Employment and Social Development Canada says the basic old age security (OAS) pension benefit will increase by 0.2% to $550.99 per month for the maximum benefit from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31, 2013.
Payments under the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS), the allowance and the allowance for the survivor will also increase by the same percentage.
The OAS program consists of the basic pension, the GIS and the allowances. The GIS and allowances provide additional benefits to eligible low-income pensioners and their spouses or common-law partners, as well as to eligible survivors.
OAS benefit amounts are reviewed quarterly and revised as required to reflect increases in the cost of living, as measured by the consumer price index (CPI) set by Statistics Canada.
The Old Age Security Act guarantees that OAS benefits never go down, even when there is a decrease in the CPI. If the average CPI surpasses the previous level in the future, OAS benefits will go up again. However, if the average CPI goes down, OAS benefits will remain the same.
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