Some Pensioners to Get a Raise in “Pay”

Do you make the cut? Or are you just shy?

Are you old enough to be receiving payments from the Canadian government’s Old Age Security (or OAS for short) pension program?  Some of you who are may have noticed that the amount of money on your OAS cheque or in your bank / credit union’s direct deposit (made 3 banking days before month end) account went up this past month (July).

By “some of you,” I mean OAS program pensioners 75 years old or older as of July 2022. That leaves me out, at least for now.

Yes, for the first time since 1973, that subset of older seniors saw their base amount, usually $666.83 for those receiving a full OAS pension, raised by the federal government to $733.51, a ten percent (10%) increase.

You will recall that the objective of Canada’s OAS program is to ensure a minimum income for seniors and to help reduce the incidence of “low income” among Canada’s seniors. This increase should help those that are eligible with that goal.

The OAS pension is paid to all individuals aged sixty-five (65) and older who meet the residence requirements. The amount you get depends on how long you have lived in Canada after the age of eighteen (18) and the amount of your total income from all sources.  (Note that in addition to the OAS pension, there are three other OAS benefits that you may qualify for, but we won’t get into them in this article).

Another important fact about your OAS pension worth mentioning is that it is indexed. This means that on a quarterly basis (in January, April, July and October), if the price of everything goes up according to the Consumer Price Index (CPI), then your OAS benefit will also go up. Note that if the cost of goods and services goes down according to the CPI, OAS benefits do not decrease. Great!

Older seniors make up one of this country’s fastest-growing demographics and the portion of the population aged 85 and over is expected to triple over the next 25 years.

Finally, here’s what the Honourable Kamal Khera, Minister of Seniors, had to say about this change:  “The permanent increase to the OAS pension will help provide older seniors with greater financial security now and in the future. Younger seniors—and all Canadians—can enjoy greater peace of mind while planning their retirement finances, knowing they will be able to count on more support from the OAS pension in their later years.”

Are you enjoying that greater peace of mind?  If you want to learn more about this topic and you have an internet connection, go to…

https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/news

This article has been written by: Jim Loyer

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