Canadian pensions: Recently elected Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tells Bloomberg he will be lowering Old Age Security eligibility to 65, down from 67, at Budget on 22 March
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau today announced that he would be lowering Old Age Security eligibility age to 65 at next week's Budget.
Plans to raise the age for eligibility for Old Age Security – which is similar to the UK's State Pension – to 67 where put in place in 2012 by former Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
Trudeau, who assumed his role as Prime Minister last November, will deliver his first Budget on 22 March. He had previously announced his intention to reverse the decision on Old Age Security eligibility as one of his policies during last year's election.
Stressing the importance of looking after vulnerable members of society, Trudeau added in his interview with Bloomberg News editor in chief John Micklethwait:
Obviously someone who has worked as an investment banker or a lawyer all their life, 65 is not necessarily an age where they need to retire. Anyone who has worked with their hands as a labourer or assembly line worker or worked in the resource industries and has been in a much more physical job, once you start reaching 65, regardless of the advances in Canada’s extraordinary medical system, there are real challenges over how much someone can keep working in certain jobs.