Finance committee  Absolutely.

Finance committee  I'm Nathalie Martel, director of old age security policy at Employment and Social Development Canada. I'll be quick. Division 2 of part 4 amends the Old Age Security Act to allow more low-income couples to receive higher benefits when they must live apart for reasons beyond thei

Finance committee  Exactly. The provision already exists when both spouses are 65 and over and both receive the guaranteed income supplement. There is a provision already in the Old Age Security Act that allows the benefits to be calculated at the single rate based on their own income, which genera

Finance committee  We estimate that maybe 750 couples would benefit from the amendment, for a total cost of $2.6 million per year. It means, on average, about $3,500 per couple.