One of the main highlights in the realm of senior welfare and housing policies pertains to the prospect of additional financial benefits for the seniors and first-time home buyers. This has emerged as a critical policy promise by a re-elected Saskatchewan Party government.
Diving deeper into the details, the re-elected Saskatchewan Party government aims to put the seniors at the forefront of their welfare policies. The initial claim indicates that seniors can hope to secure an additional amount of $1000. This move is essentially set to result in significant savings that can gradually sum up to $525 per annum, thus bringing monetary relief to the senior residents. The beneficial impact is expected to be experienced on a wide scale as more and more seniors avail of this scheme.
The same government, in its re-elected term, has also made the announcement to hike the Saskatchewan First-Time Homebuyers Tax Credit. The proposed increase is quite substantial, from $10,000 to a total of $15,000. This will effectively raise the benefits from a previous amount of $1,050 to a heftier sum of $1,575. Along with the Federal Tax Credit which stands at $750, it’s promising times for the first-time homebuyers who will now be eligible for a benefit amounting to $2,325.
The Saskatchewan Party has not just limited its focus on the seniors and first-time home buyers, but it also plans to hike the Personal Care Home Benefit. This increase is looked at a monthly scale where the government proposes a surge from $2,500 to a commendable sum of $3,500. To put it into percentage terms, we’re looking at a 40% rise or an additional $1,000 each month.
Now, the Personal Care Home Benefit is primarily oriented towards offering monthly payments to low income seniors who reside in a personal care home. The benefits calculated will be based on the difference between the income threshold, currently pegged to rise to $3,500, and the senior’s total monthly income.
For instance, let’s consider the case of a senior citizen who has a monthly earning of $1,500. Such a senior is currently eligible for a monthly benefit of $1,000. However, with the increased monthly benefit, this senior is set to witness their benefit double to a total of $2,000 each month.
As of now, the Personal Care Home Benefit is availed by approximately 560 residents of Saskatchewan. With the increase in income threshold, it’s expected that around 1,500 more residents will stand to benefit from this scheme, marking quite a significant reach.
That’s not all. The Saskatchewan Party government, in its re-elected tenure, is also geared to enhance the benefits to the existing 140 Saskatchewan Assured Income for Disability (SAID) clients. This applies to those individuals under the age of 65 and are residing in a personal care home. The planned increase is expected to be around $115 each month, which amounts to an annual increase of about $1,380.
Although these proposed changes carry a variety of objectives, they’re all primarily designed to make the path more affordable for citizens in need. Whether it’s to buy your first home, embark on renovation plans for your home or even managing the expenses to live in a personal care home later in life, there are effective changes on the horizon. As the re-elected Saskatchewan Party government would assert, the ultimate goal is to bring about affordability along with a sustainable lifestyle for its people.
