Retirement

OAS

Old Age Security is a monthly pension for eligible people age 65 or older. Eligibility is based mainly on age, legal status and residence history rather than work contributions.

4 min

Retirement 101 • 05

OAS stands for Old Age Security.

It is a public pension for eligible people age 65 or older.

OAS is not earned through CPP-style payroll contributions.

Eligibility is based mainly on age, legal status and how long you have lived in Canada.

OAS rules can involve

01Age 65 or older02Canadian legal status03Residence history04Income for recovery-tax purposes05Whether you live in or outside Canada

OAS and CPP have different foundations.

OAS

Based mainly on age and residence.

CPP

Based mainly on work contributions and earnings.

Residence history can affect the pension.

Minimum age65

Work requirementNot required in the same way as CPP

PaymentMonthly if eligible

TaxOAS is taxable

Higher income can reduce OAS through the recovery tax.

The threshold changes over time, so current government information matters when planning around it.

For OAS, understand

01Whether you qualify02Your residence history03When payments may begin04How income can affect the benefit05How OAS fits with CPP and other income

Remember this

OAS is a residence-based retirement layer, not a reward for CPP contributions.

Keep it separate from CPP when building your retirement-income picture.

Lesson complete

Reviewed 2026-08-18

Sources

Government of CanadaOld Age Security ↗Government of CanadaOld Age Security: Do you qualify ↗

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