By John Moore, Columnist
Our region is full of pensioners and that’s a good thing. You see evidence of this everywhere in our community. All you have to do is go to the Canada Games Centre where exercise classes of all kinds and various sports are heartily attended by pensioners of all ages. The same goes for churches which are also full of pensioners. As a friend of mine jokingly says “We’re all cramming for the finals”.
A recent article sent to me by a friend when I complained Trump and Biden are too old to be running for President states retirement is no longer in the cards for many and not because of financial necessity. Life expectancy is increasing all the time. The article goes on to explain retirement is merely a transition to another stage of life where deadlines and schedules can be taken up by exercise, hobbies and other joyful activities people didn’t have a chance to do when they were officially employed. On the other hand, if you want to get drunk in the middle of the afternoon there is nothing to stop you although I don’t recommend it. For retirees and pensioners, every day can be Saturday.
I belong to a group of friends who are pensioners but still very active in the community. We usually meet at one of the members’ homes as he loves to host and cook, and we love that he does. We discuss many different topics and offer an assortment of observations on the various happenings in our community. It’s great camaraderie and oftentimes very humorous as we like to poke fun at just about everything. This is a real treasure to have, and I highly recommend this kind of social gathering if you aren’t already participating in one. We call ourselves the burp and ankle crowd.
When you’re a pensioner there is often time for good walks or hikes. My wife and I fall into this category. We often walk through the Hemlock Ravine where we meet people we know doing their walks. It’s always enjoyable and you never know what you may come across from day to day. Recently, we were on the home ward stretch of our walk and we were going through the Ecole Grosvenor Wentworth school yard. There were a group of preschoolers gathered which we often encountered. One of the instructors, without prompting, had them sing a beautiful rendition of “Good Morning to You” as we stood there and watched. It was very moving and so cute to witness. It brought smiles to our faces and tears to our eyes to see such happiness. It made our day as we thanked them and made our way home. What a great community we live in and as pensioners we are truly blessed.
Canada and indeed Nova Scotia is a great place to live and for pensioners to call home. The benefits are many and our government pension plans come to mind. I ‘m referring to Canada Pension Plan (CPP) the Old Age Security (O.A.S.) and supplementary plan. It’s worthy to note CPP benefits increased by 4.4% in the month of January because of the cost-of-living adjustment. This is a case where inflation isn’t all bad. The O.A.S, which is adjusted quarterly, increases .8% in January as well. The next adjustment will take place in April. Also, if you happen to turn 75 this year, you’ll receive a 10% increase if you qualify. This is not too shabby. One thing to note, if the cost-of-living index goes down the benefits received from these plans stays the same as they can’t go down by law notwithstanding those who may be impacted by claw backs. This is about as good as it gets when it comes to a guarantee.
Not to make pension life sound too good we are fortunate to have the home heating rebate program in Nova Scotia which offers a $600 rebate if your combined income is under $75,000. March 31st is the application deadline so check out the details as you may be eligible. This is further icing on the cake especially if you are a pensioner.
Happy February and Happy St. Valentine’s Day
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