Tanis is moving in August please stay tuned for new address and phone
number. Visit http://members.xoom.com/doetanis1/newhome.html for some
links. Pls send attachments to [log in to unmask] not to this email thanks.
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Tue, 12 Oct 1999 00:05:08 -0700 (PDT)
From: "Tanis M. Doe" <[log in to unmask]>
To: "Alana R. Theriault" <[log in to unmask]>
Cc: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: WILD: Press Release - Oakland Disability Rally for Work Incentive Bill
PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 12, 1999
Victoria, BC
Researchers Dr Tanis Doe and Sally Kimpson announce the release of their
study on the Canada Pension Plan and women with disabilities. In this
report, which used group interviews and statistics-based scenarios, policy
alternatives are recommended which would enable people to earn incomes as
well as receive pensions. The net revenue in CPP premiums to the federal
government is estimated at over $69 million a year along with an
approximate savings in cost-shared programs that would result if 25% of
the women and
30% of the men who are currently receiving disability pensions were
allowed to return to work part-time to full-time. An additional $190
million in income tax revenue (per year) is predicted if these same people
worked to
incomes in addition to their pensions (CPP Pension benefits are already
taxable).
In addition to showing how the government could remove the huge
disincentives to working, the report also identifies a policy mechanism
which would allow people with persistent disabilities who cannot work a
regular schedule to earn some income while still retaining the security of
their disability pension. Given the discussions held over the last few
years about pension reform, this report has the potential to impact
significantly the lives of people with disabilities receiving disability
benefits under the CPP.
More and more Canadians, as they age, are becoming disabled yet many
people live with episodic or cyclical conditions which enter remission
stage and then become worse. While becoming disabled at age 55 or 60 may
be more expected than at age 35-40 it is no less important to remain
active in the workforce. Women interviewed shared how important their
work roles were to their identities and that working meant contributing
something to the world.
For some women, the fear of losing their pensions had prevented them from
volunteering or even taking personal development courses. People who can
and want to work should not be punished by having their pensions cut off
and then having to re-apply and prove their disability a second time. This
report indicates that even the most recent analyses on the implications of
CPP for women and people with disabilities have failed to take into
account
the double jeopardy of women with disabilities. Women earn less than men,
tend to have had less years contributing to the CPP when they become
disabled, and often, because of the nature of auto-immune disorders, have
trouble getting a believable diagnosis. Women with lupus, arthritis,
chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia outnumber the men with these
disorders and have a harder time getting medical and administrative
approval for pension benefits.
The funding for the project was provided by Status of
Women Canada, although the content is solely the opinion of the authors.
Tanis Doe, Ph.D. can be reached at [log in to unmask] and Sally Kimpson can
be reached at [log in to unmask] Sally Kimpson is presenting a paper on the
report to the national conference of the Canadian Research Institute for
the Advancement of Women Saturday October 16th in Sudbury. Tanis Doe will
be in Ottawa Friday October 15th at the Lord Elgin to release the report.
Copies
of the report in French and English are available from the Status of Women
and on the internet at http://www.swc-cfc.gc.ca under the Research
Publications.
[log in to unmask] or call 613-995-7835
-30-
Tanis is moving in August please stay tuned for new address and phone
number. Visit http://members.xoom.com/doetanis1/newhome.html for some
links. Pls send attachments to [log in to unmask] not to this email thanks.
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