Ontario’s Action Plan for Seniors - Part 1: Safety and Security

Ontario has always been a great place to grow up. Ontario’s Action Plan for Seniors is making it a great place to grow old, too.



The Ontario Action Plan for Seniors was developed with the ideal in mind that all citizens are entitled to be treated with dignity and respect. That ideal, and the onset of a rapidly increasing 65+ demographic, were the driving factors in the implementation of a new action plan that could improve the quality and equality of retirement living.

This 3-part series will explore the action plan, which was launched in January 2013, and its’ new long-term initiatives which focus on three pillars of development:
• Part 1: Safety and security
• Part 2: Healthy seniors
• Part 3: Senior-friendly communities

Part 1: Safety and Security

Safety

Built upon a solid foundation of standards and regulations laid over the past decade, Ontario’s Action Plan strives to improve even more in an effort to ensure the safety of seniors in our communities.

Some of the new programs implemented include:

• Finding Your Way – Advice, tools, and support specifically for assisting with wandering prevention and retrieval of individuals with Alzheimer’s or other dementia-related diseases. Click here to learn more about Finding Your Way.
• Fire Safety – Improved training for in-home support workers and community staff members, higher standards and regulations for fire prevention in communities, and technical upgrades like automatic water sprinklers. For more information on fire safety in retirement communities, check out this article on Comfort Life.
• Elder Abuse Prevention – Working with the National Initiative for the Care of the Elderly to gather data, generate awareness, and improve knowledge for seniors and service providers on how to prevent elder abuse or get help. A new formal complaint system is being implemented across communities to help ensure the safety of vulnerable seniors.

Security

Financial sustainability has always been a major concern for many retired, or soon-to-be retired seniors. In Ontario, there are now many tax and financial aid initiatives in place to supplement that concern, helping seniors rest a little bit easier at night.

Some tax credits and financial aid options to consider:

• Healthy Homes Renovation Tax Credit – A permanent, refundable tax credit of up to $1500 per year to help offset the costs involved with home safety and accessibility renovations. You can get more information on the HHRTC here.
• Ontario Senior Homeowners’ Property Tax Grant - A payment of up to $500 to help low-to-moderate income seniors with the cost of property taxes.
• Ontario Guaranteed Annual Income System (GAINS) – A program that guarantees a minimum annual income to qualified seniors with payments of up to $83 per month.
• Pension Income Splitting – Ontario pensioners can allocate up to 50% of their eligible pension income to spouses or common-law partners in order to reduce the amount of personal income tax needing to be paid.

Be sure to check out part 2 and part 3 of our breakdown of Ontario's Action Plan for Seniors!

Written by Justin Szostak, Our Kids Media