98.5 SENIORS' BENEFIT AND EROSION OF SAVING
Whereas, The National Council of Women of Canada in 1996 urged the Government of Canada to continue to make Old Age Security payments based on individual incomes; and
Whereas, The Government of Canada has proposed to restructure the Old Age Security/Guaranteed Income Supplement System, which has been in place since 1952, and replace it with a Senior’s Benefit; and
Whereas, The proposed Seniors’ Benefit will provide (tax free) $11,420 to single seniors and $18,440 to senior couples, who have no other source of income, providing $120 more than the present OAS/GIS system; and
Whereas, The proposed “clawback” rate of 50% starts on the first dollar of personal income, a rate which operates until $5,160 of the Benefit remains for single seniors and $10,320 for couples and the $5,160/$10,320 is then clawed back starting at $25,921 of combined income at 20% rate which is exhausted for singles at approximately $51,000 and couples at $78,000; and
Whereas, Concern has been expressed that the Senior’s Benefit, as proposed, discourages younger people from saving for their retirement years because of the high rate of “clawback” of their benefit; and
RESOLVED, That the National Council of Women of Canada urge the Government of Canada to:
- Reconsider its decision to use family income to determine the Senior’s Benefit clawback; and
- Set the threshold of the initial “clawback” of the Senior’s Benefit base on total personal income not lower than the most recent Statistics Canada poverty line; and
- Ensure that the base rate of the Senior’s Benefit e raised by at least $500 and that it be indexed to the rate of inflation based on the current indexed amount; and
- Undertake a gender analysis of the Seniors’ Benefit before implementing the programme and release the findings allowing time for public input before implementation; and
- Redesign the Seniors’ Benefit to ensure the incentive to save for one’s retirement years remains part of the system.