Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Low Income Seniors Need Your Help

Please help! Email the Minister of Finance and the Prime Minister to stop this outrage.(see below) Click here to get the content for the email. You can cut and past into body of your email and send it as is or add your own comments if you wish.

WHY?: Low income workers buy an RRSP and get 50% tax refund. When they withdraw the RRSP they pay back the 50% taxes (so far that’s fair). That RRSP withdrawal is classed as ‘income’ on their tax return. The following year those low income seniors have their GIS reduced by 50 cents for every dollar of ‘income’ from their Guaranteed Income Supplement. (Guaranteed Income Supplement is assistance for the lowest income people over age 65 to help provide a minimum standard of living.) Click here to see Government’s own tables. For every $24.00 increase in annual income they deduct $1.00 a month ($12.00 a year) form their Guaranteed Income Supplement.

RRSPs shouldn’t be used to rob seniors of their meager savings, especially when those who by-pass RRSPs are not trapped this way!

This “bait” and “trap” policy used by Canada on the most defenceless in our society is a shame! This only impacts people who have only a few hundred or a few thousand dollars saved. Seniors with large savings wouldn’t qualify for low income assistance anyway. THIS ERROR IN LEGISLATION MAY NOT HAVE BEEN INTENTIONAL BUT IT'S A SHAME TO LET IT CONTINUE.

NOTE: This is not politically motivated as Governments and Opposition Parties of all stripes have allowed this gouging of low income seniors savings for decades. Please help stop it now.
PLEASE FORWARD THIS EMAIL TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW. THIS IS SO UNFAIR.

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