In this on-again, off-again economic recovery, some unemployed mid- or late-career professionals are tapping their retirement nest eggs just to survive financially in the here and now. The question is, what happens once they actually reach retirement age?
Even with no savings or company pensions, Canadians do have a basic safety net once they reach the magic age of 65. Various government programs can deliver $14,000 or $15,000 of annual income — much of it tax-free and indexed to inflation. That’s not living large, of course, especially in big cities.
For those who worked, the primary safety net is the Canada Pension Plan, created in 1966, along with Old Age Security, around since 1952.
And for those who spent minimal time in the workforce, the lack of CPP benefits can be made up in part by the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS), plus various provincial top-up programs.
However, those who track senior poverty are concerned not all who qualify actually receive these benefits.
As of 2006, according to the Auditor General, almost 4.1 million seniors received OAS, which is expected to double by 2030. Every Canadian citizen and legal resident qualifies for OAS, but you have to be 65 or older, and resided here for at least 10 years after reaching age 18 (20 years if applying from abroad).
Almost 1.5 million or 37% of all seniors received GIS and 94,000 got the OAS Allowance, which goes to the spouse or common-law …
Read the original article at Financialpost
Related Posts
Tags: benefits, Car, Career, company, financial, government, Inflation, legal, Pensions, PPI, retirement, savings
