Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise before the House today to talk about our ongoing support for Canadian youth and seniors. I am glad the member opposite has raised this important issue, which is so vital to the economic well-being of our nation.
Youth and seniors are high on our government's agenda. There is no doubt about that. Since we took office in 2015, we have brought in real, tangible changes that are making a real difference for Canadians both young and old.
Youth represent our present and our future in Canada. They lead, shape, and transform this country. When we invest in our youth, we are investing in a brighter future for all of us. With that said, let me start by outlining the support we provide to young Canadians.
In budget 2016, we increased our investment to the youth employment strategy, better known as the YES program, by $278.4 million. The fund is being used to create new jobs for youth and increase the number of youth who access the skills program. It also increases job opportunities for young Canadians in the heritage sector, and it increases the number of jobs offered through the Canada summer jobs program. In fact, the Canada summer jobs program created more than 65,800 jobs last summer, essentially doubling the number of jobs created, compared to the previous year. Our investment has yielded real results for young Canadians.
Apart from making investments in our youth programs, we know that we need to identify barriers to youth employment. This is why we launched the expert panel on youth employment initiatives in October 2016 as a way to improve the opportunities for all youth in Canada. The panel's findings will play a key role in identifying future investments in youth programs, including ways to enhance our youth employment strategy.
For young Canadians to get good jobs, they first need to get a good education. With this in mind, we will continue to work with our provincial and territorial governments regarding the implementation of the Canada student loans and grant measures. In fact, as of August 1, 2016, we kept our promise and increased Canada's student grants by 50% for students from low- and middle-income households. This will help an estimated 247,000 students from low-income families and 100,000 students from middle-income families, as well as about 60,000 low-income part-time students each year.
We are doing more. Starting August 1, 2017, students from low-income families will only have to contribute $1,500 per school year, with contributions rising to a maximum of $3,000 for students with a higher family income. This change will allow students to work and gain valuable market experience without having to worry about the reduction in their level of financial assistance. It will also simplify the application process for student financial assistance, making the Canada student loans program more transparent and more predictable for our youth. Furthermore, students with identified employment barriers will not be expected to make a contribution, including students who self-identify as indigenous, students with permanent disabilities, and students with dependents.
In November 2016, we also increased the repayment assistance plan threshold to ensure that no students will have to repay their student loan until they have reached earnings of at least $25,000 per year. We estimate that about 23,000 additional borrowers will have lower, more affordable payments if they apply for their repayment assistance plan.
Helping families plan for education expenses is also key and very important. The Canada learning bond is money the Government of Canada deposits into registered education savings plans for children to help save for their post-secondary education. The government is committed to working in collaboration with the provinces and territories to promote the benefits of early savings for post-secondary education in RESPs for all Canadians to ease access to the CLB for low-income Canadians. These measures are making post-secondary education more affordable for Canadians.
Post-secondary education is an invaluable asset in today's job market, but employers are looking for more than a person with a degree. They also need the experience and the skills to succeed in today's workforce. That is not something we can teach in a classroom.
That is why our government has invested more than $73 million over four years to support the student work-integrated learning program. One might ask what exactly this initiative is. The goal is very simple: the program will help ensure that students develop the foundational, entrepreneurial, and business skills required to secure meaningful employment in high-demand occupations in the fields of science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and business.
We need to work with colleges and universities to prepare the next generation of Canadians for the highly skilled jobs that are out there, and we need to ensure that Canadian employers can bring about and benefit from co-op and work-integrated learning opportunities. Under our government, more students and workers will have access to co-op placements, work-integrated learning opportunities, and summer jobs so they can get the skills they need and their employers need.
Let us take a moment now to talk about seniors. I have covered the extensive support we have provided to youth, and now I would like to turn my attention to seniors.
Seniors are among the most valuable members of our society. They actively contribute to their families, to our communities, and to our economy, but they can also be among the most vulnerable of our society, especially low-income seniors.
We are proud to report that Canada has one of the lowest rates in the world of seniors living in low income. Our latest numbers indicate that, in 2013, 3.7% of our seniors were considered low income. However, Statistics Canada tells us that about 192,000 seniors still live below the low-income cut-off. These valued Canadians are struggling to make ends meet at a time in their lives when most are not able to work. Our government believes that all Canadians deserve to live out their senior years with respect and dignity. They should also be able to have peace of mind knowing that their needs will be taken care of. We also have to keep in mind that the demographic composition of this country is changing very fast. I, for one, know that in the province of New Brunswick, where I am from, we are actually at the point that the death rate is outnumbering the birth rate. It is very concerning.
