Starting April 1, Albertans over 65 will receive a 25 per cent discount on personal registry services.
Personal registry services include fees for driver's licenses, vehicle registration, renewals, license plates and marriage licenses.
The province anticipates the discount will help more than 725,000 seniors, according to a Government of Alberta press release.
Last year Premier Danielle Smith tasked Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction Minister and Morinville – St. Albert MLA Dale Nally with making the discount a reality.
“Hearing the increasing concerns about affordability from seniors and knowing that more than 178,000 seniors in Alberta access income supports just to meet basic needs was more than enough motivation to ensure my Ministry made the seniors discount a top priority,” Nally said at a Thursday press conference with Premier Smith.
Nally said his Ministry worked closely with registry agents to create the new discount.
The discount will also apply when seniors need to access data such as vehicle information reports and birth certificates, he said.
“The discount will be applied at the time of payment so it will be easy and simple,” he said.
More discounts from other ministries are on their way, Nally said, including a discount for drivers’ medical exams and camping fees.
“We want to do the best that we can to address the fact that seniors are on fixed incomes, we want to make life more affordable,” he said.
The discount is not income tested, meaning it will apply to anyone over the age of 65 regardless of income.
“We didn't campaign on income testing it,” Nally said. “We appreciate the work that [seniors] have done in providing for the Alberta advantage, and we wanted every senior to be able to benefit from this discount.”
