General Chat

Nolls ................

In addition to the lower pensions, Canadian pensioners also do not get the following benefits, which I gather are common in the UK ................

1. free bus and train passes

We do get "concessionary" fares .............. for me, that means a one zone bus trip costs me $1.75 instead of $2.50. Going further distances costs more and more


2. fuel or heating allowances

we have to pay the full cost of whatever heating method we use............ and remember, Canada is MUCH colder in most areas than the UK.

Even if the inside temperature is kept at 20C, it cost much more to keep it at that temperature when it is -30C outside than if it is around 0C


3. completely free medical care

............... we have to pay into provincial medical plans for basic care, and take out Extended Health programs for better benefits, and we have to pay for our own Dental Plans to get up to 60% off treatments.

As an example, I currently pay $339 a month for that coverage. In January, it will drop to $326 a month, because the insurance company has removed some coverage from us. That's over $4000 this year, just under that for next year.

When I go into hospital, I get free treatment, surgery, medications, etc. BUT I have to pay a room fee. It is currently about $20 a day in a 4-bed or larger ward, but can be as high as $160 in a 2 bed ward. I've never asked how much a private ward would cost!


4. Anyone who receives a British pension because they worked in the UK before coming here, will find that that pension is frozen from the first date they take it, no matter how many increases are made in the UK

If they didn't work long enough here to get the full Canadian pension, then they are badly off.



In fact, the basic premise here is that the Canadian pension is only to support those who have no other pension. One is EXPECTED to save for oneself, to pay into private pension plans ........... that's very much a US idea which has been transferred up here, but combined with the British idea of taking care of the poorest


OH and I have saved and paid into a private pension plan for him since we came here in 1968 ....................... we don't have to worry about how much we eat, but we don't have very much "throw away" money.

We didn't pay into a private pension plan for me because we couldn't afford it ...................... so I have only the Old Age Pension and the Canadian Pension Plan, which gives me just over $1,000 a month ................... or $12,000 a year. I have to pay tax on that!

The poverty line in Canada for a single person living in a large city is an income below $20,300 :-0

I apologise Barry I am surprised that the Canadian pension is so low . I still think that the postage is way to dear :-|

Well it seems that since the stamps are so expensive I,ll just have to forgo my Purchase of the" Bugatti Veyron" till next year,Oh Woe is Me. :-D :-D :-D

Nols, perhaps you will care to chew on this little lot!

The UK Pension maximum is £110 per week = £440 per four week month.
X 13 = £5720 per year. (52 x £110)
Canada pension maximum at July 2013 is C$546 per month
(IF a person lived in Canada BEFORE July 1977 - otherwise pension received is years resident divided by 40. I get half.)
At latest rate just googled £1 = C$1.74 (Was C$1.64 many days ago!)
Canada OA (Security) Pension is therefore today approx equivalent to £314 per (calendar) month.
X 12 = £3768.
Thus CAOP is approx 66% of UK OAP.
Needless to say both amounts are BEFORE the tax man takes his share!

As noted before an international stamp (30 grams) from Canada is $1.85 + 13% tax = C$2.09.
(However, if at one time the overseas amount - including USA - is greater than $5.00 you can remind the post office person the tax can be removed. Sometimes they look blank - it's a little more work for them!)

PS. Baby it's COOOOLD outside!

Having sent a load of cards abroad recently the general cost is £1.28 which appears to be dearer than the Canadian cost. The cost of normal letters are 60 / 50p small and 90 /69p large so on an average cost with Canada, Sylvia and Barry. I would also think that the Canadian pension (as I'm sure there are a lot of folks on here that are of pensionable age ...sorry if wrong) will be a lot higher than the GB pension.... again do correct me if I'm wrong ... which makes the cost high for us OAP's :-S

Hi Barry

doing well, thank you!

imagine that!!


we've just been trying to remember what we did in the apartment building we were in from 1968-72 .................. and neither of us can!

We think the mail was left in open shelving in the entrance hall ........ and that was a fairly new building (less than 5 years old)!


it is going to be interesting!

Imagine finding places in the big cities to place "community boxes"?!

I can't see them buying property to make room .............. and that is what they would have to do in my neighbourhood ............... unless they just place the boxes on a 3' wide city boulevard :-)

Hello, Sylvia! I hope you are well.

I heard also just now about an unnamed number to be offered at $0.85 per 'sticky'.
(The days of 'licky' have long passed into oblivion!)
I suspect the minimum number for the lower price will be at least a dozen.
We shall have to await with 'anticipation', however!

I recently discovered - much to my utter amazement - that an old apartment complex (still) has delivery through their front door on each floor.
I have never before seen or been aware of this scenario!

