Bill C-516: An Act to amend the Old Age Security Act (application for supplement, retroactive payments and other amendments)

C-516 Third Session, Fortieth Parliament, 59 Elizabeth II, 2010 HOUSE OF COMMONS OF CANADA BILL C-516 An Act to amend the Old Age Security Act (application for supplement, retroactive payments and other amendments) first reading, April 22, 2010 Mrs. Freeman 403080 SUMMARY This enactment provides for an increase in the amount of supplement to be paid monthly to a pensioner and for the payment of a pension and supplement to a person who ceases to have a spouse or common-law partner by reason of the spouse’s or common-law partner’s death. It removes the requirement to make an application for a supplement and allows the retroactive payment of supplements. Also available on the Parliament of Canada Web Site at the following address:http://www.parl.gc.ca .vis1 {position: absolute;display:block;} .vis2 {position: static;} 3rd Session, 40th Parliament, 59 Elizabeth II, 2010 house of commons of canada BILL C-516 An Act to amend the Old Age Security Act (application for supplement, retroactive payments and other amendments) R.S., c. O-9 Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows: 1. Section 8 of the Old Age Security Act is amended by adding the following after subsection (3): Exception (4) A person who ceases to have a spouse or common-law partner by reason of the spouse’s or common law partner’s death and who is entitled to receive a supplement under subsection 15(7.3) is also entitled to receive, for a period of six months after the month in which the spouse or common-law partner died, the pension that would have been payable to the spouse or common-law partner. 2. (1) Subsection 11(3) of the Act is replaced by the following: Application deemed to be made and approved (3) An application under subsection (2) is deemed to have been made by a person and approved on the day on which the person reached sixty-five years of age, where the information in support of the application has been made available to the Minister under this Act. The Minister shall take all necessary measures to obtain the information and, if the information is obtained, the Minister shall give written notice of the matter to the person before payment of the supplement commences. Withdrawal of application (3.1) An applicant may withdraw an application for a supplement by giving a written notice of the withdrawal to the Minister at any time before payment of the supplement commences. Effect of withdrawal (3.2) If an application for a supplement is withdrawn under subsection (3.1), the withdrawn application shall not after that time be used for the purpose of determining the applicant’s eligibility for a supplement, and a new application for a supplement is not effective as of the day on which the applicant attained the age of sixty-five years. (2) Paragraph 11(7)(a) of the Act is repealed. 3. (1) Section 12 of the Act is amended by adding the following after subsection (1.2): Increase on January 1 next following the coming into force of this subsection (1.3) The amount of the supplement that may be paid to a pensioner for any month in the payment quarter commencing on January 1 next following the day on which this subsection comes into force is the amount of the supplement that would otherwise be payable plus one hundred and ten dollars, in the case of a person described in paragraph (1)(a) or subparagraph (1)(b)(i). (2) The portion of subsection 12(2) of the Act before paragraph (a) is replaced by the following: Indexation (2) Subject to subsections (1.1) to (1.3), the amount of the supplement that may be paid to a pensioner for any month in any payment quarter commencing after June 30, 2005 is the amount obtained by multiplying 4. (1) Subsection 15(7.1) of the Act is repealed. (2) Subsections 15(7.2) and (8) of the Act are replaced by the following: Where applicant ceases to have a spouse or common-law partner by reason of death (7.2) Where an application for a supplement in respect of a payment period that commences after June 30, 1999 is made by a person who at any time in the payment period ceases to have a spouse or common-law partner by reason of the spouse’s or common-law partner’s death, the supplement paid to the person, for any month in that payment period that is more than six months after the month in which the spouse or common-law partner died, shall be calculated as though the person did not have a spouse or common-law partner on the last day of the previous payment period. Payment of supplement to surviving spouse or common-law partner (7.3) A person who ceases to have a spouse or common-law partner by reason of the spouse’s or common law partner’s death is entitled to receive, for a period of six months after the month in which the spouse or common-law partner died, the supplement that would have been payable to the spouse or common-law partner. Saving provision (8) Nothing in subsections (6.1) to (7.3) shall be construed as limiting or restricting the authority of the Minister to make a direction under subsections (3) to (5.1). 5. (1) Subsection 22(4.1) of the Act is amended by striking out “and” at the end of paragraph (b), by adding “and” at the end of paragraph (c) and by adding the following after paragraph (c): (d) the amount that would have been paid to the pensioner under section 12 for any month in the payment quarter commencing on January 1 of the year following the date on which this paragraph comes into effect. (2) The portion of subsection 22(4.2) of the Act before paragraph (a) is replaced by the following: Indexation of supplement equivalent for the survivor (4.2) Subject to paragraphs (4.1)(b), (c) and (d), the amount of the supplement equivalent for the survivor for any month in a payment quarter commencing after June 30, 2005 is the amount obtained by multiplying 6. Section 26.1 of the Act is replaced by the following: Deeming provision 26.1 When the requirement for an application for a benefit is waived by the Minister under this Act, the application is deemed to have been made by the applicant on the day on which the requirement is waived. 7. The Act is amended by adding the following after section 32: Retroactive Payments Supplement 32.1 (1) Where a person has not received a supplement, or a portion of a supplement, to which that person would have been entitled under this Act, by reason of the fact that an application was not made by that person in accordance with the requirements of this Act as it read immediately before the day on which this section came into force, the Minister shall take remedial action to place the person in the position that the person would be in under this Act had the application been made in accord-ance with those requirements, by authorizing the retroactive payment of all the amounts to which the person would have been entitled. Non-application (2) Subsection (1) does not apply to a person who dies before the day on which this section comes into force. 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