In wake of BC Ferries canceling free fares for seniors, are these discounts on the way out?

The decision by BC Ferries to end weekday free rides for seniors drew a predictable reaction from the blue-rinse and Ensure set.

But the move appears to be another crack in the system of seniors' perks and discounts offered to people in their so-called golden years as cash-strapped governments look for savings and businesses pad their bottom lines.

The government-owned, money-losing ferry system is trying to find $20 million in savings, and among the planned measures is elimination of the free passenger fare for those aged 65 and older Monday to Thursday.

Instead, seniors will get a 50 per cent discount, which means instead of paying $15.50 to go from the mainland to Victoria, it'll cost $7.25.

[ Related: BC Ferries to cut sailings, seniors' discounts, add slot machines ]

Seniors take about 1.5 million trips a year on the ferry system, roughly two-thirds on days when it's free.

B.C. Transportation Minister Todd Stone, who announced the cost-cutting changes this week, said elimination of the free ride will save the system $6 million while reducing seniors' travel about 15 per cent.

Retired doctor Bryan Dawson, who lives on Salt Spring Island with his wife, told the Globe and Mail the change will affect a lot of people on the idyllic island, where about a quarter of residents are seniors.

“It’s the only way we can get off the island. There isn’t another system at all – there’s no other option," said Dawson, 84, who now will have to pay about $6, plus the normal vehicle fee, to leave the island.

“I think the only way to do something about it would be if all the seniors decided to stop travelling on the ferry for a few months. That might make [the government] sit up, I don’t know.”

It's a political truism that that governments antagonize seniors at their peril. They're very possessive when it comes to their privileges and many have the free time to fight for them.

[ Related: TD and RBC end free accounts for older clients ]

The Canadian Association of Retired Persons (CARP) commissioned a poll last year that found, not surprisingly, roughly nine out of 10 seniors support retaining discounts.

A majority favoured them because they help those on fixed incomes but felt they should be available to all seniors. Many also saw them as a way of rewarding a lifetime of contributing to society.

"The wide majority think seniorsʼ discounts should apply to a broad range of services and utilities, mostly heating and electricity, and property taxes," CARP's release on the poll said.

But B.C. is following a trend in both the public and private sectors that's taking a hard look at the sacred cow of seniors' discounts.

The CARP poll was prompted in part by TD Bank's decision to eliminate free banking for customers over 60. The National Post also noted that Oakville, Ont., city council recently introduced a number of reductions in seniors' discounts.

A long, well-argued piece in Maclean's this week contended across-the-board seniors' discounts aren't necessary because the current crop of elderly is one of the most well-off segments of society.

"There was a time when the seniors discount made a lot more sense," Peter Shawn Taylor wrote in Maclean's.

"In the mid-1970s, nearly 30 per cent of all seniors were considered poor, as defined by Statistics Canada’s low-income cut-off. But today, this has fallen to a mere 5.2 per cent.

"The impact of this turnaround is hard to overstate. Seniors once faced the highest rates of poverty in Canada; now they enjoy the lowest level of any age group: The poverty rate among seniors is almost half that of working-age Canadians."

Statistics Canada data shows 11.4 per cent of Canadians 65 and over were classed as low income in 2011, compared with 12.4 per cent in 2007.

And we're only at the leading edge of the wave of Baby Boomer retirees, Taylor noted. Many have accumulated wealth via mortgage-free homes, defined-benefit pensions, RRSPs and other assets. In many cases, their income is as much as working-age Canadians.

"Today’s Boomer-generation seniors are thus the richest, most comfortable and longest-living folks this country has ever produced," he wrote. "Not every senior is wealthy, of course, but even the poorest ones are better off than in previous generations and, in many cases, better off than their younger peers.

"So, taken as a whole, do Canada’s elderly really need—or deserve—free banking, cheap bus tickets, drug discounts and $1.50 off national-park admission fees?"

[ Related: How to get senior citizen discounts ]

As someone who's within sight of those discounts, I'd be loathe to forego them if they're available. But it's debatable whether they should be universal.

Taylor argued that perhaps discounts and freebies should be given based on need, using the federal Guaranteed Income Supplement as a yardstick. He noted even CARP vice-president Susan Eng might support something like that if government improves income supports for the poorest seniors.

“Do that properly and perhaps we wouldn’t need to offer seniors discounts,” she told Maclean's.

I'd agree but with this qualifier: We should distinguish between market-driven private-sector discounts and those coming from government.

I think it's reasonable to look who gets public-sector benefits such as seniors' property-tax rebates or cheap bus passes on public transit because they involve taxpayer dollars.

But whether a bank or retailer offers seniors a break to encourage their patronage is between the company and its shareholders. It shouldn't be legislated, as some have suggested. Seniors can opt to shop elsewhere, like everyone else.