What Is OAS? Everything You Need to Know About Canada's Old Age Security

Old Age Security (OAS) is one of the most important sources of retirement income available to Canadians. Unlike the Canada Pension Plan (CPP), OAS is not based on your employment history or how much you contributed to a pension plan.

Instead, OAS is primarily based on your age and your history of residence in Canada. Your income can also affect how much of your OAS you ultimately keep through the OAS recovery tax, commonly known as the OAS clawback.

For many Canadians, OAS works alongside CPP, employer pensions, RRSPs, TFSAs, personal savings, and other sources of retirement income.

Understanding how OAS works is important because the decisions you make around when to start receiving it, how much taxable income you generate, and where you live in retirement can affect your overall retirement income.

What Is Old Age Security?

Old Age Security is a government pension available to eligible Canadians beginning at age 65. You do not need to have worked or contributed to CPP to receive OAS.

OAS is different from the Canada Pension Plan (CPP). CPP is based primarily on your contributions and earnings during your working years, while OAS is based largely on your age and residence in Canada.

OAS is also different from the RRSP and TFSA. Those accounts are personal savings and investment vehicles. OAS is a government benefit that can form part of your baseline retirement income.

For retirement planning purposes, OAS should therefore be considered alongside CPP, pensions, investment accounts, government benefits, and your planned retirement spending.

Who Is Eligible for OAS?

You must be at least 65 years old to receive the OAS pension.

If you are living in Canada when your OAS application is approved, you generally must:

• Be 65 or older.
• Be a Canadian citizen or legal resident when your application is approved.
• Have resided in Canada for at least 10 years after turning 18.

If you are living outside Canada when your OAS application is approved, you generally must have been a Canadian citizen or legal resident of Canada on the day before you left Canada and have resided in Canada for at least 20 years after turning 18.

Social security agreements between Canada and other countries may also help people qualify for benefits when they have spent part of their lives outside Canada.

How Does Your Canadian Residency Affect OAS?

You do not necessarily need 40 years of Canadian residence to receive OAS.

If you have lived in Canada for at least 10 years after age 18 and currently live in Canada, you may qualify for a partial OAS pension. A full OAS pension generally requires 40 years of residence in Canada after age 18.

The partial pension is generally calculated by dividing your years of Canadian residence after age 18 by 40.

For example, someone with 20 years of Canadian residence after age 18 could receive approximately 20/40, or 50%, of the full OAS pension, before considering other adjustments such as deferral or the OAS recovery tax.

What If You Retire Outside Canada?

Living outside Canada does not automatically mean you lose OAS. However, the residence requirements are different.

In general, you need at least 20 years of residence in Canada after age 18 to continue receiving OAS while living abroad. Social security agreements may also help in certain circumstances by allowing periods of residence in another country to count toward eligibility.

If international retirement is part of your plan, it is important to review the rules for the country where you intend to live before making a permanent move.

How Much Can You Receive from OAS?

OAS payment amounts are adjusted periodically to reflect changes in the cost of living. The amount you receive also depends on your age, your Canadian residence history, and whether the OAS recovery tax applies to you.

As of the July to September 2026 quarter, the maximum monthly OAS pension is:

• $751.97 per month for people aged 65 to 74.
• $827.17 per month for people aged 75 and older.

These are maximum amounts. Someone with fewer than 40 years of Canadian residence may receive a partial pension, while someone with sufficiently high income may have part or all of their OAS recovered through the OAS recovery tax.

OAS benefits are reviewed four times a year — in January, April, July, and October — based on changes in the Consumer Price Index (CPI). Benefit amounts increase when the applicable cost-of-living calculation calls for an increase, but they do not decrease when the CPI calculation would otherwise produce a decrease.

For the July to September 2026 quarter, OAS benefits increased by 1.2%, representing a 2.3% increase over the previous year. The October to December 2026 quarter is scheduled for another 1.4% increase.

What Is the OAS Clawback?

One of the most important OAS rules for higher-income retirees is the OAS recovery tax, commonly called the OAS clawback.

If your net world income is above the applicable annual threshold, you may have to repay part of your OAS. The repayment is calculated at 15% of the amount by which your income exceeds the applicable threshold, subject to the maximum recovery amount.

The recovery tax is based on your income for a particular tax year and affects OAS payments during the following July-to-June recovery period.

For the July 2026 to June 2027 recovery period, the calculation is based on your 2025 income. The minimum income threshold is $93,454.

For 2025 income, the OAS recovery range reaches approximately:

• $152,062 for individuals aged 65 to 74.
• $157,923 for individuals aged 75 and older.

At sufficiently high income levels, the entire OAS pension can effectively be recovered.

It is important to understand that the OAS clawback is not simply based on your employment income. Net world income can include private and public pensions, investment income, RRSP and RRIF withdrawals, and other sources of taxable income.

This is one reason retirement-income planning becomes increasingly important as you approach age 65. Large withdrawals from registered accounts can create unexpected tax consequences and potentially increase your OAS recovery tax.

For a more detailed explanation, see our OAS Clawback guide.

What Is the OAS Threshold for 2026 Income?

The OAS recovery tax threshold for the 2026 tax year is currently listed as $95,323. This threshold will apply to the OAS recovery period beginning in July 2027.

