One-third of employed women and one-quarter of employed men ages 25 to 54 were covered by a DB plan in 2012, says Statistics Canada.
Women had higher coverage rates mostly because they were more likely than men to be employed in sectors with higher rates of pension coverage.
These sectors included educational services, healthcare and social assistance, and public administration, which, in 2012, employed 42% of women and 17% of men.
The finding is part of a new study that sheds light on the relationship between the type of pension coverage and the individual characteristics of employed people. It’s based on recently released data from the Longitudinal and International Study of Adults.
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Among employed university graduates, 42% of women and 30% of men were covered by a DB plan in 2012. This compared with DB coverage rates that hovered around 18% among men and women with a high school diploma or less.
Young university graduates were also more likely to be covered by a DB plan than their less-educated counterparts.
In 2012, 35% of female university graduates and 22% of male university graduates ages 25 to 34 were covered by a DB plan, compared with 15% of females and 9% of males in the same age group with a high school diploma or less.
When they were covered by a DB plan, those with a university education were also entitled to more generous benefits.
Of all university degree holders with DB plans, 96% had plans where the pension formula was based on average best earnings, or final average earnings. This compared with 69% among DB plan members who had a high school diploma or less.
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Pension coverage, particularly by DB plans, was higher in larger workplaces.
For example, 46% of men working in workplaces with over 1,000 employees were covered by DB plans. This compared with 14% among men working in workplaces with 10 workers or less.
Since workers in larger firms and highly educated individuals are better paid than those in smaller firms and with a lower level of educational attainment, higher wages were also associated with higher pension coverage rates.
Among those in the top 10% of wage earners, 60% of female employees and 37% of male employees were covered by a DB pension plan.
This compared with less than 7% among men and women in the bottom 10% of wage earners.