OAS Deferral: How Deferring Old Age Security to Age 70 Works and Who May Consider It

Deferring OAS means asking Service Canada to start your pension after age 65. The Government of Canada says payments increase by 0.6% for each month you wait, up to 36% at age 70. Deferral may suit someone with other income in the early years, but it also means giving up the payments in between.

How the 0.6% monthly increase works

According to the Government of Canada, you can start OAS at age 65 or as late as age 70. If you wait past 65, the monthly payment increases by 0.6% for each month, which is 7.2% for each year, up to a maximum of 36% at age 70. The increase stops at 70, so there is no benefit to waiting longer. The earliest OAS can start is 65, which is different from CPP, where a start as early as 60 is possible.

Source: Government of Canada, When to start your retirement pension, modified October 2, 2026, and checked on November 6, 2026. The table below shows the Government of Canada's own calculation example, using the maximum monthly payment for October to December 2026. These amounts are indexed every quarter, and your own amount depends on your years of residence in Canada.

Who may want to consider deferring, and who may not

The full OAS pension is based on 40 years of residence in Canada after age 18. The Government of Canada notes that someone with fewer than 40 years may receive a partial pension, and that once the pension starts, extra time lived in Canada does not increase it. For that reason, people with fewer than 40 years of residence may want to look at deferral more closely. Anyone eligible for the Guaranteed Income Supplement is in a different position, which we cover below.

The Government of Canada lists a few questions that may point toward delaying. Are you healthy and do you expect to live long? Do you have other sources of income? Do you have fewer than 40 years of residence in Canada? For our hypothetical couple, part time earnings and RRSP withdrawals in their mid 60s may cover their spending, which is the kind of situation where waiting at least a year or two could be worth exploring. A larger inflation indexed payment later may also appeal to someone who is concerned about outliving their savings.

Deferral may not suit everyone. The Government of Canada says there is no benefit to wait if you are eligible for the Guaranteed Income Supplement, or if you are over 70. It also lists reasons that may favour starting at 65: you need the money now to fund your retirement plans, you are still working and may repay part of your OAS through the recovery tax, your spouse or common law partner wants to apply for the Allowance, or you live outside Canada with fewer than 20 years of residence in a country with no social security agreement with Canada. Without the OAS pension, you cannot receive the Guaranteed Income Supplement, and your spouse cannot apply for the Allowance. Those amounts do not increase when you delay.

A hypothetical comparison of three start ages

The table below is a hypothetical comparison for a couple who are each 65. It uses only the Government of Canada's monthly increase rule and shows what changes between the three choices, not what any person may actually receive.

Hypothetical example for illustration only, as of November 6, 2026. It is not a prediction, not drawn from a real client and not tax advice. The increase percentages follow the Government of Canada rule of 0.6% for each month of deferral. Which line fits a household depends on health, other income, taxes and plans, and a longer or shorter retirement may change the comparison in either direction.

The trade offs and the OAS recovery tax

Every choice has a cost. A deferral gives up payments that could have been received in the early years, and the Government of Canada says that if you delay, you cannot receive a retroactive payment for the deferral period. Whether the larger payment catches up depends on how long the pension is received, which no one knows in advance. Someone who starts at 65 and puts the payments to use may be better off in some situations, and someone who waits to 70 may be better off in others. That uncertainty is why deferral is better described as a trade off than as a way to get more.

Deferral also touches the OAS recovery tax, often called the clawback. The Government of Canada says OAS may be partly repaid if your own net income is above a threshold, which is $93,454 for 2025 income, and the recovery tax is 15% of income above that line, up to the OAS received. Starting OAS later may keep it out of your net income in the early years of retirement, when RRSP, RRIF or pension income may be high. It does not change the threshold or lower your other income. Because the payment is larger from the day it starts, a household that stays above the line may have more OAS exposed to the recovery tax later. Our post on the OAS clawback covers the thresholds, timing and an illustration. Source: Government of Canada, Old Age Security pension recovery tax, checked on November 6, 2026.

How deferring OAS differs from the CPP decision

The OAS decision and the CPP decision are related, but they are different. CPP is based on your contributions and can start between 60 and 70, while OAS is based on residence and starts at 65 at the earliest. They do not have to start on the same day, and it is common to take one earlier and defer the other, depending on which choice fits your income picture. We explore the CPP side in why waiting until 70 to start CPP can be the quiet winner, and our guide to when to take CPP and OAS puts both decisions side by side.

The two decisions also meet in taxable income. Delaying one pension means the household may draw more from RRSPs or other savings in the early years, and drawing more can change the income that lands in each year. Our table of RRIF withdrawal rates by age shows how required minimums rise later, which may be one reason some retirees look at their income as a whole across several years.

How to request a deferral through My Service Canada Account

Most people do not need to apply for OAS. The Government of Canada says that if Service Canada has your eligibility information, you get an enrolment letter around your 64th birthday, which means you are enrolled automatically. You need to take action if you want to delay or change your start date. To delay online, sign in to My Service Canada Account, go to the Old Age Security section, and select Apply for Old Age Security and manage my benefits. Then choose Profile, and under Tell us if anything has changed, select Delay Receiving OAS/GIS Pension.

Online delay is available if you are at least one month past your 64th birthday, are not receiving an OAS pension, and have no third party such as a power of attorney managing your account. Otherwise, a paper application is available through Service Canada. If you delay without submitting an application, you need to apply later when you are ready to start payments. Source: Government of Canada, Apply, delay, or change your start date, modified September 9, 2026, and checked on November 6, 2026.

What a scenario model can show before you choose

A rule of thumb about deferral is easy to find. How it fits your own income picture is harder, because CPP and OAS start dates, part time earnings, RRSP and RRIF withdrawals, a spouse's income and the recovery tax threshold all move together. In a scenario model we can place those pieces side by side, adjust the assumptions in real time, and see which years carry the most income and what each choice could trade away. How our process works describes the first 30 minute conversation, and our page on who we help describes the retirees we tend to work with. If you would like to talk it through, we are glad to set up a conversation with no pressure and no guessing.

None of this is a reason to defer, or a reason to avoid deferring. Many households find that the right answer differs for each spouse, and it is worth modelling the choices before assuming any strategy applies to you.

This content is for general information only and is not personalized tax, legal, or financial advice. OAS amounts, thresholds and rules are published by the Government of Canada and are subject to change. Examples are hypothetical and for illustration only, and deferral does not guarantee a better outcome. For advice tailored to your situation, speak with a qualified professional.