The estimated maximum recovery thresholds for 2026 income are currently $155,109 for people aged 65 to 74 and $161,088 for people aged 75 and older. These figures are estimates until the final October-to-December 2026 OAS amounts are established.

Can You Delay OAS?

Yes. You can choose to delay the start of your OAS pension from age 65 until as late as age 70.

For every month you delay OAS after age 65, your monthly pension increases by 0.6%. Waiting the full five years until age 70 produces a maximum increase of 36%.

The increase is permanent and is applied to your OAS pension when you eventually begin receiving it.

For example, using the current July-to-September 2026 maximum of $751.97 at age 65, a 36% deferral increase would produce approximately $1,022.68 per month at age 70, before future inflation adjustments and any applicable OAS recovery tax.

Delaying OAS can be worth considering if you have other retirement income available between ages 65 and 70 and want to increase your guaranteed monthly government pension later in life.

However, delaying OAS is not automatically the right choice for everyone. Your health, expected longevity, other income sources, tax situation, investment portfolio, residence history, and need for cash flow can all matter.

If you are eligible for the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS), delaying OAS generally does not provide the same benefit because you cannot receive GIS while you are delaying your OAS pension.

What Happens to OAS at Age 75?

OAS includes an automatic 10% increase beginning the month after you turn 75.

This permanent increase is separate from the 36% increase that can be earned by voluntarily delaying OAS from age 65 to age 70.

In other words, someone who delays OAS to age 70 can receive a higher pension because of the deferral increase, and that pension can subsequently receive the age-75 increase if the person remains eligible.

What Is the Guaranteed Income Supplement?

The Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) is an additional benefit available to eligible low-income seniors who receive OAS and meet the applicable residence and income requirements.

Unlike OAS, GIS is income-tested and is not taxable. The amount depends on factors such as your marital status and income.

As of July to September 2026, a single, widowed, or divorced person receiving OAS may qualify for up to $1,123.17 per month in GIS, depending on income.

Because GIS is income-tested, retirement-income decisions that increase taxable income can affect the amount of GIS you receive. This is another reason why the timing of RRSP and RRIF withdrawals can matter.

Is There a Survivor Benefit for OAS?

OAS itself does not have a survivor pension comparable to the CPP survivor's pension. When an OAS recipient dies, their OAS pension does not continue as a survivor pension for their spouse or common-law partner.

However, a surviving spouse or common-law partner between ages 60 and 64 with sufficiently low income may qualify for the Allowance for the Survivor. This is a separate benefit under the Old Age Security program and has its own eligibility requirements.

As of July to September 2026, the maximum Allowance for the Survivor is $1,702.34 per month, subject to the applicable income and eligibility requirements.

For comparison, CPP does have survivor benefits. You can learn more about those benefits in our CPP Survivor Benefits article.

How Do You Apply for OAS?

Many Canadians do not have to submit an OAS application. If Service Canada has enough information to determine that you are eligible, you may be automatically enrolled.

If you are automatically enrolled, Service Canada will send you a letter informing you of the decision and the date your pension is scheduled to begin.

If you do not receive an enrollment letter, or if the information is incorrect, you may need to apply.

You can also take action if you want to delay the start of your OAS pension or change your selected start date.

When applying or confirming your eligibility, you may need information about your residence history, including where you have lived since turning 18. If you have lived outside Canada, additional information may be required.

Service Canada provides the official application process and eligibility information.

How OAS Fits Into Your Retirement Plan

OAS may look like a relatively small monthly benefit compared with a large investment portfolio, but its value can become significant over a long retirement.

At the current July-to-September 2026 maximum of $751.97 per month, a full-year recipient would receive approximately $9,023.64 per year before considering future increases or any applicable recovery tax.

Over a 20-year retirement, that could represent more than $180,000 of gross OAS payments before inflation adjustments and assuming the maximum amount remained unchanged. In reality, OAS amounts are adjusted over time.

That is why OAS should not be treated as an afterthought when building a retirement plan.

Your retirement strategy should consider:

• When to start OAS.
• How many years you have lived in Canada after age 18.
• Whether you expect to live in Canada or another country during retirement.
• Your expected taxable income between ages 65 and 70.
• The potential effect of RRSP and RRIF withdrawals.
• Whether income splitting could affect your household tax situation.
• Whether you may qualify for GIS.
• How OAS coordinates with CPP and other retirement income.

A retirement-income plan should look at these decisions together rather than evaluating each source of income independently.

Conclusion

Old Age Security is an important part of Canada's retirement-income system. Unlike CPP, you do not need a history of employment or contributions to qualify for OAS. Instead, eligibility is primarily based on age and residence in Canada, while your income can affect how much of the benefit you ultimately keep.

The most important OAS decisions include understanding your residency history, determining when to start your pension, managing taxable income, and considering how OAS fits alongside CPP, pensions, RRSPs, TFSAs, and other retirement assets.

For some retirees, starting OAS at 65 may provide useful income immediately. For others, delaying OAS can provide a larger guaranteed monthly payment later in retirement. There is no single answer that works for everyone.

The right decision depends on your complete retirement-income picture, including your other pensions, investment accounts, taxes, spending needs, expected longevity, and potential OAS recovery tax.

Retirementize can help you model these different retirement-income decisions and see how government benefits interact with your other sources of income.

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