Well, that was fast. In this morning’s sixer I had a footnote link to a Globe And Mail story on a change to federal support to low-income seniors. From The Globe and Mail:
Low-income seniors across the country will be affected if they withdraw more than the minimum allowed from their RRIF – which is what a Registered Retirement Savings Plan becomes in retirement. For example, if a senior with an income of $13,000 withdraws $5,000 from an RRIF to make a one-off expenditure, whether to pay for an uninsured health treatment or a family member’s funeral, the new policy would treat his or her income for that year as $18,000. That would place them above the $15,815.99 threshold for receiving GIS payments, which are meant to ease the financial burden of low-income seniors.
Well, apparently someone in Torydom realized it’s never a good idea to piss off seniors. CBC reports the change has been delayed, pending review:
The federal Conservative government has backed away from a plan to cut a portion of federal income support for seniors.
Minister of Human Resources Diane Finley made the announcement during question period Friday in the House of Commons, after being pressed by opposition members.
The Globe and Mail had reported that the rules, which it said were approved without notice, would “change the way lump-sum withdrawals from Registered Retirement Income Funds affect Guaranteed Income Supplement payments.
“Low-income seniors across the country will be affected if they withdraw more than the minimum allowed from their RRIF,” reported the Globe.
So, to conclude, haha. Silly, silly Conservatives.