OAS Eligibility, Deferral, and the Age-75 Increase
This is the basics spoke under the government benefits guide. The recovery tax and the household GIS test are already written up as OAS clawback and GIS and as income stacking. Those pages are the strategy. This page is the pension you are strategizing about. The CPP estimate that often starts in the same year is how much CPP will I get.
- Eligibility is age 65, legal status when the application is approved, and residence after age 18. Ten years if you live in Canada. Twenty years if you live outside Canada and want a partial pension paid abroad.
- A full pension is 40 years after age 18. Fewer years pay 1/40 of the full amount per year. Once payments start, later years of residence do not increase a partial pension.
- Deferral is 0.6% a month from 65 to 70. ESDC's July to September 2026 table puts the full pension at $806.11 at 66, $860.25 at 67, $914.40 at 68, $968.54 at 69, and $1,022.68 at 70.
- The 10% age-75 increase has applied since July 2022, in the month after you turn 75. The July to September 2026 maximums already show it: $827.17 is 10% more than $751.97.
- For the recovery period July 2026 to June 2027, the threshold is $93,454 of 2025 net world income. You repay 15% of the income above that line.
Who qualifies, and who gets the full amount?
ESDC's program toolkit lists three conditions. You are 65 or older. You are a Canadian citizen or a legal resident when the application is approved. You have lived in Canada for at least 10 years since age 18 if you are applying while living here. If you live outside Canada when you apply, the residence floor for a partial pension is 20 years after age 18. A full pension is generally 40 years in Canada after age 18. There are older transitional rules, including for some people who were over 18 and held a Canadian immigration visa before July 1, 1977. If that might be you, the toolkit is the place to read it. This page will not paraphrase a transitional rule into a yes.
A partial pension is the number of years after age 18, divided by 40, times the full pension. ESDC's example: 20 years is 20 divided by 40, or half. Once you start, additional residence does not raise the fraction. That is a reason some people defer, and it is also a reason not to start "just to get something" in a year you could still add residence before 70. Deferral past 70 does not raise the pension further, and you can delay the start past 70 only in the sense that the amount has already stopped growing.
Service Canada may enroll you automatically if you are 64, you live in Canada, and you have enough CPP or QPP participation, or you have been filing taxes. The letter tells you. If the letter does not come, you apply. Automatic enrolment is not a substitute for checking the start month you want. If you want to defer, you have to say so. Retroactive payment is limited to 11 months from the application, and a period you deliberately deferred is not paid retroactively.
What is the deferral worth in the current quarter?
ESDC publishes the dollar result of the 0.6% rule on the July to September 2026 maximum. These amounts assume a full pension. A partial pension is increased by the same percentage, from a smaller base.
| Age you start | Increase | Maximum monthly amount |
|---|---|---|
| 65 | None | $751.97 |
| 66 | 12 months times 0.6%, which is 7.2% | $806.11 |
| 67 | 24 months times 0.6%, which is 14.4% | $860.25 |
| 68 | 36 months times 0.6%, which is 21.6% | $914.40 |
| 69 | 48 months times 0.6%, which is 28.8% | $968.54 |
| 70 | 60 months times 0.6%, which is 36% | $1,022.68 |
Table as of September 2026, copied from ESDC's "when to start your OAS pension" page. OAS is adjusted quarterly. The next quarter will not be these dollars. GIS is not available during a deferral, and a spouse is not eligible for the Allowance during that deferral. ESDC says there is no advantage to waiting if you are eligible for GIS, or if you are already over 70. The payment dates for a pension that has started are the 2026 calendar.
Twenty years after age 18 is half of 40. Half of $751.97 is $375.99 a month at 65. Deferring that partial pension for 60 months applies the 36% increase to the partial amount: $375.99 times 1.36 is $511.35. That product is arithmetic on the published fraction and the published deferral rate. It is not a second ESDC table. Later birthdays do not add residence years once the pension has started. The 10% increase at 75, described next, applies to the pension in pay. ESDC describes it as an increase to the OAS pension the month after age 75. Applied to this illustration's $511.35, 10% is $51.14, for an illustrated $562.49. Your letter is the number that counts.
What is the age-75 increase?
