The global economy has taken a heavy toll on seniors’ savings. Premier Campbell’s Government responded by legislating new protection to secure RRSPs from creditors and to provide unlimited deposit insurance on all deposits in credit unions. We urged the federal government to increase RRSP contribution limits and to ease the rules on mandatory RRIF withdrawals to give seniors more time for their investments to recover, and to make the best decisions for their personal circumstances.

We will continue to advocate an increase to the allowable RRSP contribution limit and to allow all seniors to continue contributing to their RRSPs until age 75. We will continue to seek an immediate, indefinite suspension of the mandatory withdrawal requirements on RRIFs, so that seniors are not forced to liquidate their investments now, and can instead wait for the markets to improve and their investment values to rebound.

We have outlawed mandatory retirement. Yet more can be done to allow seniors to work longer while collecting their pensions, without punitive income tax policies. We will seek changes to allow the first $20,000 of seniors’ pension income to be completely tax exempt, with no penalties or clawbacks on any income earned above that amount.

With seniors living longer, more active lives, we need to create new independent living options that better meet their needs in their communities. New “campuses of care” can help seniors to “age in place” as their needs become more complex. www.gov.bc.ca/yourbc/seniors/

For a decade, the NDP failed to invest in upgrading or increasing seniors’ housing. Thousands of units were allowed to deteriorate. Major repairs and renovations have been undertaken to make them safer and more suitable for seniors’ needs. We have upgraded or replaced over 6,500 units, to allow for proper wheelchair accessibility, new overhead lifts, new treatment technologies, more space to allow residential care attendants to assist seniors in bathing or grooming, and expanded lounge, activity, dining room and other social spaces.

Since 2001, the BC Liberal Government has added, upgraded or replaced over 12,400 assisted living, residential care and supportive housing beds, including 5,896 brand new beds. Wait times for access to residential care have declined from about a year in 2001, to an average of 15-90 days today. Funding for home care and community support has increased by over 61 per cent under Premier Campbell’s Administration.

Our Plan will:

• Dedicate $123 million to create 1,000 new homes for seniors and persons with disabilities across BC.  Those units will be built this year, largely in smaller communities
• Establish a registry for residential care aides, so British Columbians can be confident that care aides who are disciplined by one care facility are tracked and known when applying for work at any other provincial care facility
• Legislate a new “Residents Bill of Rights” to set out clear commitments to care and to the rights of seniors living in residential care facilities, including the right to representation through resident and family councils
• Develop a new provincial website to give families new access to comparative, detailed information about residential care facilities
• Increase access to home-support services, in-home nursing and rehabilitative care to help seniors live more healthy, active, independent lives