The government is introducing automatic enrolment for the guaranteed income supplement benefit beginning this month.
The automatic enrolment means that, each month, up to 17,000 Canadian seniors who turn 64 on or after Dec. 1, 2017, will be selected to be automatically enrolled for the GIS benefit without having to complete an application, according to the government. Beginning this month, the selected seniors will be notified by letter that they’ll be enrolled for both old-age security and GIS without needing to apply, and will begin receiving their benefits automatically, if eligible, when they turn 65.
Read: New CPP, OAS benefit amounts take effect for 2018
The government also noted that once recipients are automatically enrolled for OAS benefits, they’ll be automatically considered for the GIS each year based on the household income information included in their tax filing.
“Automatic enrolment reduces the burden on many seniors by enabling them to receive their old-age security pension and guaranteed income supplement at age 65 without ever having to apply for it,” said Jean-Yves Duclos, minister of families, children and social development, in a news release.
“We continue our efforts to modernize the old-age security and guaranteed income supplement services to meet the needs of Canadians.”
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