Philippine Asian News Today Vol 20 No 08 | Page 10

10
The Notary
Corner
By Editha Corrales Nelson
Immigration Consultant, Notary
Public, Mediation / Arbitrator
Most people over 65 in Cana-
da qualify for the Old Age Security
(OAS) pension. If you have a low
income, you may qualify for other
benefits from the Old Age Security
program through the:
• Guaranteed Income Sup-
plement (GIS) for OAS pension-
ers;
• Allowance for 60-to 64-
year-old
spouses/common-law
partners of GIS recipients; or
• Allowance for the survivor
for 60- to 64-year-old widowed
spouses/common-law partners.
The benefits are based on in-
come and marital status. They are
not automatic; you apply for them.
If you are single and your annual
income is less than $13,434 (in-
cluding all sources of foreign in-
come, but not counting your OAS
pension), you may qualify for the
GIS. The allowable income level is
higher for couples.
Keep in mind that if you did not
qualify for GIS in a previous year,
PHILIPPINE ASIAN NEWS TODAY April 16 - 30, 2018
Old Age Security Benefits
Who is qualified and what to do to?
you may qualify now. GIS eligibil- after divorce or separation.
ity is based on yearly income and
• If you are married or in
the allowable income level can in-
crease with changes in the Con- common-law relationship… You
and your spouse/common-law
sumer Price Index.
partner can apply to share your
You must renew your GIS, Al- CPP retirement pensions if you are
lowance or Allowance for the sur- both 60 or over. This could result
vivor benefit every year. Your ap- in income tax savings.
plication is done automatically if
• If you have children… If
you file your income tax return by
April 30. If you don’t file a return, your children were born after De-
you must complete an application cember 31, 1958, you may be able
to increase your benefits by apply-
form.
ing for the child rearing drop-out
The CPP pays retirement, sur- provision. This provision recog-
vivor, death and disability benefits nizes the time you spent out of the
workforce while raising children
to those who qualify.
under the age of seven. If this is
• If you are separated, di- your situation, be sure to apply.
vorced or your common-law re-
lationship has ended… CPP con-
Remember, if you have ques-
tributions made by you or your tions about whether you are eligi-
spouse/common-law partner dur- ble for any of these benefits, you
ing your marriage or common-law may contact the relevant govern-
relationship can be divided equally ment agency who will review your
file free of charge.
The following excerpt is taken
from the government literature
dealing with Old Age Security Ben-
efits •
An Authorized Immigration
Representative and Notary Public
in the City of Burnaby, Editha Cor-
rales Nelson’s preferred areas of
practice are Powers of Attorney,
Wills Preparation, International
Legal Documents, Name Chang-
es, Affidavits, Letters of Invitation,
Statutory Declarations, Drafting
of Business Contracts and other
notarial services. For an appoint-
ment, please call: 604-777-2757.
The following should not be
construed as providing legal ad-
vice and information in this col-
umn is intended only as a general
guide and should not be applied
to specific circumstances without
further consultation. For more in-
formation on the subject, contact
Editha Corrales at 604-777-2757.
*****************
Is it Time to Renew your Mortgage?
MYLENE LIM
Almost
half of resi-
dential mortgages are scheduled
to mature in 2018. With numerous
changes, new regulations, tighter
guidelines in the last couple of years,
it is imperative that you review your
options early on in order to get the
best mortgage available specific to
your requirements.
One of the most significant reg-
ulations is the “B-20 stress test” that
took effect on January 1st 2018,
which may put a lot of homeowners
in a difficult position to come renewal
time. For those unaware of the new
regulation, Canada’s banking regu-
lation implemented a new guide-
line that will further tighten lending
standards. This will greatly affect the
purchasing power of home buyers,
those looking to refinance their cur-
rent property, or those who will be
renewing their mortgages this year
or in the future. Borrowers with un-
insured mortgages (loan amount is
less than 80% of property value) will
need to prove that they can afford
payments based on either the Bank
of Canada’s five-year benchmark
rate (currently at 5.14%) or their
contracted rate + 2%.
To ensure that you will be able to
Licensed Mortgage Specialist
renew with the best mortgage terms
and conditions, here are some fac-
tors you need to look at:
Start your renewal process early.
When you take the initiative to be
proactive instead of reactive, you
can determine if there is anything
in your application that may need
improvement. An example would
be to check how much debts you
carry other than your housing costs.
If there is an exc