Canadian retiree group angry some are ineligible for $250 tax rebate

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Most Canadian seniors on pension aren’t eligible for the newly announced $250 tax rebate from the federal government. And they’re not happy about it.

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The Working Canadians Rebate “is meant to recognize hardworking Canadians but it’s really an affront to our members,” says Bill VanGorder, advocacy and education officer with the Canadian Association of Retired Persons (CARP).

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The rebate excluded Canadians living on fixed incomes like CPP and OAS and facing mounting financial challenges as pensions fail to keep pace with inflation, says VanGorder.

Moreover, he says, pensioners have spent decades working and contributing to the Canadian economy.

CARP has told its members to contact their members of parliament to register their displeasure with how this rebate has been framed, says VanGorder. “That’s where the real pressure happens.”

Not all pensioners will be excluded. A pensioner who has continued to work, files his/her 2023 income tax return by Dec. 31, and claims the tax credit for CPP or QPIP will be able to get it, according to a federal Finance Department official who emailed the National Post last Friday.

It’s important to note, however, that under present law Canadians who continue to work while receiving CPP must contribute up to age 65. But after that, contributions are optional until age 70, when they are no longer required.

Still, there will be a lot of pensioners frozen out of this benefit. Looking at the overall numbers, according to a Statistics Canada report released on July 24, 2024, there were 7,829,121 Canadians 65 and older out of a total population numbering 41,288,599. Meanwhile, one in five Canadian seniors aged 65-74 continued to work in 2022, says the agency. More than half of Canadians still in the workforce past the age of 60 were there by necessity, not choice.

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VanGorder suggests the income cut-off should be less than $150K and the amount of the rebate should be larger — given to Canadians who are struggling the most.

CARP has suggested “a more reasonable cap, such as $90,000, would better target those in genuine financial need,” according to the organization’s official response to the rebate, which he shared with the National Post. “The $250 rebate is … too small to meaningfully address inflationary pressures.”

Among the Canadian population of seniors, VanGorder notes, are a doubly vulnerable group – seniors who are disabled and can’t work. “It just shows a lack of understanding about where they’re at in terms of the income” of vulnerable Canadians.

VanGorder illustrates this thought by pointing out that the federal Liberals raised Old Age Security by 10 per cent in July 2022, but only for seniors 75 and over.

The prime minister noted this during a media scrum last week when he was asked about the exclusion of pensioners from the rebate. But he referred merely to “older Canadians” and did not specify that the increase does not apply to pensioners aged 65-74.

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However, the seniors aged 65-74 are more recent recipients of OAS, says VanGorder, and new to the struggles of living on a fixed income.

“It’s the first time there has ever been a two-tier system for retirees,” saysVanGorder. This continues to be one of CARP’s major advocacy concerns. He notes that several weeks back, the Bloc Quebecois raised this as a condition for agreeing to support the Liberals, when the NDP ended their supply and confidence agreement with the Liberals.

The Liberals refused to concede to the Bloc’s demand, but CARP continues to advocate for a more equitable approach to OAS for all seniors.

VanGorder expressed wonder at the NDP’s initial support for the measure. “It’s hard to understand how they would.”

And, indeed, NDP leader Jagmeet Singh has come out with a revised position on the rebate. He initialled indicated full support for it, but then on Monday, he called on the government to go back to the drawing board to make the rebate available to all seniors, people with disabilities, and recent graduates who have not begun to work.

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