A quintessential portion of everyone’s retirement income known as the OAS(Old Age Security) has recently undergone certain changes. The Canadian Government has made an announcement where they mentioned increasing the income payment by 4.7% from the start of this year.
Find out if you meet the eligible criteria for it and what are the other benefits additional to the increase in payment amount.
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OAS Increase 2024
The Old Age Security payments are now going to be given at an increased rate, this measure was taken concerning the rising inflation and overall high cost of living due to inflation. Therefore ensuring that the seniors keep pace as the prices of everyday goods and materials inflate. It also ensures that they’re given financial assistance for the essential role they’ve played in boosting and sustaining the economy of Canada.
The OAS payments play an essential role in the sustainability of many seniors, which makes it essential for the government to review the budget and adjust payments as per the requirements and state of the market.
The OAS payments are funded by the Government of Canada, going through respective quarterly adjustments. These payments are adjusted based on several factors:
- Consumer Price Index(CPI): This determines the amount of inflation or deflation experienced by the market but mostly basic amenities like rent, groceries, clothes, etc. In case of CPI increasing to a point where it significantly affects the affordability of the items the Canadian Government makes sure to adjust the prices for the retirees to make them not get affected by the inflation.
- The adjustments are generally made in January, July, April, and October making it four times a year.
- Clawback: If the person is found to be earning more than the amount designated then the person is obligated to return a certain amount of their OAS payment, this form of action is generally referred to as the OAS recovery tax/clawback.
OAS Payments 2024: Eligibility Criteria
Below are the eligibility rules essential to be qualified to be able to receive the benefits of the OAS payments:
- The person must be a citizen or a permanent resident of Canada.
- The age of the candidate should be either 65 or more than 65.
- Should’ve lived at least 40 years in Canada after turning 18 to gain the OAS payments. or
- must’ve lived in Canada for at least 10 years after the age of 18 for a partial OAS payment.
- If the person lives outside of Canada and has spent 20 years of their life after being 18 in Canada before leaving then they can their pensions transferred abroad.
- The person has to be able to demonstrate proof of being a Canadian resident if they had lived in Canada before moving to another state or country.
OAS Payments 2024: Application Procedure
You are not required to fill out any specific application for the OAS pensions, the CRA will automatically consider you for it if you satisfy the eligibility rules. The eligible candidates will start to receive their payments on their own after they become eligible for it, this measure is to serve the seniors of Canada with respect and dignity and a way of showing gratitude for the services they’ve performed for the nation.
Seniors who feel like receiving their OAS pensions after a certain age limit can apply for it by informing the CRA through their official website. This step is also applicable to those, who meet the eligibility requirements but aren’t getting their sum of payments received which could be due to the CRA not being equipped with all the information that is essential to declare the person as a qualified candidate.
Also, be sure to have a look at the “Gas Stimulus Checks 2023 Release date, California gas stimulus checks 2022, when is it coming?” to learn about these checks.
What will be the Increase in OAS?
The Canada Revenue Agency in their recent quarterly adjustments decided to increase the OAS pension amounts with some margin for this year, Current pension receivers will experience a sudden spike in their existing receiving amounts. The OAS payments are likely to increase by 0.8% as each quarter passes. As per the 0.8% increase the payments received can be as follows:
- January Quarter: The January adjustment can make the amount to be $740.28%.
- April Quarter: $746.44 should be amount increased in the adjustment of April.
- July Quarter: Receivers may receive up to $752.69 after the july-september quarter.
- October Quater: The amount received should nearly be equal to $759.02.
The CRA is yet to receive an official notification in this regard as the above-mentioned figures are what we suspect can be as per the change in CPI. To learn more on the matter you can visit the official website of the CRA. These amounts are government-funded meaning that the Canadian government Incures all the costs involved, unlike your Pension Plan where you had to partially fund the money along with your employer.
For more recent updates visit the official website of the CRA.
To understand the basic difference between all the Canadian pensions have a look at the following video.