Saturday August 7, 2021 | VANCOUVER ISLAND, BC
LETTER SUBMITTED TO ISLAND SOCIAL TRENDS: by Dale Giauque
I would include my voice among the seniors affected by the CRA’s Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) clawbacks for receiving previous CERB benefits.
I have been very negatively impacted by what amounts to a 30% decrease in my 2021 pension payment as a result of my qualification for CERB/CRB benefits during 2020. There has been no information available in regard to this point and now I have been arbitrarily penalized the GIS benefits I was guaranteed by CRA in my OAS application of 2020.
I have been put into a position of complete economic insecurity and I will suffer consequences of some kind. My worst fear is finding myself homeless at 66 years of age after working 50 years in and for the country of Canada.
I paid my rent, auto insurance, and telecommunications bill this month and was left with $208 for food, medications and any other need I may incur…for the month. While a food bank may alleviate some days of hunger it cannot meet the need for a month. This is as far as I have gotten on this road of poverty the federal government has put me and thousands of other senior citizens on. It feels like a downward spiral from here.
I hope there is help on the way. ~ Dale Giauque, Shirley, BC
Letters to the editor may be submitted to letters@islandsocialtrends.com
===== RELATED:
Seniors who took CERB now losing GIS supplement & other benefits (August 4, 2021)
