Who qualifies as a senior citizen? The magic age used to be 55. That's when the seniors' clubs would like you to buy a membership and pull a chair up to the card table. That used to be when retail outlets would offer you a discount on your purchases, or lure you into their store with senior "discount" days.
As the bulge of the Boomers moves into and past 55, the "officially old" scale seems to be sliding upward, and the senior perks dwindling away.
Most restaurants still offer senior menus and in North Battleford, Humpty's offers a senior discount at age 55. Smitty's has a program for those 60 and over, but the North Battleford location does not participate.
So with 55 no longer the magic number, are those in that age bracket truly seniors?
Fact is most 55-year-olds are still immersed in their careers and businesses. Even teachers, who seem to retire at a younger age than most, take a quick breather and hop right back into the work world doing something else.
The Government of Canada is getting into the business or redefining "officially old" by tinkering with age of eligibility for the Old Age Security program. OAS differs from the Canadian Pension Plan in that it is funded from general revenues and does not have a contribution component.
Starting in April 2023 the age of eligibility for OAS will gradually increase from 65 to 67 for OAS and the Guaranteed Income Supplement and from 60 to 62 for the allowance for the survivor. These changes will be fully implemented by 2029.
People currently receiving the OAS pension and benefits and those born before April1,1958 will not be affected by these changes. If you were born in 1957 or earlier, you will be eligible for the OAS pension and possibly the GIS at the age of 65.
If you were born in 1963 or later, you will be eligible for OAS and GIS at the age of 67.
Given some startling statistics quoted recently in an article offering tips for working Baby Boomers, the government is probably prudent in trying to shoo a few away from the trough for a couple of more years.
According to the article the number of Americans 55 years and older will almost double between now and 2030. It also states American life expectancy is at an all-time high and death rates at an all-time low. The article suggests these factors add up to retirees outliving their retirement savings.
But moving the marker for "officially old" doesn't really help define who is actually a senior. Do pronouncements of "50 is the new 40" or "60 is the new 50" actually illustrate the Boomers as more robust than previous generations as they age, or that they simply drastically outnumber the young people around them, so don't look all that old to one another?
And since the retail world seems to be pulling back from enticing seniors to part with their money, is there really any benefit in admitting to being one?
