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Canadian Retirement Income Floor: What CPP, OAS and the GIS Pay Together

Updated

Most retirees in Canada have a floor of government income paid for life, whatever markets do: the CPP retirement pension for those who contributed from work, Old Age Security for those who lived in Canada long enough and, for low incomes, the Guaranteed Income Supplement. Knowing your floor tells you how much your savings need to add. This page covers what each pays, the floor in four common situations, provincial top-ups, and the savings needed on top. It is part of the retirement planning hub.

The three layers

LayerWho gets itMaximumBased on
CPP retirement pensionPeople who contributed from work$1,507.65 a month at 65 (starting in January 2026)Contributions
OAS pensionMost people 65 and older$762.50 a month at 65 to 74 (October to December 2026)Years lived in Canada
GISOAS pensioners with low income$1,138.90 a month (single, October to December 2026)Income

All three rise with inflation: CPP each January, OAS and the GIS each quarter.

CPP

The CPP retirement pension depends on your earnings and the years you contributed, and on your start age:

Pension starting in January 2026A monthA year
Maximum at 65$1,507.65$18,092
Average new pension (July 2026)$858.34$10,300
Maximum at 70$2,140.86$25,690
Maximum at 60$964.90$11,579

The CPP enhancement that began in 2019 raises the share of earnings the pension replaces from 25% to 33.33%, building up with each year of enhanced contributions, so today’s younger workers will see most of it. Your own estimate is in My Service Canada Account (your CPP statement).

OAS

You can get the OAS pension from age 65 if you have lived in Canada for at least 10 years since age 18 and are a Canadian citizen or legal resident when it is approved (living abroad, you need 20 years and must have been a citizen or legal resident the day before you left); 40 years after age 18 gives the full pension, fewer years a partial one. Working doesn't affect eligibility, but high income is taxed back.
A month (October to December 2026)A year
Full OAS at 65 to 74$762.50$9,150
Deferred to 70$1,037.00$12,444
Full OAS at 75 and over$838.75$10,065

The GIS can’t be paid while OAS is deferred and doesn’t increase with the delay, so someone who would qualify for the GIS gains nothing by deferring OAS.

A partial pension is paid in fortieths: with 20 years of residence, the pension is 20/40 of the full amount, about $381 a month at 65 to 74. If your net world income is above the threshold ($93,454 of 2025 income), you repay 15% of the amount above it as recovery tax, taken from the OAS payments for the July 2026 to June 2027 period; the pension is fully recovered at about $152,062 (under 75) or $157,923 (75 and over).

GIS

The GIS is a monthly, tax-free payment for OAS pensioners with low income. It is reduced as other income rises, by 50 cents for each dollar in general, and faster at the lowest incomes where a top-up portion is also being reduced; OAS itself isn’t counted. For a single pensioner it reaches zero at $23,112 of other income (2025 income, for payments in October to December 2026). The GIS is based on the previous year’s income; if your income drops because you retire, Service Canada can set it from an estimate of your income for the current year instead.

Situation (October to December 2026)Maximum a monthMaximum a year
Single, no other income$1,138.90$13,667
Each of a couple who both receive OAS$685.56$8,227
Pensioner whose spouse receives the Allowance$685.56$8,227
Income earned in a TFSA and TFSA withdrawals don't reduce federal benefits such as OAS, GIS and EI, or credits such as the Canada child benefit, the Canada workers benefit and the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit (formerly the GST/HST credit).

The floor in four situations

Situation (single, per month)CPPOASGISTotal
No work history, full residencynone$762.50$1,138.90$1,901.40
Average CPP at 65, full OAS$858.34$762.50$537.90$2,158.74
Maximum CPP and OAS at 65$1,507.65$762.50$209.49$2,479.64
Maximum CPP and OAS, both deferred to 70$2,140.86$1,037.00$0.00$3,177.86

CPP maximums are for a pension starting in January 2026 and the average is for new pensions in July 2026; OAS and GIS are for October to December 2026, with the GIS from ESDC’s table for a single pensioner whose only other income is that CPP (2025 income). In the year you retire, Service Canada can use an estimate of that year’s income instead of the previous year’s.

Provincial top-ups

Several provinces add an income-tested payment for low-income seniors on top of OAS and the GIS:

ProvinceProgramMaximum (single)
OntarioGAINS$92 a month (2026 benefit year)
British ColumbiaSenior’s Supplement$99.30 a month
AlbertaAlberta Seniors Benefit$3,946 a year (homeowners, renters and lodge residents, from July 1, 2026)
Manitoba55 PLUS$161.80 a quarter

Some are paid automatically to GIS recipients and others need an application; provincial senior benefits that top up the GIS has the rules for each, and B.C. renters 60 and older may also qualify for the SAFER rent supplement.

Savings needed on top of the floor

With the average CPP and full OAS, before any GIS ($19,450 a year) and a 4% withdrawal rate:

Income targetFrom savingsSavings needed
$35,000$15,550$388,750
$50,000$30,550$763,750
$60,000$40,550$1,013,750

With the maximum CPP instead of the average, the yearly floor is $27,242, which at the same rate reduces the savings needed by about $194,800. How much you need to retire explains the method, and the retirement calculator runs your own numbers.

Sources

The figures and rules on this page come from these sources, last checked against them between September 5, 2026 and September 30, 2026. How we check facts.