Percy Huntington’s dentures sit in a plastic container by his bathroom sink, a constant reminder of retirement’s hardships.
“We got a hard job to live on what we got,” the 83-year-old former transport truck driver says just before sitting down to his lunch of homemade shrimp soup.
Luckily, Huntington loves seafood; he can no longer eat tougher meals, such as steak or roast. His top dentures work, but the bottom ones “flop all over” his mouth. He paid $1,200 for them five years ago and says he cannot afford new ones, although the province and Ottawa do offer some dental care for eligible seniors. So, the dentures sit in the bathroom, and he eats what he can.
Making do with little has been his lifestyle since retiring in 2004.
Huntington’s annual income is just less than $21,000 — a combination of his Canada Pension Plan, Old Age Security and Guaranteed Income Supplement from the federal government and a meagre union pension. His wife, Janet, makes slightly more, mainly because she receives workers’ compensation.
He keeps busy. As the president of the New Brunswick Senior Citizens Federation, he meets with seniors and government officials, advocating for seniors’ needs.
The seniors tell him about money — that everything costs more. “Seniors cannot afford to live on the money they’re getting,” he said.
Some members of Parliament are advocating for change. A Parliamentary committee is almost finished studying Bill C-319, a private member’s bill introduced by MP Andréanne Larouche, Bloc Quebecois — Shefford, Que., in March 2023. The bill proposes to raise Old Age Security amounts by 10 per cent for seniors between 65 and 74.
In 2022, seniors like Huntington saw their monthly payments increase after the government raised Old Age Security amounts by 10 per cent for people 75 and older. The private member’s bill is meant to ensure all seniors get that increase, Larouche told the House of Commons when she introduced the bill last March.
Giving older seniors more money than younger seniors has created a “two-tier” system, says Leslie Gaudette, president of the Council of Senior Citizens’ Organizations which represents seniors’ organizations across British Columbia.
Many older Canadians’ conversations about finances “shifted a couple of years ago, from a longer-term worry about ‘How will I manage in retirement?’ to ‘How am I going to pay the bills this month?’” said Laura Tamblyn Watts, president and CEO of CanAge, a national seniors’ advocacy organization.
Gaudette and Tamblyn Watts say Old Age Security payments should be raised.
But not everyone agrees that raising Old Age Security is the best way to achieve financial security for seniors.
Increasing Old Age Security “would be one of the most expensive ways” to reduce seniors’ poverty, said David Macdonald, senior economist with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. The best approach would be to focus on increasing the Guaranteed Income Supplement, he says. The Guaranteed Income Supplement is an additional payment for lower-income seniors who receive Old Age Security.
Old Age Security is a federal payment to Canadians or legal residents 65 and older who worked, as an adult, in Canada for at least 10 years.
The maximum monthly Old Age Security amounts for January to March this year are $713.34 for 65- to 74-year-olds and $784.67 for those 75 and older. The amount is reviewed every three months and may increase to reflect living costs, the government’s website says.
Individuals are eligible if their net income in 2022 was less than $142,609 for seniors aged 65 to 74 or $148,179 for those 75 and older. People whose 2022 income is $81,761 or higher will see some of their Old Age Security payments clawed back.
In 2023, about 7.3 million Canadians received Old Age Security and 2.5 million received the Guaranteed Income Supplement, according to a report by the Chief Actuary.
Old Age Security is taxable. The Guaranteed Income Supplement, while tax-reportable, is not taxable.
Collectively, Old Age Security and Guaranteed Income Supplement payments totalled $69.4 billion in the 2022-2023 fiscal year. Last fall’s economic statement estimates that cost will rise to $101.3 billion in 2027-2028.
The government consistently spends more on Old Age Security and Guaranteed Income Supplement than it does on social programs for younger Canadians, says Paul Kershaw, founder of Generation Squeeze, a think tank that advocates for investments in programs that will benefit younger Canadians and their families.
“We have a much less targeted approach to Old Age Security than we do for some of our other income benefits,” he said.
‘Quite justified’
In Oshawa, Lynne Irwin, 69, retired early 20 years ago and began receiving Ontario Disability Support Program payments, social assistance for disabled adults. When she turned 65, she started getting Old Age Security.
She says seniors between 65 and 74 should receive an increase to Old Age Security. “They’re treating us differently,” she said. “It’s like you have first-class senior citizens and second-class senior citizens.”
Irwin and her husband, who also receives Old Age Security, struggle to pay their rent of just more than $1,000 a month. They know they would not be able to find another two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment for less.
In 2021, 5.6 per cent of Canadian seniors were living in poverty; for unattached seniors, it was 13 per cent, according to Statistics Canada data. But accurately measuring the number of seniors living in poverty is difficult.
Canada uses the Market Basket Measure to determine who is living in poverty. It measures how much a family of four will need to live, not what seniors need. The measure may not accurately reflect seniors’ experiences, says Tamblyn Watts. It also does not take into account health-care costs.
John Stapleton, a public policy consultant in Ontario who himself receives Old Age Security, says the difference in amounts for younger and older seniors is “quite justified.” People older than 75 have more medical needs and are less able to work than younger seniors, he said.
Stapleton says poverty would be better addressed by raising the Guaranteed Income Supplement. Fewer people receive it. “Everybody gets Old Age Security,” he said. “If that money were to go into Guaranteed Income Supplement, it would help seniors in need, who actually need the income.”
Macdonald at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives agrees. He says the change that would benefit the most people is cancelling the 10 per cent Old Age Security increase for people older than 75 and putting that money into Guaranteed Income Supplement payments.
“That would have a much bigger impact for the same dollar value in terms of reducing senior poverty,” he said.
Just get rid of OAS completely and beef up GIS as required to ensure it is sufficient to keep a single senior out of poverty. Non taxable status is fine as long as clawback rate is a constant rate, say 70% (current clawback varies, flipping between 50 and 70% depending on bracket).
A sufficient amount for a single will clearly be more than enough for a couple, but why should a couple be penalized for a living arrangement that is more economical for them? (Analogous to Duke of Westminster tax case:
Every man is entitled, if he can, to order his affairs so that the tax attaching under the appropriate Acts is less than it otherwise would be.) It also prevents having to monitor who’s living with whom, since penalizing married couples without also penalizing roommates in non-conjugal living arrangements would be clearly biased.
We need at least $1000.00 more a month to live in dignity
Stop giving our Canadian dollars to support other countries
I have lived all my life Canada and started working at 16. Soon my husband and I will have to sell our hard earned home or borrow against our home because we cannot afford to pay our property taxes.
Oh Canada what a disappointment you have become. And where do we go from here????? We need help?????
I agree the money is best spent on GIS to tackle true low income seniors. Most with no work pensions .
People need to start saving their money earlier.