Do I need to have worked to get OAS?

No. OAS has no work or contribution requirement at all. Eligibility depends only on age (65 or older), legal status, and years of residence in Canada after age 18: at least 10 years for a partial pension, 40 years for the full pension.

Should I defer OAS like people defer CPP?

The logic is similar but the boost is smaller: OAS deferral adds 0.6% per month (36% at 70) versus 0.7% for CPP. Deferral suits people who are healthy, still earning, or temporarily in clawback territory. If your income is low enough to qualify for GIS, do not defer: GIS is only payable alongside OAS, and every deferred month is GIS you can never get back.

Yes, OAS is added to your taxable income like CPP or RRSP withdrawals. GIS, by contrast, is non-taxable, although you must file a tax return each year to keep receiving it.

What happens to my OAS at 75?

Your pension automatically increases by 10% the month after your 75th birthday, no application needed. That is why the maximum is about $742.31 per month for ages 65 to 74 but $816.54 at 75 and over (as of July 2026).

OAS (Old Age Security)

SV (Sécurité de la vieillesse) in French

Quick definition

Old Age Security (OAS) is a monthly, taxable pension paid by the federal government from age 65, based on how long you have lived in Canada rather than on work or contributions. It is funded from general tax revenue, and high incomes can trigger a clawback.

A pension you get for living here

OAS is the residence-based pillar of Canada's retirement system, and in that sense the opposite of the CPP. You never contribute a cent to OAS directly: it is paid out of the federal government's general tax revenue. What earns you the pension is simply time spent living in Canada as an adult.

To get any OAS at 65, you generally need at least 10 years of residence in Canada after age 18 (20 years if you apply from outside the country). To get the full pension, you need 40 years of residence after 18. In between, the pension is pro-rated by fortieths: 30 years of residence gets you 30/40, or 75%, of the full amount. International social security agreements can help immigrants who split their adult lives between Canada and another country meet the minimums.

How much OAS pays

The maximum OAS pension is about $742.31 per month for ages 65 to 74, and $816.54 per month at 75 and over (as of July 2026). The higher amount at 75 reflects the automatic 10% boost everyone receives the month after their 75th birthday.

Amounts are indexed to inflation every quarter (January, April, July, October), so they never fall and typically creep up several times a year. The figures above match the July to September 2026 quarter.

Start at 65 or defer to 70

You can start OAS at 65 or defer it as late as 70. Each month of deferral adds 0.6% to your pension, up to a maximum of 36% more at age 70. There is no gain whatsoever from deferring past 70, and if you are already past 70 and have not applied, apply immediately: you are leaving money on the table.

Deferral can make sense if you are still working at 65 with a high income, both because the larger cheque lasts for life and because deferring can keep the pension out of your peak clawback years.

The clawback: the recovery tax on high incomes

OAS is taxable, and unlike CPP it can be reduced when your income is high. Once your net income exceeds $95,323 (as of 2026), you repay 15 cents of OAS for every dollar above the threshold. This is the OAS clawback, officially the OAS recovery tax, and at high enough income it can eliminate the pension entirely. See the dedicated article for the mechanics and the planning strategies around it.

GIS: the top-up for low-income seniors

The Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) adds a monthly, non-taxable payment on top of OAS for low-income recipients. Eligibility and amount are based on your income excluding OAS itself, and the supplement shrinks as income rises.

One planning point matters enormously here: withdrawals from a TFSA do not count as income for GIS purposes, but withdrawals from an RRSP or RRIF do. A low-income senior drawing $5,000 from an RRSP can lose GIS dollars, while the same $5,000 from a TFSA costs nothing. For people likely to qualify for GIS, favouring TFSA savings in the years before 65 can be worth thousands.

Applying and getting paid

Payments begin the month after you turn 65 (or after your chosen deferral date). Many people are auto-enrolled: Service Canada sends a letter the month after you turn 64 saying no application is needed. If you do not get that letter, you must apply, ideally six months before you want payments to start. Either way, check your My Service Canada Account to confirm your status rather than assuming enrolment happened.

In Canada

OAS has no real equivalent in the United States, where Social Security is entirely work-based. Canada's two-pillar design pairs a contributory pension (CPP) with a residence-based one (OAS), so a senior with little work history still receives a base income, and GIS adds a third layer for those with low incomes. The trade-off is the clawback: because OAS is funded from general revenue rather than personal contributions, the government reclaims it from high-income retirees, a mechanism with no CPP or Social Security counterpart.

Worked example

Amir immigrated to Canada at 35 and turns 65 in 2026 with 30 years of Canadian residence after age 18. He qualifies for a partial pension of 30/40 of the maximum: about $556.73 per month rather than $742.31 (as of July 2026). His income is modest, so he also qualifies for some GIS, which is non-taxable.

His neighbour Joan has 40 years of residence and a $120,000 retirement income. She gets the full OAS amount on paper, but her income is $24,677 over the 2026 clawback threshold, so she repays 15% of the excess, about $3,702, clawing back roughly 42% of her OAS for the year. Deferring OAS to 70 for a 36% larger pension, timed for years when her income will be lower, was a strategy worth considering before she started.