Predictions are that seniors will make up nearly one-quarter of the population by 2030. Millions more Canadiens will be eligible for the OAS and the CPP over the coming years. We are talking about hard-working Canadians who contributed to this country their entire lives and paid into the tax system. When they enter retirement, it is time for us to give them the support they need in recognition of the contributions they have made to Canada during their entire working years. That is where the old age security program comes in.
The old age security program, also known as OAS, has a clear purpose: to provide a minimum level of income to seniors and contribute to their income replacement in retirement. The OAS program is composed of a number of benefits. The first is the OAS pension, which is paid to everyone who is 65 years old and older and who meet the residence and legal status requirements. The second is the guaranteed income supplement for low-income seniors. The third is the allowances for low-income Canadians from ages 60 to 64 who are the spouses or common-law partners of GIS recipients or who are widowers or widows.
The previous government increased the eligibility age of OAS from 65 to 67 years old. These changes were set to take place starting in 2023. However, changing the age of eligibility is unfair to Canadians who have worked hard their entire lives and cannot, for a variety of reasons, continue to work at the ages of 65 and 66. This government will not leave low-income seniors high and dry at a time when they need our support the most. That is why our government set specific goals to support Canadian seniors and ensure economic security for them.
First and foremost, we have repealed the previous government's measures to move the eligibility age for old age security and the guaranteed income supplement from 65 to 67. This will put thousands of dollars in the pockets of the lowest-income Canadians each year as they become seniors.
We are not just maintaining the status quo. We are taking clear steps to help lift thousands of seniors out of poverty. In this spirit, we are increasing the guaranteed income supplement for low-income seniors by 10%. This will give one million of our most vulnerable seniors up to almost $1,000 per year. This is much needed support for our most vulnerable in our society. We will also consider a new seniors price index to make sure that the old age security and income supplement benefit keep up with seniors' actual rising costs.
Let us take a moment now to talk about the CPP, Canada pension plan, measures. Retirement income security starts with a good, stable, public pension program. This is more important than ever at a time when many Canadians are not saving enough for their retirement. In particular, middle-class families without workplace pension plans are at a greater risk of under-saving for retirement. A third of these families are at risk. While those in workplaces where pension plans are faring a little better, 17% of them are still under-saving, and they are not the only ones feeling the pinch. Economic conditions since the global recession of 2008 pose a particular risk for younger Canadians.
With this as a backdrop, we have enhanced the Canada pension plan. Last summer, Canada's finance ministers reached a historic agreement to make meaningful changes to the CPP that will allow Canadians to retire with more money in their pockets. The CPP enhancement will increase the benefits that people receive when they retire. This also means that contributions will increase accordingly, typically 1% for most people, and cash benefits will accumulate gradually as individuals pay into their enhanced CPP.
Young Canadians just entering the workforce will see the largest increase in benefits. What does that mean for future generations? That is a good question. As my fellow members know, the CPP is currently designed to replace a quarter of our income in retirement. The changes we are proposing will increase that percentage to fully one-third, so if someone earns $50,000 a year over their working life, they will receive about $16,000 per year in retirement, instead of today's $12,000 per year.
To fund these enhanced benefits, annual CPP contributions will increase modestly over seven years, starting in 2019. For example, individuals who make $54,900 per year will contribute about an additional $75 per year, or $6 a month, starting in 2019. By the end of the seven-year phase-in program in 2025, their contributions will amount to an additional $515 per year, or $43 per month.
Employee contributions to the enhanced portion of the CPP will also be tax deductible. Providing a tax deduction for new employee CPP contribution will avoid increasing the after-tax cost of saving for Canadians.
I used the amount of $54,900 per year in my example because this is currently what we call the year's maximum pensionable earnings when we talk about CPP. This means that everyone contributes 4.95% of their income up to that amount. Once these enhancements are fully implemented in 2025, the maximum will increase by about 14% to $82,700. An individual who makes $80,000 a year over his or her working life will get a third of that per year in retirement from his or her CPP.
Helping people plan for their retirement is among the key elements of long-term economic and social stability, and in fact Canada has a long history of doing so. Our retirement income system is widely recognized around the world as one of the best. A stronger CPP is the core promise we made to middle-class Canadians, and we are very proud that with the collaboration with the provinces, we have been able to deliver these important enhancements. Our government is fully committed to supporting seniors and giving them a dignified retirement.
We are also giving equal attention to our youth. By focusing on education and job training, we are giving young people the support they need to steer Canada to economic success both today and in the future.
In closing, tomorrow, our government will cement this commitment as we table budget 2017.