Should income transfers be targeted or universal? Insights from public pension influences on elderly mortality in Canada, 1921–1966

We investigate the impact of Canada's means-tested and universal public pension programs on the mortality rates of age groups eligible for pension benefits for the period 1921–1966. We find that only the universal program significantly reduced pension eligible age group mortality rates. The implied social value of the mortality risk reduction from this program is one-tenth of the value per statistical life associated with contemporary government policy, meaning that Canadians did not need to place a high value on the life of a senior to justify the higher cost of the universal program.