Internal memos warn tweaking retirement age would impoverish seniors
· Toronto Sun
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Even as the price tag for Canada’s old age security (OAS) program is expected to skyrocket, internal government memos state that increasing the eligibility age would plunge many 65- and 66-year-olds into poverty.
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According to briefing notes published by the Department of Employment, about 20% of those aged 65 and 66 rely on OAS and the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) for most of their income.
“The number of seniors living in low income in this age group would have risen significantly with the increase in the age of eligibility,” read an excerpt from the memo, published Wednesday by Blacklock’s Reporter .
“Vulnerable 65- and 66-year-old seniors depend on this support and without it, would have faced a much higher risk of living in poverty, which is not acceptable.”
In 2012, the previous Stephen Harper government oversaw the passage of legislation to delay OAS eligibility until 67, a move the government said would save government coffers nearly $11 billion.
That move was reversed four years later by the Justin Trudeau Liberals, restoring the age to 65.
OAS program costs set to skyrocket
Driven by an aging populations and the fact Canadians are living longer than ever, expenditures incurred by the OAS program are projected to climb to $136.6 billion by 2035.
That number is only expected to increase, foreact to reach a staggering $276.5 billion by the year 2060.
According to the latest numbers, Canada is home to 8.4 million seniors — representing nearly one-fifth of Canada’s population.
By 2060 that number is expected to exceed 12 million, pushing costs even higher.
“The ratio of program expenditures to GDP is projected to increase from 2.8 per cent in 2025 to a high of 3 per cent in 2033,” the briefing note read.