlights of the 2014 National Conference on Financial Literacy

2013 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households

The Color of Wealth in Boston: A Joint Publication with Duke University and The New School

The Color of Wealth in Los Angeles

The 2013 Federal Reserve Payments Study

Report on the Economic Well-being of US Households in 2013

Addressing Income Volatility of Low Income Populations

Canadian Credit Union Scan of Financial Literacy Initiatives

System Brief. Financial Literacy: What’s Best and What’s Next?

Save to Win: 2009 Final Project Results

Foundations of Financial Well-Being: Insights into the Role of Executive Function, Financial Socialization, and Experience-Based Learning in Childhood and Youth

Great Expectations: Findings from 13 years of Children’s Education Savings Accounts

Monthly household income volatility in the U.S., 1991/92 vs. 2002/03

Fair Financing: Expanding Small-Dollar Short-Term Credit for Albertans

Barista or Better? New evidence on the earnings of post-secondary education graduates: A tax linkage approach. Analysis of Bachelor’s Degree Programs

Financial Coaching: An Asset-Building Strategy

Financial coaching is a promising strategy to help people improve their financial well-being, but is often not yet universally understood. Practitioners are turning to coaching strategies to better facilitate behaviour change as opposed to the disappointing results often found when only financial education or financial access programs are introduced. Shared insights on financial coaching can help shape collective action by funders seeking to facilitate greater financial capability among targeted populations.

Investing in the American Dream: How Financial Institutions Can Build Long-Term Relationships with Immigrants Before and After Immigration Reform

Know Your Borrower: The Four Need Cases of Small-Dollar Credit Consumers

The Professionalizing Field of Financial Counseling and Coaching: A Journal of Essays from Expert Perspectives in the Field

Summer Jobs Connect: Building Banking and Savings Programs in Summer Youth Employment

Summer Jobs Connect. More than a Job: Lessons from the First Year of Enhancing Municipal Summer Youth Employment Programs through Financial Empowerment