Thank you.
My name is Wanda Morris. My colleague Laura Kadowaki and I are here to talk about women in poverty.
Our presentation is based on the document “The FACES of Canada's Seniors”, CARP's federal election platform. FACES stands for financial security, abuse prevention, caregiving and housing supports, exceptional health care and social inclusion. If you haven't seen it, you can download it at carp.ca/faces.
As well as our FACES document, we strongly endorse two reports that address these critical issues: that of the Older Women's Dialogue Project and the Centre for Elder Law, “We Are Not All the Same”; and that of Common Wealth and Ryerson University's National Institute on Ageing, “The Value of a Good Pension”.
In addressing the issue of senior women in poverty, we encourage the committee to consider strategies that address three goals; increasing retirement resources, protecting retirement resources and making retirement resources go further. All are necessary and complementary.
In terms of financial support for our poorest seniors, increase the GIS amount and, second, cut back on GIS clawbacks, particularly on the top-up. Clawbacks on the top-up are equivalent to a 75% rate of tax. This is unconscionable.
Increase the exempt amount for GIS beyond the current $3,500 and expand it to cover not just earned income but also income from contracts, pensions and interest, and create a seniors index that recognizes the inflationary costs of goods and services purchased by seniors.
For those with some resources, help them to stretch them further by removing mandatory RRIF withdrawals, or indeed consider eliminating RRIFs altogether. Current RRIF withdrawal rates do not reflect safe rates of return or expected longevities.
Support deferred annuities. These are cost-effective forms of longevity insurance that are not currently viable due to ill-considered taxation policies.
Support group pensions and group TFSA pension-like arrangements for low-income workers. A retirement dollar invested in a typical retirement scheme yields $1.70. That same dollar invested in a Canada model pension yields $5.32, three times the amount of an individual going it alone.
Expand the CPP. The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board is a Canadian success story. Allow for individual contributions to take advantage of its strong returns and low costs.
Regarding financial literacy, among other critical pieces of information, seniors should know that they will often be better off by deferring both their CPP and OAS, while common practice today is for many to take their OAS at 65 and their CPP at 65 or even earlier.
Protect retirement resources, and protect corporate pensions. Bring Canada in line with the U.S. and the U.K. It is not right that pensioners from Nortel and Sears, in the U.S., had their pensions—