Good afternoon.
Under the current Canada pension plan legislation, an individual must apply for the CPP retirement pension in order to receive it. A small but significant minority of eligible seniors currently miss receiving a retirement pension payment because they apply late or not at all. These individuals tend to be people who had a weak labour force attachment and therefore low retirement income.
Clauses 153 and 155 of the bill would amend the Canada pension plan so that, beginning in 2020, eligible seniors who have not yet begun to receive their retirement pension from the Canada pension plan are automatically enrolled when they reach the age of 70.
Automatic enrolment would apply only to persons for whom the government has the information necessary to begin payments.
The proposal will prevent individuals, many of whom have low income, from missing out on CPP benefits to which they made contributions and are entitled to receive.
This proposal will allow up to 40,000 people over the age of 70 to begin receiving their CPP retirement pension for the first time in 2020. Two-thirds of these seniors are women. In addition, going forward, an estimated 1,600 people each year could receive a CPP retirement pension that they otherwise would not receive, rising to approximately 2,000 by 2030. It is estimated that, with these amendments, the average benefit would be about $300 per month.
I'm happy to answer any of your questions.