Inter-Jurisdictional Retirement in Canada

Abstract

I provide the first look at inter-jurisdictional retirement in Canada, which refers to working in one jurisdiction but moving to another at retirement. Using administrative data from 1982 to 2018, I find that the likelihood of moving jurisdictions doubles at retirement, using an event-study design. This effect is driven by younger and higher-income tax filers who likely moved during their working years for high-paying jobs and could afford to retire earlier and move home. The Atlantic provinces and British Columbia are net recipients of inter-jurisdictional retirees, whereas all others are net donors. Hence, there is asymmetry between where people work and pay taxes before retirement and where they live after retirement.