Elderly people lose guaranteed income due to PKU

The part-time musician, who lives in the Kovichan Valley of British Columbia, received emergency federal benefits last year when the COVID-19 epidemic hit the entire cultural sector hard.

However, the $ 2,000 per month Canada Emergency Benefit (CEP) he received for most of 2020 now makes him ineligible for guaranteed income accruals for low-income seniors. In addition to the old age care pension.

This is a complete shock to meAccording to Sherlock, he worked as a tree nut contractor for twenty years – so the group has no retirement plan. nobody is here […] He warned me that I would lose my guaranteed income because of it.

Chris Sherlock is not alone in this situation. New Democrats say they are overwhelmed by calls from Canadians over 65. Infectious benefits Need to help them urgently last year.

In a letter to three Liberal ministers, NDP MP Daniel Blake argues that many of the seniors who received ECPs, or rather, those eligible for the Canada Economic Incentive Benefit (CBP) Guarantee Income Concession – or, they will face harshly. Cuts.

[Ces personnes] There will not be enough income at the end of the month to pay their bills: what we wanted to avoid last year is likely to happen this year. We should not do that to the poorest elderly people in Canada.

Manitoba MP Quick adjustment And hopes that Ottawa will change its approach. I don’t think you can say “how it works”. For the past year and a half we have made all sorts of exceptions because situations are not normal and people face unprecedented challenges.

Income from the previous year

Like employment insurance, Guaranteed Income is also an income test. P.K.U. Beneficiaries will be notified of their rights each July.

Older people living alone begin to qualify for GIS benefits if they earn less than $ 18,984 per year, and the maximum benefit is $ 936 per month.

Samuel Carbone, Canada’s spokesman for employment and community development, said in an email that data on the total number of GIS recipients whose benefits have been reduced this year is not currently available.

Seniors receive the benefits of their Full Old Age Care and Canada Pension Plan or the Quebec Pension Plan – Mr. $ 783 per month in the Sherlock case, after the government deducted nearly $ 500 from the SRG.

Both of these pension benefits are now the main source of funding for him until June 2022, and will not allow him to pay his rent and utility bills.

Mr Sherlock claims to have spent last year’s emergency benefits on dental care, car repairs and old bills, but he did not budget for a fall in income due to PKU or PCR – he stopped receiving these benefits a few months ago.

Like seeing a little old dog on the street, giving him a kibble and then hitting him on the head with a baseball bat.

Seniors older than Chris Sherlock are entitled to a smaller cushion: from the 16th of August, Ottawa until June 2022, every Canadian aged 75 or over must pay a one-time payment of $ 500.

And next summer, the Liberals are proposing a 10% increase in geriatric care testing for those over 75, up from 3, 3 million seniors in the first year according to the federal budget – $ 646 more per month