Subjects: ECO, SCZ, CFG
Minister Duclos highlights importance of supporting present and future generations of Canadian retirees
MARKHAM, ON, July 9, 2019 /CNW/ - After a lifetime of hard work, middle class Canadians want to know that they will have the money they need to retire with dignity.
Today, the Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, was in Markham to speak about measures the Government of Canada has taken to make it easier to retire. While visiting firefighters at Station 95, he reinforced the importance of planning for a safe and secure retirement.
The Old Age Security (OAS) program plays a significant role in providing income security to Canadians in their senior years. Yet changes made in 2012 to increase the age of eligibility for OAS benefits meant that middle class Canadians might not have been able to rely on them when they start their retirement. For many Canadians, like the firefighters in Markham, working to 67 is not an option. That is why, in Budget 2016, the Government restored the age of eligibility for OAS benefits from 67 back to 65 years old. With this change, Canadians will not need to wait two additional years to receive benefits.
In addition, to assist middle class Canadians and those working hard to join it, the Government enhanced the Canada Pension Plan (CPP). The newly strengthened CPP will provide today's workers with more money they can count on when they retire, with increases of up to 50 percent in retirement benefits for today's young workers. This represents a major step in improving retirement outcomes for workers and ensuring that fewer households are at risk of not saving enough for retirement.
The enhanced CPP will also support people with severe and prolonged disabilities as well as survivors and the families of deceased workers who had low incomes. It includes measures to protect the benefits of parents of young children and people with disabilities.
With all of these actions, the Government of Canada is ensuring all Canadians have the support they need when they leave work so they can enjoy a safe, secure and dignified retirement.
Quote
"Middle class Canadians work hard and deserve to know that they can retire in dignity. The newly enhanced Canada Pension Plan will provide more money to Canadians while the changes to Old Age Security will mean they get this support when they actually start their retirement."
? The Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development
Quick Facts
- The Government has a broad national seniors agenda that involves initiatives to advance four policy objectives, which are to: improve the income security of seniors; increase their access to affordable housing; promote healthy aging and improve access to health care; and foster their social inclusion.
- Private-sector pensions are on the decline, and Finance Canada estimates that 1.1 million families (24 percent) nearing retirement may not have enough money to maintain their standard of living after they retire.
- Twenty-nine percent of working-age Canadians think they will be financially comfortable when they retire, less than the global average (34 percent).
- The newly strengthened CPP will help by providing today's workers with more money they can count on when they retire, with increases of up to 50 percent in retirement benefits for today's young workers.
- Further, Budget 2019 built on this work to enhance retirement security by safeguarding the security of workplace pensions, enhancing the Guaranteed Income Supplement earnings exemption for working low-income seniors along with proactive enrolment for the CPP retirement pension of contributors at age 70.
Associated Links
Canada Pension Plan enhancement
Old Age Security
Budget Plan
Backgrounder: A Secure and Dignified Retirement for Canadians
SOURCE Employment and Social Development Canada
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