It makes more sense when you consider seniors are among if not the most active voting bloc.

The wording of this borderline deceptive. OAS has a reasonable threshold at which the clawback starts, and by the time you get to the top end, the clawback is very close to 100% of the benefit. So those seniors up near $134K are getting like $20/month. It's not nothing, but it's not worth all the angst here.

The $179K threshold is for those who deferred the benefit, so they've had years of zero benefit earlier on. Which is a gamble that you'll live long enough to make up the difference.

Also, remember that these numbers are all AFTER the benefit is included. So a senior at the lower cutoff is actually making $73K before the benefit.

Also, also, remember that all of these amounts are taxed as income. So that senior at $73K pre-benefit is going to be taxed at the highest rate for the benefit.

Even so, it would still have made more sense to give additional benefits through GIS instead of OAS.

Yep, its absolute bullshit. I say this as someone who can and will benefit from exactly that

and its trivial to solve for. i hate these 'oh noooes whatever will we do with this minor issue everyone is butthurt about' when its a line item in a tax bill/policy.

This is the best summary I could come up with:

Ottawa is starting to feel the pinch of its fiscal handcuffs this year, as flagging revenue growth and surging debt costs limit the spending propensities – or at least ability – of the Liberals.

That is partly true as well for elderly benefits, the government’s inelegant name for Old Age Security and Guaranteed Income Supplement payments, which are set to rise sharply as Canada’s population of retirees steadily increases.

Remove age from the equation for a moment, and answer this question: what conceivable reason is there for Ottawa to be sending monthly cheques to households with annual incomes approaching $340,000?

Clawbacks of the benefit ($8,492 a year) start when an individual’s taxable income reaches $81,761 but even those making up to $134,626 receive reduced payments, or $137,331 for seniors over 75 whose OAS entitlement is increased by 10 per cent.

A household made up of two seniors eligible for the maximum OAS could have a combined income of about $340,000 and still receive a small monthly payment from Ottawa.

But the government and well-off seniors need to realize the fundamental unfairness of ramping up income subsidies to rich households as federal finances become increasingly constricted.

The original article contains 758 words, the summary contains 195 words. Saved 74%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!

Being upset about that small benefit going to people who already have some money is nothing but crabs in a bucket mentality.

Do you complainers not want to have income security when you get old too? This is a good thing for those old people. There are plenty of other more serious issues to be concerned about.