Ontario Federation of Labour president Sid Ryan and 12 others stationed themselves in Finance Minister Jim Flaherty's constituency office in Whitby, Ont., for the afternoon. Ryan lives in Flaherty's riding. (CP/Alamy)
Seniors and members of the labour movement concerned about changes to Old Age Security staged peaceful sit-ins at the offices of 24 Conservative MPs in Ontario and New Brunswick on Thursday, with additional demonstrations in St. Johns.
Ontario Federation of Labour president Sid Ryan and 12 others stationed themselves in Finance Minister Jim Flaherty's constituency office in Whitby, Ont., for the afternoon. Ryan lives in Flaherty's riding.
"We've asked to speak with the minister, but we've been told he's unavailable," he said. "We're here to basically send a message to the Tories that the senior citizens, retirees, and soon-to-be-pensioners are really ticked off with what he's attempted to do with [Old Age Security]."
Calling themselves the blue-grey alliance, labour and seniors groups want to see increased contributions to the Canada Pension Plan, not cuts or clawbacks applied to OAS, Ryan said.
A police officer visited Flaherty's constituency office and told the group they could stay, as they were not causing any problems. The protests started around 1 p.m.
The group said it will organize a series of town halls to discuss the retirement income system, starting on March 7 in Flaherty's riding.
Most protests had concluded by the time the offices closed, with five MPs committing to later meetings to discuss concerns about OAS. MPs Eve Adams, Jeff Watson, David Tilson, Jay Aspen and Stephen Woodworth agreed to followup meetings.
Concerns around OAS
Questions about the government's plans for OAS began when Prime Minister Stephen Harper said in a speech last month at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, that the government would be looking at the sustainability of Canada's retirement system.
On Friday, Harper confirmed in an interview with Postmedia News the government was considering raising the eligibility threshold for OAS from the current age of 65. He did not specify the age to which it could be raised.
However, on Wednesday, Parliamentary Budget Officer Kevin Page released a report saying the current system is sustainable, and may even be able to support a spending increase.
The federal budget is expected next month.
Related on HuffPost:
OAS vs CPP
Here is a look at OAS and the CPP and how they differ. (Getty)
<em>With files from CBC</em>
What is OAS?
The Old Age Security pension is a monthly payment available to Canadians aged 65 and older who apply and meet certain requirements. Unlike CPP, it is not dependent on a person's employment history and a person does not need to be retired from a job to qualify.
The government adjusts the OAS payment every three months to account for increases in the cost of living according to the Consumer Price Index. The average monthly amount was $508.35 in the last quarter of 2011. The maximum payout for the first quarter of 2012 is $540.12.
There are also supplementary programs, including the Guaranteed Income Supplement, which provide additional income to low-income seniors.
The government claws back OAS payments from high-income Canadians. In 2011, for example, if you were retired but had an income of more than $67,668 (from things like pensions and personal investments), the government would reclaim part of your OAS payment - 15 cents for every dollar of income that you had above the $67,668 threshold. That means that if you were retired with an annual income of around $110,000 or more in 2011, your OAS payout would be reduced to zero. (alamy)
Who Is Eligible?
OAS is available to Canadian citizens and legal residents living in the country who have spent at least 10 years in Canada after they turned 18.
It is also open to people outside of the country who were Canadian citizens or legal residents on the day they left the country, as long as they spent at least 20 years of their adult life in Canada. (Getty)
When Should You Apply?
A person should apply for OAS six months before they turn 65. If you have not lived in Canada continuously or were not born in Canada, the government requires a statement containing all the dates when you entered and left the country. It may also ask for supporting documentation.
If a person applies after age 65, they can receive up to 11 months in retroactive payments along with a payout for the month in which a person applies to receive OAS. So if a person applied after their 66th birthday, they would receive 12 months of OAS payments. (<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/elwillo/" target="_hplink">Flickr:Keith Williamson</a>)
How Is The Rate Calculated?
In order to qualify for a full pension, a person must have lived in Canada for at least 40 years after turning 18. People also qualify if they reached the age of 25 on or before July 1, 1977, and either lived in Canada, had some residency in the country after age 18, or held a valid Canadian immigration visa and spent the 10 years immediately before appying in Canada.
For those who do not qualify for a full pension, a partial amount is paid out based on the number of years spent living in Canada. For instance, if a person has spent 36 years of their adult life in the country, they will earn 36/40th of the full OAS amount.
Based on the eligibilty requirements, the minimum payout is one-quarter of the total, to account for a total of 10 years spent in Canada.
