Maytree research: looking for ways to lift seniors out of poverty

A recent report by the Toronto-based human rights group Maytree notes that while much has been done since the 1970s to lift seniors out of poverty, as of 2022 there were still “430,000 seniors below the Official Poverty Line.”

Their report, Seniors’ Poverty in Canada: Why It Exists and Why It Doesn’t Have To, was co-authored by Alexi White and Yasmine Gill.

Their research identified two chief reasons why, “despite the relatively robust income security system in place” in Canada that senior poverty still exists.

First, they note, “too many low-income seniors are not eligible for key federal seniors’ benefits or do not access them even when they are eligible.” Secondly, the nation’s income security programs, collectively, “are not generous enough to lift all seniors out of poverty.”

On this last point, the pair note that “in parts of Canada, where the cost of living is relatively low, the combined total of federal and provincial income supports may be enough for a single individual or a couple to entirely escape poverty. Where the cost of living is highest, however, income supports still leave many people thousands of dollars below the poverty line.”

A surprising finding was that “15 to 20 per cent of seniors in poverty do not receive Old Age Security (OAS) or the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) at all,” the authors note. Some in this group are ineligible due to not meeting the minimum 10-year residence requirement, or face other barriers to applying, such as the fact that they had not filed an income tax return and need help to do so.

The report’s recommendations call for increased focus by government “on ending seniors’ poverty everywhere in Canada,” for government to raise the level of income provided by its programs, particularly the GIS, to fund more “deeply affordable housing,” and to change the 10-year residence requirement so more seniors in poverty could qualify for help and help dismantle the barriers – such as lack of experience in filing income tax returns – that are keeping some from their entitled benefits.

We had a few more questions that one of the report’s authors, Maytree Director of Systems Change, Alexi White, kindly answered.

Could the decline in access to workplace pensions account, in part, for the high numbers of seniors in poverty?

Reduced access to workplace pensions is likely one contributing factor. That said, the report emphasizes that seniors’ poverty is driven by a range of factors, including inadequate lifetime earnings, precarious work, caregiving-related workforce interruptions, rising housing costs, and inequities experienced by certain groups of seniors. Workplace pension decline is part of the story, but it’s not a sufficient explanation.

What could be done to make it easier for seniors to access government benefits?
Improving automatic enrolment would be a significant step. Many eligible seniors miss out on benefits due to lack of awareness or barriers navigating the process. Where eligibility can be reasonably established through existing tax and administrative data, governments should move toward automatic enrolment. Simplifying processes and improving outreach will also be part of the solution.

Do you think there will ever be appetite at the government level for making OAS and CPP more liveable, or for moving toward a universal basic income model?
Regardless of the mechanism, the core policy question remains how to ensure seniors can live with dignity. In many ways, OAS and GIS already serve as a limited basic income system for seniors, and we have decades of evidence that they are making a material positive impact on levels of seniors’ poverty in Canada. It is difficult to predict government appetite for large-scale reform, but our analysis suggests this may not be necessary. Canada could end seniors’ poverty with a combination of incremental changes:  improved take-up, higher GIS maximums, and expansion of OAS eligibility.

What surprised you most about this report, and what was your main takeaway?
One of the most striking findings was that senior poverty in Canada is not inevitable. It is a policy choice. Canada has significantly reduced seniors’ poverty in the past through deliberate public policy interventions, which demonstrates that the problem is solvable.

We thank Alexi White for taking the time to answer our questions.

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