Old Age Security Eligibility

Old Age Security is a monthly payment available to most Canadians aged 65 and older. Unlike the Canada Pension Plan (CPP), OAS benefits are not based on your work history, and you do not need to have been employed to qualify. However, specific eligibility criteria tied to residency determine your qualification for receiving OAS benefits.

Old Age Security (OAS) is a taxable monthly pension for eligible people aged 65 and older. Unlike the Canada Pension Plan (CPP), OAS is not based on your employment history or contributions. You can qualify even if you have never worked in Canada. What matters is your age, your status in Canada, and how long you have lived in Canada after turning 18.

Your income does not change these basic eligibility requirements (age, status, and residence), but it can reduce or eliminate the payment you receive. Use the OAS Payment Calculator after checking your eligibility to estimate your OAS pension. You can also estimate your CPP pension using our CPP Payment Calculator.

The standard OAS eligibility requirements depend on whether you live in Canada or another country when your application is approved.

These are the standard requirements. If you lived or worked in another country, worked abroad for a Canadian employer, or accompanied someone employed abroad, special rules may apply.

OAS Eligibility While Living in Canada

If you are living in Canada when Service Canada approves your OAS application, you must:

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

You do not have to be retired. Continuing to work does not disqualify you, although the income you earn may lead to an OAS clawback.

OAS Eligibility While Living Outside Canada

If you live outside Canada when your application is approved, you must generally:

• Be 65 or older;
• 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.

The 20-year rule also determines whether most recipients can continue receiving OAS indefinitely after moving abroad. If you do not meet it, a social security agreement between Canada and another country may still help you qualify.

Living in Canada for 10 years does not automatically produce a full pension. Under the standard rules, you need 40 years of Canadian residence after age 18 to receive the full OAS amount.

If you qualify with fewer than 40 years, your partial pension is generally calculated as:

Partial OAS percentage = (years of Canadian residence after age 18) ÷ 40

For example, 20 years of residence generally provides 20/40, or 50%, of the full pension. Ten years generally provides 10/40, or 25%.

The percentage determines your pension before any increase for delaying OAS and before any recovery tax. Once you begin receiving a partial OAS pension, additional years lived in Canada do not normally increase the residence fraction.

Service Canada may ask for a history of where you have lived since age 18. In straightforward cases, your years of residence in Canada determine whether you meet the 10- or 20-year requirement and whether you receive a full or partial pension.

Time outside Canada may also count in specific situations. For example, employment abroad for a Canadian employer may count if you return to Canada within six months after the job ends, or if you turn 65 while still employed abroad and have maintained your residence in Canada. Related rules may cover certain spouses, common-law partners, dependants, and Canadians working for international organizations.

These situations require supporting documents and should be reviewed by Service Canada rather than decided by the basic eligibility calculator.

Social Security Agreements

Canada has social security agreements with many countries. An agreement may allow periods lived or worked in the other country to help you meet the minimum requirement for OAS or another public pension.

The agreement does not necessarily turn all foreign years into Canadian residence for calculating your OAS amount. The result depends on the agreement and your history. If the calculator says that you do not meet the standard residence requirement, check Canada’s international social security agreements before assuming that you are ineligible.

Income does not change whether you meet the basic age, legal-status, and residence conditions, but it can reduce the OAS you actually keep. The OAS recovery tax takes back 15% of net world income above the applicable threshold, up to the amount of OAS received.

For the July 2026 to June 2027 recovery period, based on 2025 income:

These maximum income limits assume you receive the full OAS payout. If you get a smaller (partial) pension, your payments will drop to zero at a lower income because you have less OAS money to take back in the first place.

Employment and self-employment income, CPP and other pension income, RRSP or RRIF withdrawals, rental income, taxable interest and dividends, taxable capital gains, and foreign income can all affect the recovery tax. By contrast, TFSA withdrawals, gifts, inheritances, and other non-taxable amounts do not normally count as income, although income later earned from gifted or inherited assets may count.

Your income in one calendar year generally determines the recovery-tax deductions from July of the following year through June of the year after that. For example, a large RRSP withdrawal in 2025 can reduce OAS payments from July 2026 to June 2027. Use the OAS Calculator to estimate the effect.

Yes. You can receive OAS while working, and you can qualify even if you have never worked. OAS is different from CPP: it is not earned through payroll contributions.

Working can still affect your net payment. If your total income exceeds the recovery-tax threshold, employment income may cause part or all of your OAS to be clawed back. CPP benefits also count toward income for this purpose.

You can begin OAS at 65 or delay it until as late as age 70. Your pension increases by 0.6% for every month you delay, up to 36% after five years. Waiting beyond age 70 produces no additional increase.

Deferral is separate from the permanent 10% increase that applies beginning the month after an OAS recipient turns 75. Delaying may make sense if you are still earning a high income, but it is usually unattractive if you qualify for the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS). You cannot receive GIS while delaying OAS, and GIS does not receive a deferral increase.

Most people do not need to apply. If Service Canada has enough information to confirm your eligibility, it will usually send an automatic-enrolment letter around your 64th birthday.

If one month has passed since your 64th birthday and you have not received a letter, contact Service Canada to find out whether you need to apply. You should also take action if the information in your letter is wrong, Service Canada asks you to apply, or you want to delay or change your start date.

Eligible applicants living in Canada can apply or delay OAS through My Service Canada Account. Applicants living outside Canada must use a paper application and send it to the Service Canada office in their last province or territory of residence.

Your first payment normally arrives in the month after you turn 65 or on the later start date you select. See the OAS payment dates for the payment schedule.

You can generally receive OAS indefinitely outside Canada if you lived in Canada for at least 20 years after age 18. You may also qualify if your combined periods in Canada and a country with a social security agreement meet the applicable requirement.

If you do not qualify to receive OAS abroad indefinitely, your payments may stop after you have been outside Canada for more than six months. Contact Service Canada before leaving for more than six months and again after returning to avoid missed payments or an overpayment that must later be repaid.

OAS remains taxable, and non-resident tax may be withheld when you live abroad. The rate depends on the country where you live and whether it has a tax treaty with Canada.

Can a permanent resident receive OAS?

Yes. Canadian citizenship is not mandatory. A permanent resident or another legal resident may qualify by meeting the applicable age and Canadian residence requirements.

Can I receive OAS if I have lived in Canada for only 10 years?

If you live in Canada, 10 years of residence after age 18 can qualify you for a partial pension under the standard rules. Ten years would generally provide 25% of the full OAS amount. If you live outside Canada, the normal minimum is 20 years.

What if I have lived in Canada for fewer than 10 years?

You do not meet the standard residence requirement. However, a social security agreement or qualifying time spent working abroad may help you qualify. Service Canada must assess these cases individually.

Do I need to have worked in Canada to receive OAS?

No. OAS is based on age, legal status, and Canadian residence rather than employment or contributions. Work history matters for CPP, not OAS.

Is OAS taxable?

Yes. OAS is taxable income. Tax is not automatically deducted unless you request deductions, so you may otherwise owe tax when filing your return. GIS is different: GIS payments are not taxable.

Can my income make me ineligible for OAS?

High income does not erase your age, status, or residence history, but the recovery tax can take back your entire OAS pension. In practical terms, you may receive no OAS when your income is high enough.

Does CPP income affect the OAS clawback?

Yes. CPP and QPP benefits are taxable pension income and generally form part of the net income used to calculate the OAS recovery tax.