In 2021, the federal government committed to improving the guaranteed income supplement, creating a tax credit for career extension and improving the tax credit for natural caregivers.
Michel Beaumont, general director of FADOQ region Quebec and Chaudière-Appalaches, deplores that these measures are not included in the budget. “It sends a message that this is a forgotten clientele, pushed aside”he denounces.
A tax credit for experienced workers encouraging certain seniors to return to the job market and curbing the labor shortage should have been announced, believes Michel Beaumont.
He also observes inequalities within the elderly, while the group aged 65 to 74 cannot receive the increase in the old age security pension.
The absence of these measures has an impact directly linked to the purchasing power of seniors, estimates Michel Beaumont. “If purchasing power does not increase, but everything we must consume increases […] it is certain that this has an impact on leisure activities, maintaining physical activity”he pleads.
A senior under 75 who only receives old age security as income, added to that with the guaranteed income supplement, can reach an annual income of $21,345, or below the poverty line, according to Mr. Beaumont.
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