Since July 2022, the OAS pension rises by 10% in the month after you turn 75. Pensioners who were already 75 in July 2022 received it then. It is automatic. You do not apply. The July to September 2026 quarterly table shows the result for a full pension that was not deferred: $751.97 before 75, and $827.17 at 75 and over. Multiplying $751.97 by 1.10 gives $827.17. The same quarterly page shows GIS beside those pensions, because many people receive both. A single person receiving OAS can receive GIS of up to $1,123.17 a month, with an income cut-off of $22,800 on that table. A couple who both receive OAS can receive GIS of up to $676.09 each, with a cut-off of $30,096. The Allowance maximum on that table is $1,428.06, cut-off $42,144. The Allowance for the Survivor is $1,702.34, cut-off $30,696. ESDC's footnote says those cut-offs do not include the first $5,000 of employment income, or 50% of employment or self-employment income between $5,000 and $15,000. Who is inside each GIS column is the stacking article, not a second copy of the rate sheet.
When does the recovery tax start in the current benefit year?
If net world income is over the threshold, part or all of OAS is repaid as a recovery tax. CRA's recovery-tax page sets the July 2026 to June 2027 period off 2025 income, with a minimum threshold of $93,454. The repayment is 15% of income above the threshold. The upper threshold for that period, where a full pension is fully recovered, is $152,062 from ages 65 to 74 and $157,923 at 75 and over. The following recovery period, July 2027 to June 2028, uses 2026 income and a minimum threshold of $95,323. CRA says the upper ends of that next period, $155,109 and $161,088, are estimates from January through September of the current tax year and become final from October through December.
CRA's recovery-tax page uses a repayment of $981.90 as its figure for the July 2026 to June 2027 period. At 15%, $981.90 is the tax on $6,546 of income above the threshold, because $6,546 times 0.15 is $981.90. Income of $100,000 is $6,546 above $93,454. The repayment is then spread across the monthly OAS payments in that recovery year. It is not a second income tax. You still pay ordinary tax on taxable income, and OAS is in that income. The strategies for keeping income under the line, including which spouse's withdrawal counts, stay in the clawback guide. Non-residents file the Old Age Security Return of Income. CRA says that if the return is missing, OAS can stop in July.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need 40 years in Canada to get anything?
No. Forty years after age 18 is the full pension. If you live in Canada, 10 years after age 18 can qualify you for a partial pension of one-fortieth per year. If you live abroad, the floor is 20 years. Some people qualify under older transitional rules with a different history. Read the ESDC toolkit before you assume a short residence record pays nothing, and before you assume it pays the maximum.
Should I defer if I might receive GIS?
ESDC says there is no advantage to waiting if you are eligible for GIS. During a deferral you are not eligible for GIS, and your spouse is not eligible for the Allowance. A larger OAS at 70 can also reduce GIS later, because OAS counts in that test. The deferral table is the wrong tool for a household that will be on the supplement. Run the current GIS table.
Does the 10% at 75 stack on a pension I deferred?
ESDC describes a 10% increase to the OAS pension the month after you turn 75, and it has applied since July 2022. The published $827.17 is the increase on the non-deferred full pension for this quarter. A deferred pension is a larger base. This page illustrates 10% on a partial deferred amount and labels it as arithmetic. The award letter after your 75th birthday is the authority, because residence and the exact deferral months change the base before the 10% is applied.
I immigrated at 50. Can I wait and earn a larger fraction?
Years of residence after 18 and before you start are what the fraction counts. Starting at 65 freezes the fraction. If you will still be in Canada, and you are not giving up GIS you need, deferral both raises the pension by 0.6% a month and preserves the chance to add residence years before the start. You cannot get past 40 years of credit, and you cannot grow the deferral percentage past age 70.
Is OAS the same as CPP?
No. CPP is contributions. OAS is residence and age, paid from general revenue. You can take one and defer the other. A full OAS pension does not require a job. A CPP pension does not require 40 years in Canada. The contribution side is the CPP estimate. Planning the two start months together is CPP timing.
How often do these dollar amounts change?
OAS and GIS amounts are adjusted quarterly. The recovery thresholds are set by tax year and then applied to a July-to-June recovery period. Anything in this article dated July to September 2026 expires as a payment amount at the end of September 2026. The 0.6% deferral rate and the 10% age-75 increase are structural. The $751.97 is not. Check the quarterly table before you budget a year from a single screenshot.
Sources
- ESDC, when to start OAS, including the July to September 2026 deferral table
- ESDC, maximum OAS and GIS amounts, July to September 2026
- ESDC, Old Age Security program toolkit, eligibility and the age-75 increase
- CRA, OAS recovery tax thresholds, including July 2026 to June 2027
- Canada.ca, OAS payment dates
The quarterly amount is public. The recovery tax is your return.
Know the threshold before the July payment changes. The 2026 tax guide is that half of the file.
Get the 2026 Tax Guide — $49 CAD
