Conservative reforms to old age pensions would hurt low-income seniors most, says Bob Rae

OTTAWA—Opposition MPs say low-income seniors would be the real victims of expected changes to a key element of Canada’s Old Age Security program.

“It will have a very dramatic effect on low-income seniors, particularly low-income single women,” Liberal interim leader Bob Rae said Wednesday.

As the Liberals stepped up their efforts to head off the Conservatives’ proposed changes to future pensions, the party said the vast majority of Canadians receiving OAS have average incomes well below $40,000.

Rae also said making seniors wait two more years — to age 67 — to receive OAS would mean the poorest retirees would also have to wait to obtain the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS), an additional support payment for seniors with less than $16,368 in income. That’s because receiving GIS is tied to approval for OAS payments, the Liberals noted. They also released a background document showing more women retirees rely on GIS than men.

Rae added that postponing eligibility for OAS would mean more costs to provinces, which would need to support low-income seniors. “It’s not just a download onto poor people, it’s also a download onto the provinces,” he told reporters.

Since Prime Minister Stephen Harper mused last week about long-term reforms to OAS to save Ottawa money, speculation has focused on the possibility the government would change the eligibility rules. But the Conservatives have not provided any details of Harper’s plan except to say current retirees or those near retirement age need not worry.

“A senior will not lose a single penny, nor one near retirement,” Harper said in the Commons. But he repeated his desire to make changes to OAS that will reduce federal costs over the long term.

Finance Minister Jim Flaherty confirmed his budget, expected in March, will contain no immediate changes to retirement benefits. But the government is reviewing all pension issues, he told CBC-TV. “So we could take some steps in the budget to say, ‘All right, here are some of the things that could be done in the future in order to make sure that these programs are sustainable in the long term,’ “ Flaherty said in an interview from Israel, where he is on government business.

Original Article
Source: Star 
Author: Les Whittington