As growing numbers of Canadians approach retirement age, Ottawa has rolled out a new tool to help them with their decision-making.
Over 300,000 retired from their jobs in the year ending August 2022, said Statistics Canada. Up 31.8 percent from the previous year and 12.5 percent from 2019.
More than 20 percent of Canadians aged 55 to 59 have already retired, and twice as many aged 60 to 64 are no longer working, according to Statistics Canada. As for those 65 to 69 years, 80 percent are retired, and the number grows to 90 percent for those over 70.
With the online Retirement Hub, Canadians can assess their ability to retire and what government benefits they can access, including the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and Old Age Security (OAS).
“At Service Canada, we are working to improve accessibility to government benefits and services,” Minister of Citizens’ Services Terry Beech said in a government news release. “The Retirement Hub and the OAS Estimator are just two of the online services we now use to make access as convenient as possible for seniors and all Canadians across the country.”
The hub offers visitors a checklist to help them understand the steps they need to take to prepare for retirement. They’re asked questions such as where they plan to live when they stop working and whether they’ll be earning any income.
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Retirement planning includes finding out what government benefits you qualify for and what assets you’ll have to support yourself. The hub includes a retirement income calculator where visitors can enter information, such as details of employer pension plans, savings, and RRSPs.
The retirement portal provides information and application details on how to apply for OAS benefits, as well as information on how much individuals can expect to receive. For those 65 to 74 years old, the maximum benefit available is $713.34 per month, provided their income falls under the threshold of $134,626.
Portal users can use the OAS benefit estimator, although the website notes it only offers an estimate of how might be received each month.
