Rhys Kesselman, a professor at the school of public policy at Simon Fraser University, agreed, saying the changes could affect people in “back-breaking” jobs, or those who become disabled. Whereas in the past at 65 they could go on OAS and GIS, and at least make $15,000 each year, now they could be forced to collect welfare, which pays much less.
Old Age Security changes to have far-reaching effects
“We’re talking about people doing heavy manual labour. They’re worn out and they may be disabled,” Kesselman said. “By and large, they will be on welfare, which would have to carry them an extra two years.”
Eng said many of those people would not be able to bring themselves to apply for welfare, and the monthly welfare amount is much less than OAS and GIS combined.
Kesselman said increasing the age of eligibility for OAS makes sense in terms of growing life expectancies, improved health of seniors and increased level of education.
“For most people, working longer makes sense,” Kesselman said. “Otherwise, the amount of savings that people must do during their working lives becomes unusually heavy to sustain their living standards.”
The changes also introduce automatic enrolment for OAS and GIS, which Kesselman said is “very positive,” because some seniors do not know about the GIS, and it can only be backdated for one year.
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