The current Old Age Security is a basic pension offered to almost all seniors that are 65 years old or older and has been a Canadian resident for a certain amount of time. Depending whether the individual is living in or out of Canada, changes their eligibility through the amount of time they must reside in Canada. For those who live in Canada, they must have stayed in the country for more than 10 years after turning the age of 18 and for those who live out of Canada, they must live in the country for 20 years after turning the age of 18 (Old Age Security Pension, 2015). This pension includes two add-ons, the Guaranteed Income Supplement and the Spouses Allowance, which are extra income-test benefits to help those with little to no income
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The eligibility is income-tested through review of the individual’s Income Tax and Benefit Returns (Guaranteed Income Supplement). Factors change depending on whether the individual is a sponsored immigrant or not . Another add-on would be the Spouse’s Allowance, which was initiated to deal with any anomaly created in the Old Age Pension and Guaranteed Income Supplement (Hick, 2014, 322). This provides the spouse of any 65 year old eligible for Old Age Pension and is between 60-64 year old, an income-tested …show more content…
Seniors fall into the category of “deserving poor” because they are more physically vulnerable and less able to work. Although the initial pension was to assist elders that were replaced in work, the Old Age Security is for those who are eligible and considered retired. Starting April 2025, the age of eligibility will slowly increase and this is because people are living longer and having fewer children. The reduction of taxes being collected results to the reduction of social programs (Hicks, 2014, 67). This also prevents able-bodied individuals from receiving government funded benefits and losing motivation to work. Connecting with the concept of economic security, the term “less eligibility” creates balance to protect the economy. This is proven through the constant adjustments to the eligibility of the pension, which altered from the means test to universal to contributory. Old Age Security is almost universal but the Spouse Allowance is obtained through an income test. The combination of Old Age Security and Guaranteed Income Supplement only sums up to around $15,407 annually, which is below
The eligibility is income-tested through review of the individual’s Income Tax and Benefit Returns (Guaranteed Income Supplement). Factors change depending on whether the individual is a sponsored immigrant or not . Another add-on would be the Spouse’s Allowance, which was initiated to deal with any anomaly created in the Old Age Pension and Guaranteed Income Supplement (Hick, 2014, 322). This provides the spouse of any 65 year old eligible for Old Age Pension and is between 60-64 year old, an income-tested …show more content…
Seniors fall into the category of “deserving poor” because they are more physically vulnerable and less able to work. Although the initial pension was to assist elders that were replaced in work, the Old Age Security is for those who are eligible and considered retired. Starting April 2025, the age of eligibility will slowly increase and this is because people are living longer and having fewer children. The reduction of taxes being collected results to the reduction of social programs (Hicks, 2014, 67). This also prevents able-bodied individuals from receiving government funded benefits and losing motivation to work. Connecting with the concept of economic security, the term “less eligibility” creates balance to protect the economy. This is proven through the constant adjustments to the eligibility of the pension, which altered from the means test to universal to contributory. Old Age Security is almost universal but the Spouse Allowance is obtained through an income test. The combination of Old Age Security and Guaranteed Income Supplement only sums up to around $15,407 annually, which is below