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Implement Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) #522

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@MaxGhenis MaxGhenis commented Aug 24, 2025

Summary

This PR implements the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS), a key component of Canada's retirement income system that provides additional support to low-income seniors receiving Old Age Security (OAS).

Implementation Details

Features

  • Eligibility: Based on OAS eligibility (age 65+, residency requirements) and income thresholds
  • Income testing: Benefits reduced by 50 cents for every dollar of income
  • Maximum monthly amounts (2025):
    • Single seniors: $1,097.75
    • Couples (both receiving OAS): $660.78
  • Annual income thresholds where benefits phase out completely:
    • Singles: ~$26,000
    • Couples: ~$15,000

Components Added

  1. Parameters:

    • Maximum benefit amounts for singles and couples (2022-2025)
    • Income thresholds for different household types
    • 50% reduction rate

  2. Variables:

    • gis_eligible: Determines eligibility based on OAS status and income
    • gis_income: Calculates income for GIS purposes (excludes OAS/GIS)
    • gis: Main benefit calculation with income testing
    • is_single: Helper variable to determine household composition

  3. Tests: 14 comprehensive test cases covering:

    • Eligibility scenarios
    • Income calculations
    • Benefit phase-outs
    • Single vs couple calculations

Implementation Notes

  • GIS income calculation excludes OAS and GIS payments themselves
  • Simplified couple handling (assumes both receive OAS)
  • Benefits integrated into main benefits aggregator variable

TODO/Future Enhancements

  • Add support for couples where spouse doesn't receive OAS
  • Implement Allowance for spouses aged 60-64
  • Add provincial GIS top-ups (GAINS in Ontario, etc.)
  • Include other income sources in GIS income calculation (CPP, private pensions, investments)

Testing

All tests pass:

policyengine_canada/tests/gov/cra/benefits/gis/gis.yaml ......
policyengine_canada/tests/gov/cra/benefits/gis/gis_eligible.yaml ....
policyengine_canada/tests/gov/cra/benefits/gis/gis_income.yaml ....
============================== 14 passed in 0.11s ==============================

References

Fixes #98

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

Co-Authored-By: Claude noreply@anthropic.com

MaxGhenis and others added 2 commits August 24, 2025 14:28
@MaxGhenis @claude
Implement Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS)
fba20ce 
Add the Guaranteed Income Supplement, a key component of Canada's retirement income system for low-income seniors.

Features:
- GIS eligibility based on OAS eligibility and income thresholds
- Income-tested benefit with 50% reduction rate
- Support for single and coupled seniors (basic implementation)
- Maximum monthly benefits: $1,097.75 (single), $660.78 (couple both OAS) for 2025
- Comprehensive test coverage

Implementation notes:
- GIS income excludes OAS and GIS payments
- Benefits phase out completely at twice the maximum amount
- Simplified couple handling (assumes both receive OAS)
- TODO: Add support for other couple scenarios (spouse no OAS, Allowance)

This implementation addresses issue PolicyEngine#98 and brings PolicyEngine Canada closer to SPSD/M coverage.

🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.ai/code)

Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>
@MaxGhenis @claude
Fix GIS implementation issues identified by reviewer
bdd50ab 
- Fix household income aggregation for couples (use household.sum)
- Add couple test cases to verify household income aggregation works
- Update test documentation with correct parameter values
- Income source expansion already has placeholders for CPP, pensions, etc.

🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.ai/code)

Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>
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Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS)

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