At least a few boomers are quietly suggesting that Old Age Security spending be reined in by some means. Stephen Harper tried something similar by raising the age of eligibility to 67, but Trudeau Junior reversed that. Hopefully this gains traction this time around.
OAS is currently Canada’s costliest federal program, eating up roughly one in every six dollars of federal spending. This amounted to a total of $85.5 billion in 2025-26 and is expected to exceed $100 billion annually by the end of the decade. Paul Kershaw, head of Generation Squeeze, said in a media briefing on Tuesday that policymakers can ill afford to ignore ballooning OAS costs at a time of “heightened geopolitical instability and economic uncertainty.”
There may be some tweaks necessary for OAS but the pushback would be massive. The current federal government that is riddled with waste, mismanagement and corruption would not have the moral high ground to ask seniors to sacrifice.
If the Canadian government wants to make the case to reform OAS then they’d have to get their own house in order first. Get rid of or severely cut back on foreign aid, corporate welfare, government slush funds, overly generous programs for immigrants and asylum seekers, consultants, the size of government and the automatic raises for MPs every April.
“policymakers can ill afford to ignore ballooning OAS costs at a time of “heightened geopolitical instability and economic uncertainty.””
And there it is, the unspoken dig at Orangeman bad.
Can’t be because of the government imposing growth stifling policy for the last decade.
It’s a perfect storm that will come regardless of the efforts to keep the government benefit on life support.
It was never intended as an income, it was intended to purchase the vote of those that live on fixed income.
1-create government dependency with a program that is unsustainable
2- demonize anyone that dare suggest it needs to be scaled back because it’s unsustainable
3- create new program to create new government dependants
4- rinse repeat
The original age of eligibility was chosen because the life expectancy was ~67. OAS was always only intended to provide support for the few years between mandatory retirement and death. To be kept current, the mandatory retirement age should be raised to 80.
Maybe for desk jockeys and other non physical work but this is not possible for people working in trades, labor, construction, resource industries, oil and gas and all other physically demanding work. Besides, i dont think there is a mandatory retirement age anymore.
Just cut off the asylum seekers and refugee claimants from every penny they get. The OAS is already means tested. Make it dependent on being a Canadian citizen for 65 years as well.
LC Hit the nail on the head with her post, butt here are those who think sending money to that CIA war over there is good, stupid is unfixable.
Imagine that? My taxes actually $pays$ the rent for the CIA that lives in your head.
If you raise the age to 67 … then the Chi coms and Punjabis will have to ship their elderly dependents to Canada when they’re slightly older. It would be DISASTROUS for those foreign economies.
You know that “racist” thing Trump says … “without a shred of evidence” – according to the CBC and their ilk … where he claims other countries are emptying out their prisons and mental institutions and sending those dregs into our society? Well the same thing is happening with elderly dependents. The SF Bay Area is Chok-full of non-English speaking LOL’s … Chok-king full of em … all on SS and Medicare.
Cut payments to fake refugees and increase payments to seniors and veterans.
Take more money out of my/our pockets to pay for stupid shit you’re doing? Nope.
OAS is part of the calculation we who are without golden pensions use/used to determine our retirement.
Households with more than $100K, before tax, are not necessarily secure. How many retirees have mortgages and rent? Not everyone at 65 is in a paid-for house, mortgage rates and rent are/have climbed and retirement income has not. How many reside in high cost areas like TO, VanC, Ottawa, Calgary, Edmonton? How many are supporting adult or disabled children?
Just because these *holes are comfy doesn’t mean everyone is. Can’t see past the end of their stuck-up noses.
There’s something in the Trudeau DNA that doesn’t take debt seriousy.
A) Cut payments to Liberal politicians, their families, and all NGOs.
B. No politician or staff member may travel outside the country.
C. Cut all funding to the CBC and other media.
Increasing the eligibility age or cutting benefits slightly for the folks who planned and saved would never be in an election platform. This action would cost the proposing party most of the votes from people over 50, which is most 70% of votes cast. Conversely, the Party that promises NOT to cut OAS gets most of the electorate.
As an OAS recipient, I would support that change if it would result in a balanced budget.
However, the current “new”/old government would just piss away the money on their corruption.
To qualify for the Old Age Security (OAS) pension in Canada, you must meet the following criteria:
Age: You must be 65 years or older.
Residency: Your eligibility depends on where you currently live:
If living in Canada: You must be a Canadian citizen or legal resident at the time your application is approved and have resided in Canada for at least 10 years after age 18.
If living outside Canada: You must have been a Canadian citizen or legal resident on the day before you left Canada and have resided in Canada for at least 20 years after age 18.
Work history: You do not need to have worked to qualify. Employment history does not affect eligibility.
Special cases: Time spent working abroad for a Canadian employer may count as residence in Canada if you return within 6 months of ending employment or turn 65 while still employed abroad. Certain international work or family-related absences may also qualify.
A more relevant figure would be the cost of OAS, after accounting for the amount clawed back through income tax. And I suggest that MAiD will also reduce the demand as the elderly increasingly own nothing and aren’t happy.
Maybe if they stopped paying people after they die it would be cheaper? I bet the scamming is -amazing- with OAS.