Expecting your first OAS payment

You will receive your first Old Age Security (OAS) payment either:

• the month after you turn 65
• the specific month that you’ve chosen in your application

The Benefits payment calendar has details of the exact date Old Age Security payments are made.

If you live outside of Canada while receiving OAS benefit

You are allowed to receive Old Age Security pension payments while living outside of Canada if one if these reasons applies to you:

• you lived in Canada for at least 20 years after turning 18
• you lived and worked in a country that has a social security agreement with Canada. The time you lived or worked in that country and Canada must be at least 20 years

If you do not qualify to receive your Old Age Security pension while outside of Canada, your payments will stop if you are out of the country for more than 6 months after the month you left.

IMPORTANT NOTE: You cannot collect the Guaranteed Income Supplement if you are outside Canada for more than 6 months.

OAS benefit and Personal Tax

Your Old Age Security pension payments are taxable income. Taxes aren’t automatically deducted each month. However, you may choose to have pension office to pre-deduct some amount from your benefit payment. To do so, you may either:

• call pension call centre to have an agent add your request on file.
• signing into your My Service Canada Account to submit your voluntary deduction request or
• completing the Request for voluntary Federal Income tax Deductions CPP/OAS form (ISP-3520OAS) form and either mail to pension processing office or drop of at your local Service Canada centre.
• you may visit your local Service Canada centre to have local agent to add your request to your file.

If you do not ask for monthly tax deductions, you may have to pay your income tax each quarter. For more information, contact the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) Tax Services Office.

Taxes if you live outside Canada

If you live outside Canada and are not considered a Canadian resident for income tax purposes, we withhold a non-resident tax from your monthly Old Age Security payments. The tax rate is 25% unless reduced or exempted by a tax treaty between Canada and your country of residence. If you have tax-related questions, contact Canada Revenue Agency’s International Tax Services Office.

CRA tax slip for annual tax declaration

Early each year, you will receive a T4 or NR4 tax slip showing the amount of Old Age Security payments you received during the previous year. You must include this slip when you file your annual income tax return.

T4 tax information slips are for residents of Canada, while NR4 tax information slips are for those living outside Canada. You can view your tax information slips online with My Service Canada Account as early as February 1 each year.

If you have not signed up to view them online, we will send your tax slip by mail in February of each year.

If your life situation changes

If your personal information or marital status has changed

You must contact the pension office if:

• you change your address or phone number
• you get married
• you enter into a common-law union
• you divorce or separate
• your spouse or common-law partner dies
• a beneficiary dies

If you have an address outside of Canada, you will only be able to view your information online. It is not yet possible to change the information for foreign addresses and direct deposit online. You must call pension call centre to update your account information.

If you want to cancel or delay your Old Age Security payments

If you have been receiving Old Age Security for less than 6 months, you can ask us to cancel or delay your first payment. Make sure to call the pension office first and follow by a written letter within 6 months of receiving your first payment. You may mail or drop off your letter at your local Service Canada centre.

From the date your request is granted, you have 6 months to repay any amounts that you received and any related benefits you and/or your spouse or common-law partner received.

You can re-apply at a later date and receive an increased Old Age Security pension.

If you leave Canada for more than 6 months

If you do not qualify for receiving Old Age Security outside Canada, your payments will stop if you are out of the country for more than 6 months after the month you left. You cannot collect the Guaranteed Income Supplement if you are outside of Canada for more than 6 months.

For Example

For example, you do not qualify for receiving Old Age Security payments outside Canada and have left Canada in January. You would only be eligible for payments until the end of July.

If you plan to be absent from Canada for more than 6 months, you must contact pension call centre to avoid an overpayment.

Service Canada compares information with the Canada Border Services Agency. If you leave Canada for more than 6 months while collecting Old Age Security, we’ll determine if you’re eligible to those payments. If not, we’ll calculate how much we have overpaid you, and you will then have to repay that amount.

You can also come forward to correct wrong or incomplete information or to give important information that you haven’t already shared with Service Canada. Learn about Penalties, Interest and Disclosure Policy.

When you return to Canada

When you return to Canada, you may contact pension call centre to restart your payments.

If you are in jail

Your Old Age Security payments will stop if you are in a federal prison serving a sentence of 2 years or more. You must notify Service Canada in writing of your release and your payments will start again the month you are released.

When someone dies

If you’re reading this following the loss of a loved one, please accept our condolences.

When someone dies, please inform pension office as soon as possible to avoid an overpayment. Find out how to cancel Old Age Security benefits on behalf of a deceased person.