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 it at $808.45 starting July 2025
- Raises the employment/self-employment income exemption for GIS calculations from $5,000 to $6,500
- Repeals subsection 7(5) of the Old Age Security Act (a provision related to the existing pension amount structure)
- Adjusts the voluntary deferral rules for partial monthly pensions to align with the new base amounts
- Updates related definitions and calculations throughout the Act to reflect the new pension amount
Gotchas
- The 10% increase applies to all OAS recipients aged 65+, not just those with low incomes, meaning higher-income seniors also benefit despite already receiving less GIS or none at all.
- The bill sets a specific dollar amount ($808.45) rather than a percentage increase formula, which could create technical issues if the bill is passed after further indexing adjustments have already occurred.
- Raising the GIS income exemption to $6,500 uses a two-tier formula: the first $6,500 of combined income is fully exempt, and half of any amount above $6,500 (up to another $6,500) is also exempt, providing a gradual phase-out rather than a hard cutoff.
- The fiscal cost of a 10% across-the-board OAS increase would be substantial, but no cost estimate is provided in the bill text.
- As a private member's bill, it faces a lower likelihood of passing without government support, and its retroactive effective date of July 2025 could create administrative complications if passed later.
Who's Affected
- All Canadian seniors aged 65 and older who receive OAS pension payments
- Low-income seniors who receive the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS)
- Seniors who continue to work part-time or are self-employed while receiving GIS
- Federal government and taxpayers who fund OAS and GIS programs
Vibes
0 responses
Gotchas
- The 10% increase applies to all OAS recipients aged 65+, not just those with low incomes, meaning higher-income seniors also benefit despite already receiving less GIS or none at all.
- The bill sets a specific dollar amount ($808.45) rather than a percentage increase formula, which could create technical issues if the bill is passed after further indexing adjustments have already occurred.
- Raising the GIS income exemption to $6,500 uses a two-tier formula: the first $6,500 of combined income is fully exempt, and half of any amount above $6,500 (up to another $6,500) is also exempt, providing a gradual phase-out rather than a hard cutoff.
- The fiscal cost of a 10% across-the-board OAS increase would be substantial, but no cost estimate is provided in the bill text.
- As a private member's bill, it faces a lower likelihood of passing without government support, and its retroactive effective date of July 2025 could create administrative complications if passed later.
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 Canadians aged 65 and older. Based on the bill's specified amount of $808.45 per month starting July 2025, this reflects the 10% increase applied to the existing pension rate. Second, the bill raises the employment and self-employment income exemption used when calculating the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) from $5,000 to $6,500. The GIS is a benefit for lower-income seniors, and this exemption means more of their earned income is ignored when determining how much GIS they receive — allowing working low-income seniors to keep more of both their earnings and their GIS payments. This private member's bill was introduced by Ms. DeBellefeuille on February 9, 2026. It aims to improve financial support for Canadian seniors, particularly those with lower incomes who rely on both OAS and GIS.
Automatically generated from bill text using Claude
Vibes
0 responses