Thank you for joining us, Mr. Braniff, Mr. Wilson.
I listened closely to your proposals to set up pilot projects in two different ridings and I found your suggestions to be quite interesting. My riding would be an ideal location for one of the two pilot projects because it is home to twenty or so seniors homes. The riding is home to between 12,000 and 15,000 seniors age 65 and over. Of this total, 38% are over the age of 75 years. It would truly be an ideal choice.
Earlier, you mentioned the age at which individuals must convert their RRSPs into RRIFs. You stated that women should be allowed to convert their funds at a later age, that is around 76 years of age, if I read your document correctly. Every week in my riding, we celebrate the birthday of someone who has reached the age of 100, or more. Last week, we even celebrated a person's 106th birthday. Shouldn't this age limit be raised even further? The problem is that many of the people we meet these days, including men, are between the ages of 90 and 95. They retired at 65, confident that they had enough savings to live comfortably until their death. However, they were still very much alive at 75, 80 and 85. Now, at the age of 90, they have exhausted their savings. Interests rate were so low that they were forced to draw on their capital. They are now in dire straits because they have no other source of income. They don't realize that they can get help from the community, because they have never needed it before. Now, they are too old to ask for help.
Do you not think that the age limit should be increased even further, maybe up to 80 years of age, not just for women, but for men as well?