Cheques in the mail for province's poorest seniors
$200 comes on top of a $400 cheque sent last year to help the elderly cope with the higher cost of living
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New Brunswick’s poorest seniors will soon get a $200 cheque in the mail, fulfilling a promise of the Higgs Progressive Conservative government.
About 44,000 of the more than 180,000 people who are 65 years of age and older in the province will receive the cheques, which were mailed on Monday.
That’s about one in every four seniors.
“I am pleased to see the cheques in the mail and money in the hands of New Brunswick seniors in need,” Kathy Bockus, the minister responsible for seniors, said in a press release on Wednesday.
The supplement was announced last November to help seniors struggling with the rising cost of living, including much higher grocery bills.
The $200 supplement is in addition to the existing $400 low-income seniors’ benefit. No application was required for the supplement. Every recipient of the 2023 low-income seniors’ benefit, which was distributed last year, was eligible and sent the supplement.
The benefit will be permanently increased to $600 this year. Applications for the 2024 benefit will be available on April 1.
To qualify, a person must be eligible for the federal guaranteed income supplement, often called GIS, or the survivor’s benefit for the year 2022.
Details are available by emailing LISB-PARF@snb.ca or by calling the Low-Income Seniors’ Benefit toll-free line at 1-833-796-0944.
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