Most Canadians believe that Canada's Old Age Security benefits act as a safety net, lifting struggling retirees out of poverty. But in this episode of the Hard Truths pod, Generation Squeeze founder, Dr. Paul Kershaw explains the hard truth: Some seniors with two homes, seven-figure portfolios, and six-figure incomes are still collecting OAS. And not just a token amount — retired couples with $180,000 in income still qualify for roughly $18,000 a year in OAS benefits.

Paul dives deep into The Globe and Mail's "Financial Facelift"column. Every weekend, financial experts help Canadians fine-tune their retirement plans. The advice is smart and methodical, showing how to make the most of tax and benefit rules. But those columns also reveal something deeper —how our most expensive federal program, Old Age Security, has drifted from protecting retirees from poverty to padding the comfort of affluence .

The Generation Squeeze analysis of Canada’s Budget 2025 is getting a lot of media attention! That’s because we’re pointing out a hard truth: The fiscal imbalance in budget 2025 began decades ago when governments failed to plan for the rising costs of an population aging. And as predicted, these costs are now crowding out space for investments to help younger and working Canadians build homes, raise families, and strengthen productivity.

In today’s episode we’re showcasing last week’s episode of CBC’s Day 6 with Host Brent Bambury who invited Gen Squeeze founder and executive director, Dr. Paul Kershaw to speak to the structural inequity in government spending that is hitting younger Canadians the hardest. Paul describes what might be a rare moment in politics: One in which politicians on both the left and the right seem to agree on the solution to the problem.

Budget 2025 sidesteps a hard truth: neither the Prime Minister who tabled it, nor the Opposition Leader who critiques it, has found the courage to ask financially secure retirees to share equally in this national moment of sacrifice.

In this episode of the Hard Truths pod, our social media coordinator Jennifer Fox presents the Generation Squeeze press conference direct from Ottawa. where Gen Squeeze founder, Dr. Paul Kershaw spent budget day crunching the numbers on Prime Minister Carney’s long-awaited fiscal plan. Paul unpacks what Budget 2025 reveals about generational fairness — how rising costs and ballooning deficits continue to deepen the divide between young and older generations ofCanadians.