MidlandToday welcomes letters to the editor at [email protected]. Please include your daytime phone number and address (for verification of authorship, not publication).. The following letter is in response to a letter regarding the CPP increase, published Jan. 11.
This article is another example of how seniors in our country get fed the wrong info without all the facts.
First up, you were correct that OAS/GIS will be going up 6.3 per cent, but CPP is going up 6.5 per cent reflected on this month’s payment.
Now let’s look at Mr. Duffy’s complaint that he would be better off living south of the border in the U.S. Yes, the COLA, as they call it in the U.S., will go up by 8.7 per cent. However, we must look at lots of other facts in regards to his statement that he would have been better to retire in the U.S.
The average monthly social security benefit in the U.S. is about $1,650. From this money you need to deduct the average monthly cost for health insurance for a senior, which is about $800. In fact, the stats say a retired couple will spend a minimum of about $375,000 on health care in retirement. And god forbid you have some major health issue like cancer or heart surgery. So, $1,650 minus $800 equals $850 a month.
Now in Canada a low-income senior receives about $1,800 to $2,200 a month combined CPP/OAS/GIS and has no worries about getting sick and losing their life savings at the hospital.
And lastly the biggest issue I believe now living south of the border is your safety. With hundreds of people being shot in grocery stores, churches and just walking down the street, I will pick Canada’s environment any day.
I have done extensive research on retirement in Canada on my YouTube channel, Life’s Learning Simplified, including a video comparing retirement in the U.S. compared to Canada.
Robert Stevens
Brantford
