B.C. seniors rally for higher pensions amid affordability crisis
Organizer calls for raise in pensions for seniors 'just to bring them up to poverty level'
Rallies took place across British Columbia on Thursday to protest pensions that organizers say are not keeping up with the cost of living.
Advocacy group Seniors Tin Cup organized marches in seven cities across B.C., saying many seniors are living below the poverty line.
More than 100 people gathered in the Okanagan city of Vernon, including Lorraine Beaudoin.
"We're marching because seniors cannot live just on their pensions," Beaudoin said. "It's impossible to live on $1,200 a month."
Rallies were also held in Kamloops, Vancouver, Surrey, White Rock and other communities.
WATCH | Seniors call for pensions to keep up with cost of living:
The group is asking the provincial government to index the B.C. senior's supplement to inflation and fund other services for seniors like extended health benefits, housing, and transit.
They're also asking the province to work with the federal government to raise pensions.
"That's why we're here is to get more money in their pensions just to bring them up to poverty level," said Sue Reid, who helped organize a rally in Surrey, B.C. "We're not asking for any over that, just poverty level would work for now."
Seniors forced to make tough decisions
Reid says many seniors live below the poverty line and sometimes have to choose between essentials like housing, food, and medication.
The monthly old age pension for people over 75 is up to $784.67, while the guaranteed income supplement for a single person is up to $1,065.47, for a total of $22,201.68 a year.
A report released in November by United Way B.C. cited Statistics Canada data showing more than one in six B.C. seniors in 2021 had after-tax low incomes, defined as 50 per cent or less than the median adjusted after‑tax income of private households.
That was a "dramatic reversal" from three decades ago when seniors had the lowest low-income rates of any age group, United Way said.
The report says in 2001, only 8.6 per cent of people 65 and older in the province were in the low-income category, compared with 16 per cent of younger adults. By 2021, 15.2 per cent of seniors were in the low-income group, compared with 8.1 per cent of younger adults.
In 1996, only 2.2 per cent of seniors were in the low-income group.
The United Way report also said one in four seniors in B.C. had an after-tax income below $21,800 in 2020.
"There are seniors who are having to decide between housing and paying for food, seniors who need chronic pain medications and they're not able to pay for that medication," said Laura Kadowaki, one of the report's co-authors.
The province said in a statement that inflation has been particularly challenging for seniors on fixed incomes.
It says it is working on changes to the Shelter Aid For Elderly Renters (SAFER) program, which provides rental supplements to seniors.
Reid said more needs to be done to help older people, who are too often considered an afterthought.
"They deserve to live their last years with respect and dignity," she said.
With files from Michelle Gomez, Janella Hamilton and The Canadian Press