Once a partial pension has been approved, the percentage of the total OAS pension received will never increase even if a person spends more years in Canada. (Matt Cardy/Getty Images)
What Is CPP?
The Canada Pension Plan is a form of retirement income that is open to all Canadians who have worked and paid into the system through deductions from their paycheques. The amount a person receives under the system depends on how much and for how long a person contributed, along with the age at which a person started receiving CPP payments.
There are three types of CPP benefits: disability benefits, retirement pension and survivor benefits. For the purposes of clarity, this article focuses on retirement pension form of CPP.
The average monthly CPP benefit in 2011 was $512.64. The maximum payment in 2012 is $987.67. The government adjusts the CPP rate every January to account for changes in cost of living as measured by the Consumer Price Index.
According to Service Canada, "If you have lived and worked in Canada most years between age 18 and 65 and earned about the average Canadian wage ($39,100 in 2002), at age 65 you would receive a CPP retirement pension of about $788 a month." (Getty)
Who Is Eligible?
Anyone who has made a payment to CPP is eligible for full retirement pension benefits once they reach the age of 65.
A person can begin receiving CPP anytime after age 60 if they stop working or reduce their income, although they incur a financial penalty by doing so. In 2012, a person receiving CPP early will be subject to a 0.52 per cent reduction for each month before the age of 65 that they received payments. That number is slated to rise to 0.6 per cent each month in 2016.
On the other hand, if a person chooses to delay CPP payments they receive a similar increase for each month they wait between the age of 65 and 70. In 2012, that increase works out to 0.64 per cent per month and will rise to 0.7 per cent next year. (alamy)
When Should You Apply?
This is really up to the individual and whether they want to receive a smaller or larger CPP benefit. However, the government recommends applying six months before a person wants their pension to begin.
Canadians can apply online or print out an application and deliver it to a Service Canada location.
Similar to OAS, a person can receive retroactive payments covering up to 12 months if they delay applying for CPP until after their 71st birthday. (alamy)
How Much Do I Contribute To CPP?
A person contributes 4.95 per cent of of their total pensionable income -- set at a maximum of $50,100 in 2012 -- to a total of $2,306.70 in contributions per year. Their employer contributes an equivalent amount. Self-employed people, on the other hand, must contribute both portions.
Anyone earning less than $3,500 is automatically exempt from CPP contributions.
At age 70, a person stops contributing to CPP even if they continue working. (alamy)
Seniors and members of the labour movement concerned about changes to Old Age Security staged peaceful sit-ins at the offices of 24 Conservative MPs in Ontario and New Brunswick on Thursd...
Seniors and members of the labour movement concerned about changes to Old Age Security staged peaceful sit-ins at the offices of 24 Conservative MPs in Ontario and New Brunswick on Thursd...
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The Conservative government is considering increasing the age of eligibility for Canada's Old Age Security system, Prime Minister Stephen Harper confirmed Friday. Harper had...
OTTAWA - The federal government considers it imperative to cut the costs of public pensions and intends to propose future reforms in the budget, Finance...
Harpers 30 new seats added to the House of Commons won't have to 'serve' to age 67 to become eligble for a meager OAS pension- only 8 years from what I've read.
Now where did he find the money for that.... Gee I wonder?
Spanky_McFarlane: Harpers 30 new seats added to the House of Commons
I am proud of those seniors occupying the offices of those Conservative MPs.
I am 51. I worked and paid into this plan thinking I would retire at 65.
If Harper decides to push retirement to 67, that bloody changes the rules in middle of the ball game.
If you really want to make it fair, all those under 16 who never contributed to the plan yet, could have that retirement age pushed back to 67.
But those that are already contributing, should not have the retirement age moved.
If the Conservatives dare mess with that, what is good for the goose, is good for the gander.
Canadians should expect to reopen the MPs sacred golden pensions by an independent panel of unbiased average Canadians with a mission to cut, cut, cut and drastically rollback the MPs pensions.
If Haper says that the current pension situation cannot be sustained, then surely he understands that his current Golden pension is no sustainable either.
Borg_Molari: I am proud of those seniors occupying the offices of
The Boomers are being made out to look like a bunch of irresponsible, greedy individuals that are only looking out for themselves. Well, I have paid into these plans for 46 years and I expect to start collecting next year. Period.
dread: The Boomers are being made out to look like a
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First Posted: 02/ 9/2012 5:49 pm Updated: 02/10/2012 1:36 pm