An Act to amend the Old Age Security Act (amount of full pension)

This bill would change two things about Old Age Security payments. First, it raises the basic full monthly Old Age Security pension amount to $808.45 for all pensioners aged 65 and older, an increase of about 10 percent, starting with the payment period from July 1, 2025. It also removes the existing rule that automatically adjusted the pension amount specifically for people aged 75 and older, since the new base amount applies to everyone 65 and up.

Second, it increases the income exemption used in calculating the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS). Currently, the first $5,000 of a person's employment or self-employment income is not counted when figuring out how much GIS they receive, with a partial exemption on income above that. This bill raises that fully exempted amount to $6,500, and adjusts the partial exemption so that it also applies to the next $6,500 of income above that threshold. This means seniors receiving GIS could earn more from work before it starts reducing their supplement.

The bill also makes some related technical updates elsewhere in the Act, such as how pension amounts are referenced for calculating allowances and other benefit formulas, to keep them consistent with the new full pension amount and its removal of the separate calculation for those 75 and older.

This bill sets a fixed dollar amount for the full Old Age Security pension and raises the income exemption used in calculating the Guaranteed Income Supplement, without creating any new powers, discretionary authority, or duties for any person or body.