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2025-01 Single Senior Women and Federal Tax Equity

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Published in: PENSIONS

Category:

EMPLOYMENT CONDITIONS

Sub-Category:

PENSIONS

Resolution Number:

300.10.38

Club:

BPW Brampton Caledon

Province:

Year:

2025

Status:

Open

Background:

The Canadian Federation of Business and Professional Women (BPW Canada) advocates for improving the economic conditions of women across the country. Senior couples in Canada benefit from pension income splitting, which can reduce income taxes and mitigate clawbacks on Old Age Security and non-refundable age amounts. In contrast, single women are unable to transfer RRSP or RRIF assets upon death to beneficiaries of their choice without potentially incurring up to 50% taxation and repaying portions of OAS benefits. This inequity underscores the need for the Government of Canada and relevant ministries to examine and implement measures that ensure single senior women are treated equitably relative to senior couples.

Single senior women face disproportionate economic vulnerability: they live longer than men and are over four times as likely to experience poverty compared to their coupled peers (Auditor General, 2024). Furthermore, research indicates that a single senior may pay up to 9.6 times more in taxes than a senior couple (SSTF, 2024). Addressing these disparities aligns with Canada’s commitments as a signatory to the Agreed Conclusions of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) sessions and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), reinforcing the country’s obligation to promote gender equity and economic justice for all seniors.

Comments:

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Canadian Federation of Business and Professional Women (BPW Canada) urges the Government of Canada and relevant ministries to promote greater tax fairness for single seniors. The primary goal is to ensure equitable tax relief for single seniors by:

1. Introducing a tax provision to compensate single seniors for the considerable reduction in taxes payable by couples who use pension income splitting in order to make pension income splitting work for all seniors;
2. Increasing the income clawback thresholds for Old Age Security and the age amount non-refundable tax credit for single
seniors;
3. Implementing a new single senior non-refundable tax credit equivalent to half of the personal amount for the applicable taxation year;
4. Increasing the pension income credit amount from $2,000 to $3,000 for single seniors;
5. Amending the tax treatment of registered plan proceeds on the death of a single senior to allow a tax-deferred rollover to any beneficiary (regardless of the relationship with the deceased) with a maximum ten-year payout. If the beneficiary dies within the ten-year period, the remaining amount would be fully taxable.

Article ID: 22304