Liberals offer up to $742 million to low income seniors whose GIS was clawed back this year

GIS is a program meant to help low income seniors make ends meet. The payments are based on income. A single senior earning less than $19,248 qualifies for GIS, while the cutoff for couples can be as high as $46,128, depending on their pension situation. In 2021, the maximum monthly payment under the program was $948.82.

The CERB and the Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB) are both considered taxable income. A large number of seniors who took these benefits did so to supplement their GIS payments when they were no longer able to work part time to top up their income.

By taking pandemic benefits like the CERB — which provided $2,000 a month to claimants — many of these seniors skewed their income for the last fiscal year, which is used to calculate GIS payments.

Seniors told CBC last month that the way the CERB is structured forced them to claim the full monthly benefit, rather than taking only what they needed to replace part-time income.

For many seniors, claiming a pandemic benefit pushed their income for the last fiscal year to a level high enough to trigger a cut to GIS this year. Some seniors saw this year's GIS eliminated completely, leaving them struggling to pay rent and bills.

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