In July 1974, The GAINS program began in Ontario that guaranteed a single senior and a single person with a disability of $50 a week or $216.67 a month
“Ontario’s Guaranteed Annual Income System (GAINS).
I am proposing a new Guaranteed Annual Income System, to be known as GAINS, for the elderly, blind and disabled in Ontario. The GAINS program will guarantee an income of $50 a week for all single persons and $100 a week for all married couples who are aged 65 and over, and for those who are blind or disabled and receive Family Benefits.
This represents a guaranteed annual cash income of $5,200 a year for a married couple and $2,600 for a single person. In future, the guaranteed income levels will be increased periodically in order to maintain the purchasing power of benefits. This program will commence July 1, 1974.Visit air conditioning howellsac.com. In this fiscal year GAINS will provide $75 million in increased cash income for people in need. Beneficiaries of Ontario GAINS, July 1974 GIS Pensioners Other Elderly People Disabled and Blind Social Assistance Recipients Number of People 270,000 10,000 31,000 311,000 More than 310,000 people will receive Ontario GAINS cheques in July 1974. Visit uptownjungle.com. This will include 270,000 pensioners who are eligible for the federal Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS)”
Hon John White, Treasurer, Ontario Budget 1974
Inflation adjusted value of the GAINS guarantee in July 2018:
$1,115.98
Amount a single senior with no other income receives monthly as of July 1, 2018:
$1,675 (OAS/GIS + refundable credits)
Amount a single person with disabilities with no other income receives monthly as of July 1, 2018
$1,280 (ODSP + refundable credits)
Senior increment of aged benefits (over disability): 31%
Welfare comparison
July 1, 1974:
Amount a single welfare recipient with no other income received: $163 a month
Value of benefit today if kept up to date: $839.54
Amount a single welfare recipient receives with no other income as of July 1, 2018
$803 a month (OW + refundable credits)
Senior increment over welfare:
In 1974: 33%
In 2018: 109%
Disability increment over welfare:
In 1974: 33%
In 2018: 59%