OAS benefit amounts to increase

Employment and Social Development Canada has announced the quarterly benefit amounts for Old Age Security (OAS) for October to December 2015.

The maximum basic OAS pension benefit paid to people 65 years of age and older will increase by $5.08 to $569.95 from $564.87 per month from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31, 2015.

Payments under the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS), the Allowance and the Allowance for the Survivor will also increase by the same 0.9% for this quarter.

Read: Number of OAS beneficiaries expected to jump

OAS benefit amounts are reviewed quarterly (in January, April, July and October) 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 can never be reduced, 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.

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