Liberal Leader Mark Carney made his pitch to older Canadians explaining how his government would make their lives more affordable.
During a stop in Victoria, B.C., on Monday, Carney pledged that his government would boost financial support for low-income seniors as well as changing the rules on RRIF withdrawals.
“Many Canadians are understandably worried about their jobs and their retirement savings,” said Carney, referring to the economic uncertainty caused by U.S. tariffs. “We will help to protect Canadians’ retirement savings from this market uncertainty.”
The Liberal plan would boost the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) by five per cent for one year, which the party says will be worth about $650. The GIS is a monthly payment aimed at helping the lowest-income seniors.
The Liberals also announced that they would reduce the amount that Canadians over the age of 71 must withdraw from their Registered Retirement Income Funds.
The announcement echoes the retirement promises made by Conservative Leader Poilievre, who promised in March that his government would allow working seniors to earn more money before paying taxes as well as allowing people to continue contributing to their RRSPs until age 73, which is two more years than the current age cut-off. Poilievre also pledged to protect seniors benefits by fixing the retirement age at 65.
Anthony Quinn, chief operating officer of CARP (a ZoomerMedia partner), suggested that the Liberal offerings didn’t go far enough.
“Announcing an additional $1.74 per day for the poorest seniors and bringing back the COVID-era reduction in RRIF withdrawals tells older voters that there is more to come from the Liberals on how they plan to address the compounding issues of aging as the largest wave of baby boomers reaches their late 70s.”
Quinn also suggested it was significant that Carney didn’t promise not to claw back OAS or to avoid taxing seniors’ home equity “as a means of balancing their books.” Many older voters have expressed fears that cash-strapped governments will start coming after the savings and assets of older Canadians.
“CARP is calling on all parties to publicly commit that they will not reduce OAS benefits nor look to the nest eggs of retirees to fund debts or deficits,” he said.
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