Imagine, the 'postie' actually goes to EACH floor and puts mail through the letter box of the appropriate apartment.
Incredible!

Never before in the field of true customer service .....!

Hi Barry_


you can get cheaper stamps ........

........ if you buy a book (number in book unstated) the new price will only be $0.85. per stamp

Add to that no home delivery in the remaining 1/3rd of the country that still has it .............. ie, in urban areas.

It's the pits!


I wonder where my local big box will be??????

I'm in a state of severe shock, too, Ann!

Further to noting on my post today about red coloured envelopes and the restructuring next year of Canada Post (one is removal of home delivery), the news has just said the price of a stamp is going up to $1.00!
Yep, $1.00.
It's presently $0.63 cents up to 30 grams.
That's over 50% increase. Additionally, there is 13% tax as well, making it $1.13.
Quite unbelievable, to be sure!
I truly wasn't sure I'd heard correctly at first.

Unless UK stamps are rising in price a great amount next year, you seem to have a pretty fair deal, methinks!

May be a faulty memory, but wasn't there the opportunity last year for Pensioners to buy a certain number of discount priced stamps?

Like Barry_, I also think you get a flipping good deal if it is only costing you 50p to mail a Christmas card AND if you are only sending out a handful of overseas letters.

In fact, I think Barry and I must live in the same country!


We send out just over 100 Christmas cards, most also containing a letter, every year. About 50-60 of those go "overseas"

It is the only way in which we keep in contact with many people.

The relations, what are left of them, get very upset if they don't get a card.

Friends think we've died if they don't get at least a card.

If we don't get a card from other people for 2 years, they're taken off the list ............... that's how we whittled the list down from 150 to about 110. Hopefully, we can whittle it down a little more this year.


50p = about $1.00

$1.85 = about 90-95p

60 x 95p = about £57

Those costs are for an average sized card. Oversize or overweight costs more.

so be glad that you don't have those kinds of costs, be thankful that your friends and relatives overseas still consider you worth sending a card to ........

............ and think that there are people worse off than yourself when it comes to the cost of Christmas!


You are also lucky in that you get all those deliveries .................. we get 1 delivery a day 5 days a week, and they are talking about cutting it back to 3 days.


Yes, you did used to get a delivery on Christmas Day ...........

.......... I did Christmas Post for about 4 or 5 years from about 1959 to 1964 .................... it wasn't only 2 or 3 deliveries a day that you got leading up to Christmas.

Each student would be assigned to a particular postman, who would have 3 or 4 students to cover his route. We would each do about 1/4 of his normal route. We'd be sent out time and time again to get the post delivered. Sometimes, I did 4 deliveries a day, not getting home until 6 pm or after.

BUT, the students never ever did Christmas Day where I lived ............ the postie did that one himself! That was when he got the tips :-D

I don't think it is a poor service, since living " out in the sticks" over 30 years we have only ever had one post delivery, one time when I posted letters to Wales and 17 miles up the road at the same time, the letters to Wales got there first all were first class.
Another time I put the right house number and road name but wrong town but the post office staff/detectives got it there In the end. :-D

I think an envelope A5 size will go for ordinary second class, anything larger will be weighed. If the A5 envelope is too thick for the slot in the tester 'thing' or if it has an embellishment that snags and wont go through smoothly, it will need a large second class. As will a small envelope that is too bulky.

Anyone on here willing to work in a Royal Mail sorting office during the Christmas rush?

Three times I've done it - mad eejit that I am! It's an eye-opener that stops many of us complaining about the perceived poor service.

Have a couple of books of 1st/2nd class stamps from previous years so will be using them this year :-D

be a good idea if the Post Office sold Christmas stamps cheaper - stamps that can only be used at Christmas time on Christmas cards

Hubby went to check on cards for Christmas for abroad (Aus/US/NZ) he was supposed to bring them back to be posted later.....I nearly fell of the chair when he said postage cost over £14. Won't be doing that in a hurry again!

I always buy Christmas cards, tags, and wrapping paper and other such things in the January sales, keep in an old suitcase in the attic, sometimes there is enough in there that I don't need to buy any for the current year, I buy books of stamps through the year, it at least spreads the cost a bit.

well I was so mad about this I wrote to our local South Wales Echo expressing my disgust and lo and behold, it's in today's edition :-D

I would struggle to buy my cards, stamps, an X Box, an iPhone 5S and a new Honda Jazz for £82.20. Lucky to get any change from £300 for that lot :-( Plus 4 certs from Southport and an old Cassini OS map of the Rhondda in 1850 ;-)