FAQ

The Cost of Ageing (COA) Calculator is a research tool of the National Institute on Ageing (NIA) at Toronto Metropolitan University, developed under the academic leadership of Bonnie-Jeanne MacDonald and He Chen. It is an online tool that provides evidence-based estimates of the costs associated with ageing in Canada.

The COA Calculator allows users to explore how ageing-related costs vary based on factors such as household size, region of residence, health status, living arrangements and retirement living standard.

The COA Calculator produces estimated annual costs associated with ageing in retirement, tailored to the user’s selected characteristics. Results cover key categories of spending, including food, shelter, transportation, home care and other living expenses.

Estimates are presented across three retirement living standards, which reflect different levels of spending associated with varying financial resources in later life:

Modest:

Reflects spending associated with constrained financial resources and essential living needs. This standard includes basic housing, nutritious food meeting dietary needs, public transportation, and access to necessary health care. Living arrangements may include smaller spaces or shared rooms in retirement or long-term care settings.

Moderate:

Reflects spending typical of households with moderate financial resources. This standard includes improved housing, greater variety in food options (such as occasional dining out), private transportation, larger living spaces, semi-private rooms in retirement or long-term care homes, and flexibility for occasional domestic travel.

Comfortable:

Reflects spending associated with above-average financial resources, broadly consistent with upper-middle-income households rather than high-income or wealthy households. This standard includes spacious housing, diverse food options, convenient transportation, private rooms in retirement or long-term care homes, broader recreational travel, and the option of private insurance for enhanced health-care coverage.

Together, these results illustrate how ageing-related costs can vary across circumstances, living arrangements, and resource levels.

The COA Calculator includes 840 possible combinations, based on variations in factors such as health status, home care needs, region of residence, living arrangements and retirement living standard.

The COA Calculator is most informative when used to explore how ageing-related costs may change as circumstances evolve over time. By comparing different scenarios, users can see how potential future changes—such as health, living arrangements or location—could affect their expenses. Examining individual cost categories along with the total estimate can provide additional insight into how these factors shape overall costs in later life.

The COA Calculator builds on the Canadian Elder Standard (CES) methodology, an academic framework first developed by Dr. Bonnie-Jeanne MacDonald in 2010. Since then, both the methodology and data have evolved substantially to reflect current economic conditions, health care needs and living arrangements of older Canadians.

The current version of the COA incorporates insights from more than 100 data sources and introduces 11 tailored modelling methodologies to produce estimates that are comprehensive, realistic, and sensitive to regional and individual differences.

The COA calculator is updated annually to reflect the most current real-world data and available evidence.

The COA Calculator presents estimates based on 2025 prices. Because costs and personal circumstances change over time, the calculator is updated annually, and users are encouraged to revisit the tool as their situation or planning horizon evolves.

The COA Calculator is designed specifically for Canada and is based on Canadian data sources. As such, it is most relevant for understanding ageing-related costs within the Canadian context.

No. The COA calculator does not store any personal data or inputs entered by users. All information remains on the user’s device and is not saved or shared.