Old Age Security benefit amounts - Increase for the October to December 2014 quarter

OTTAWA, Sept. 30, 2014 Employment and Social Development Canada announced today the quarterly amounts for Old Age Security (OAS) benefits for October to December 2014.

OAS benefits, which consist of the basic OAS pension, the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) and the Allowances, will increase by 0.9 percent. The maximum basic OAS pension paid to people 65 years of age and older will increase by $5.03—from $558.71 to $563.74 per month—starting on October 1, 2014.

OAS benefit amounts are reviewed quarterly (in January, April, July and October) and revised as required to reflect increases in the cost of living, as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) set by Statistics Canada. The Old Age Security Act guarantees that OAS benefits do not go down, even when there is a decrease in the CPI. If the average CPI surpasses the previous level in the future, OAS benefits will go up again.

Quick Facts

The Old Age Security program:

• consists of the basic pension, the GIS and the Allowances. The GIS provides additional benefits to eligible low-income pensioners, and the Allowances provide benefits to low-income Canadians aged 60 to 64 who are the spouses or common‑law partners or the survivors of GIS recipients;
• is funded through general tax revenues and enhances the quality of life of Canadian seniors by providing a modest base upon which to build additional income for retirement. In 2013–2014, an estimated $42.6 billion in benefits was provided to 5.4 million individuals.

Associated Link

http://www.servicecanada.gc.ca/eng/services/pensions/oas/payments/index.shtml

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Backgrounder

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Maximum OLD AGE SECURITY benefit rates
as of OCTOBER 2014

Type of Old Age Security benefit	Maximum monthly benefit rates October to December 2014	Previous quarter July to September 2014
Basic Old Age Security pension	$563.74	$558.71
Guaranteed Income Supplement*
Single	$764.40	$757.58
Spouse or common-law partner of
a non-pensioner	$764.40	$757.58
a pensioner	$506.86	$502.34
an Allowance recipient	$506.86	$502.34
The Allowances
Regular	$1,070.60	$1,061.05
Survivor	$1,198.58	$1,187.89

* The Guaranteed Income Supplement and Allowances amounts listed above include the top-up introduced in July 2011.

SOURCE: Employment and Social Development Canada

Media Relations Office, Employment and Social Development Canada, 819-994-5559, [email protected]