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When Should I Apply for OAS? How and When to Apply

Updated

This page covers the mechanics of getting Old Age Security started: whether you’ll be enrolled automatically, how and when to apply, and what happens if you apply late. Whether to start at 65 or later is covered in deferring OAS, and eligibility in am I eligible for OAS?.

Automatic enrolment

If Service Canada has enough information about you, you get a letter around your 64th birthday saying you have been enrolled automatically. You don’t need to apply; your OAS starts the month after you turn 65.

  • To delay OAS instead: tell Service Canada before the pension starts, through My Service Canada Account (Profile, then “Delay receiving OAS/GIS pension”) or by returning the letter.
  • No letter a month after your 64th birthday: contact Service Canada or apply.
  • If the letter has incorrect information, or Service Canada writes asking you to apply, you need to act rather than wait for the pension to start.

(Source: Service Canada, Apply, delay, or change your start date.)

How to apply

You can apply starting 1 month after your 64th birthday.

MethodHow
OnlineYou can apply online through My Service Canada Account only if you are at least 1 month past your 64th birthday, are not already receiving an OAS pension, haven't applied yet (or Service Canada is still assessing your application), and no third party such as a power of attorney or trustee manages your OAS account. Otherwise you use the paper application, and you must use it if you are applying from outside Canada.
By mailForm ISP-3550, Application for the Old Age Security Pension and the Guaranteed Income Supplement

What you’ll typically need:

  • your Social Insurance Number, and your spouse’s or common-law partner’s SIN and date of birth
  • your residence history since age 18, including periods abroad
  • details of employment or pension changes in the past two years, and income from other countries
  • banking details for direct deposit

The same form can apply for the Guaranteed Income Supplement if your income is low.

Choosing when OAS starts

When you apply, you choose the month your pension starts. Starting at 65 is the earliest; each month you wait adds 0.6%, up to 36% at 70, and there is no benefit to waiting past 70. While you delay, you can’t receive the GIS, and your spouse can’t receive the Allowance. The trade-offs, including the break-even age, are in deferring OAS.

If you apply late

Service Canada can pay OAS retroactively for up to 11 months from the date it receives your application. Earlier months can’t be recovered, though the months you waited still increase your pension as deferral. (Source: Service Canada, When to start your pension.)

After you’re approved

  • Payment: OAS is deposited once a month; see the OAS payment dates.
  • Tax: tax isn’t deducted automatically, but you can ask Service Canada to withhold it; see is OAS taxable?.
  • Clawback: if your net income is above $93,454 (2025 income), part of the pension is withheld as recovery tax from July 2026 to June 2027; see the OAS clawback.
  • Tax returns: file one every year to keep receiving OAS, and the GIS if you get it.

Sources

The figures and rules on this page come from these sources, last checked against them between September 29, 2026 and September 30, 2026. How we check facts.