Trim OAS for higher income seniors? 73% says yes, new poll suggests

A new poll finds there is growing support for a proposal to lower an Old Age Security (OAS) threshold for some Canadians in order to help reduce the federal government's deficit.

A new poll finds there is growing support for a proposal to lower an Old Age Security (OAS) threshold for some Canadians in order to help reduce the federal government’s deficit.

Seventy-three per cent of Canadians polled this month said they support such a move, which would effectively trim back Old Age Security from higher income tiers, according to Generation Squeeze’s research poll.

Although nearly three quarters of respondents said they supported this proposal, that was on the condition that the savings are used to eliminate seniors’ poverty and reduce living costs for younger generations, the polling found.

Old Age Security is one of the most costly contributors to Ottawa’s roughly $78 billion projected deficit, according to Generation Squeeze, a Canadian think tank advocacy group.

Generation Squeeze says by lowering the current income threshold for when OAS benefits begin to gradually phase out — for couples, from $185,000 down to $100,000 —  Ottawa could save up to $7 billion annually.

Old Age Security is a federal benefit available to Canadian seniors aged 65 and older, with certain monthly amounts paid based on income, age and residency.

However, it gives hundreds of dollars a month to seniors with household incomes over $100,000 per year, which has spurred increasing calls from advocates like Generation Squeeze to claw that back from higher income tiers.

Currently, the government of Canada lists those aged 65 to 74 as eligible to receive $742.31 maximum a month if their annual net world income is less than $148,451. Those aged 75 and above are eligible to receive $816.54 maximum a month if their annual net world income is less than $154,196.