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Seniors getting raise Jan. 1

Every little bit helps. Starting Jan. 1 Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and Old Age Security (OAS) benefit rates will be increased. Canadians already receiving CPP benefits as of December will get an increase of 3.2 per cent.
Every little bit helps. Starting Jan. 1 Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and Old Age Security (OAS) benefit rates will be increased.

Canadians already receiving CPP benefits as of December will get an increase of 3.2 per cent. Canada Pension Plan benefits are adjusted once a year, in January, based on changes over a 12-month period in the Consumer Price Index (CPI), the Statistics Canada cost-of-living measure.

Canadians receiving OAS benefits will also get 0.2 per cent increase over the rate for the previous three months as of Jan. 1.

The basic OAS pension, paid to people 65 years of age and over, will be $462.47 per month.

The maximum Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) and Allowance payments, which are based on the recipient?s family income during the previous year, will also increase by 0.2 percent.

Increases in OAS rates are based on changes in the average CPI. Since 1973, all OAS benefits have been adjusted quarterly (in January, April, July and October).

Canada?s Old Age Security program provides most seniors with a secure base of retirement income. It also provides additional benefits to eligible low-income pensioners and their spouses or common-law partners in the form of the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) and the Allowance.

The OAS program is the first level of Canada?s three-level retirement income system. It is funded through general tax revenues and provides a basic minimum income for more than 98 percent of Canadian seniors. The OAS program is the most widely accessible source of income for older Canadians, providing four million seniors with
more than $26 billion in 2002/2003.


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