Debate grows over proposal to scale back Oas for high-income seniors
Ottawa — 12: 00 PM ET, March 27, 2026. A new national poll finds 73% of Canadians and most retirees support scaling back oas for seniors in households with incomes above $100, 000, intensifying a policy debate in Ottawa. The poll, conducted by Research Co. for advocacy group Generation Squeeze, shows broad support across party lines and demographic groups. Generation Squeeze frames the proposal as a way to protect lower-income seniors while trimming public spending on an expanding benefit.
What the Oas poll shows
The survey finds 73% of respondents back targeting Old Age Security to households with incomes below $100, 000. Support cuts across party lines: 79% of Liberal voters, 77% of Conservative voters and 78% of NDP voters backed the change, and roughly three-quarters of retirees who took the poll also supported it. Generation Squeeze is proposing scaling back OAS for the roughly 20% of senior households with incomes above $100, 000 while keeping benefits the same or higher for the other 80% and boosting payments for single seniors.
Under current rules noted in the polling material, retired couples with incomes exceeding $180, 000 may qualify for the full $18, 000 annual benefit. Only about four percent of seniors are excluded from OAS altogether because their incomes are too high. Generation Squeeze estimates the targeted change would save Canadians $7 billion per year.
Immediate reactions
Paul Kershaw, head of Generation Squeeze and a professor of public health at the University of British Columbia, said: “These new national poll data should reset how federal leaders think about OAS. Canadians are ready to reform it to deliver one of the most ambitious improvements to income security in decades. “
The poll also finds some six in ten respondents support phasing out the Age Amount and Pension Income tax credits, a move Generation Squeeze projects would save an additional $7 billion annually.
Quick context
OAS is already the largest single line item in the federal budget, totaling $85. 5 billion in the 2025-26 fiscal year, and is expected to cost more than $100 billion annually by 2030 as more Canadians reach retirement age. The new poll’s results are consistent with earlier Research Co. polling done for Generation Squeeze in 2024.
What’s next
Generation Squeeze’s proposal and the poll’s broad backing are likely to frame political conversations about retirement benefits and fiscal priorities in coming budget debates. Advocates point to the $7 billion annual savings figure and the projected rise in OAS spending as the key impetus for reform; critics and stakeholders will likely press for details on how changes would be phased and which households would be affected. For now, the poll data and Paul Kershaw’s call to “reset how federal leaders think about OAS” set the terms of the debate, and Ottawa officials and policy analysts will be watching public reaction closely as discussions proceed on potential changes to oas.
