C-261 (45-1) - An Act to amend the Old Age Security Act (amount of full pension)
Chamber
commons
Stage
1st Reading
Introduced
Feb 9, 2026
Progress
This bill increases Old Age Security pension amounts by 10% and raises the income exemption for the Guaranteed Income Supplement.
Key Changes
- Increases the full monthly OAS pension by 10%, setting the new base amount at $808.45 per month
- Raises the employment and self-employment income exemption for GIS calculations from $5,000 to $6,500
- Sets the effective date for both changes as July 2025
- Repeals certain subsections of the Act related to the previous pension amount structure
- Adjusts the voluntary deferral calculation for partial monthly pensions to align with the new amounts
Gotchas
- The bill sets a specific dollar amount ($808.45) rather than a percentage increase, meaning future indexing calculations would start from this new base figure
- The GIS exemption increase applies to both employment income and self-employment earnings, benefiting seniors who do part-time or contract work
- As a Private Member's Bill, it faces a lower likelihood of passing compared to government-sponsored legislation without cabinet support
- The bill's effective date of July 2025 is retroactive to when it was introduced in February 2026, which could create administrative complexity for back-payments
- No fiscal cost estimate is included in the bill text, though a 10% increase to OAS would represent a significant increase in federal expenditure
Who's Affected
- All Canadian seniors aged 65 and older receiving OAS benefits
- Low-income seniors receiving the Guaranteed Income Supplement who have employment or self-employment income
- Seniors who choose to defer their OAS pension
- Federal government finances, as increased payments would raise program costs
Vibes
0 responses
Gotchas
- The bill sets a specific dollar amount ($808.45) rather than a percentage increase, meaning future indexing calculations would start from this new base figure
- The GIS exemption increase applies to both employment income and self-employment earnings, benefiting seniors who do part-time or contract work
- As a Private Member's Bill, it faces a lower likelihood of passing compared to government-sponsored legislation without cabinet support
- The bill's effective date of July 2025 is retroactive to when it was introduced in February 2026, which could create administrative complexity for back-payments
- No fiscal cost estimate is included in the bill text, though a 10% increase to OAS would represent a significant increase in federal expenditure
Summary
Bill C-261 proposes two main changes to the Old Age Security (OAS) Act. First, it would increase the full monthly OAS pension by 10% for all pensioners aged 65 and older, setting the new base amount at $808.45 per month starting July 2025. Second, it would raise the employment and self-employment income exemption used when calculating the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) from $5,000 to $6,500, meaning low-income seniors could earn more from work before their GIS benefits are reduced. The bill was introduced as a Private Member's Bill by Ms. DeBellefeuille on February 9, 2026. It aims to improve financial support for Canadian seniors, particularly those who rely on OAS as a significant portion of their retirement income. The GIS change specifically targets lower-income seniors who continue to work part-time or are self-employed. These changes would affect all Canadian seniors receiving OAS, with the GIS exemption change having the most direct impact on lower-income seniors who still have some employment income. The bill reflects ongoing concerns about the adequacy of retirement income for Canadian seniors facing rising costs of living.
Automatically generated from bill text using Claude
Vibes
0 responses