OAS payment dates 2026: amounts, GIS and recovery tax

Old Age Security payment dates 2026

The official federal calendar groups the OAS pension, Guaranteed Income Supplement, Allowance and Allowance for the Survivor on the same monthly schedule. CPP is also paid on these dates in 2026. A common issue date does not mean every recipient receives all of these benefits.

Use the date and weekday together when making a diary entry. The final two published 2026 OAS dates are 26 November and 22 December. December’s earlier date is worth recording separately if you normally think of pension payments as arriving near the end of the month.

The dates below describe when payments are issued. Canada.ca says they can take a few days to arrive, and posted cheques may take longer than direct deposit. No precise bank posting time or cheque delivery day is guaranteed by this guide.

The historical 2025 table appears later for checking older records. Do not mix an older date table with a current rate table. The payment year, rate quarter and income year can all differ, which is why each is labelled explicitly here.

OAS maximum amounts for October–December 2026

For October to December 2026, the maximum monthly OAS pension is $762.50 for people aged 65 to 74. For people aged 75 and over, the maximum is $838.75. These are maximums for the stated quarter, not promises about an individual’s deposit.

The published table pairs those age groups with 2025 net world income limits: less than $152,062 for ages 65 to 74, or less than $157,923 for age 75 and over. Do not confuse those limits with the lower recovery tax threshold discussed below.

A permanent ten per cent OAS increase at age 75 has applied since July 2022. This helps explain the two age-based maximums. It does not mean the larger amount applies to everyone receiving OAS, or that the difference is a separate payment date.

A partial pension can apply when someone has lived in Canada for between ten and 40 years after age 18. The official OAS Benefits Estimator is the appropriate route for a personal estimate. A short amount table cannot settle a person’s residence history or exact entitlement.

Keep an amount’s quarter beside it in your records. A figure from October to December should not be labelled as the rate for all of 2026. If you are comparing payments over the year, check the applicable quarter before deciding that a deposit is incorrect.

Why OAS rates can change during the year

OAS rates are reviewed quarterly in January, April, July and October using the Consumer Price Index. The verified October–December 2026 figures reflect a 1.4 per cent increase for the quarter and a 3.0 per cent increase over the past year.

The official guidance says indexed OAS benefits do not decrease. That describes the rate-indexation mechanism. It should not be read as a guarantee that every individual’s net deposit can never change, because personal circumstances and income-tested calculations are separate issues.

For practical planning, separate the calendar from the rate review. A new quarter may have a different maximum amount while the payment date remains the one listed in the federal calendar. The calendar is not an amount calculator.

The official page now directs users to the OAS Benefits Estimator rather than the older rate tables. This guide summarises the verified October–December figures in the local source record. Check the official source for a personal estimate and for updates after this page’s checking date.

OAS clawback 2026: keep the income year clear

The OAS recovery tax is often called the clawback. The verified threshold in the source material is $93,454 for the 2025 income year. If an individual’s net income is higher than that threshold, recovery tax can apply. The income year is essential to understanding this number.

A search for “OAS clawback 2026” can bring together payment-year questions and income-year figures. Here, $93,454 is explicitly a 2025 threshold. We do not relabel it as a threshold for 2026 income or invent a later indexed amount.

The income limits alongside the two maximum OAS pensions are different figures with a different role. A person should not interpret being below $152,062 or $157,923 as proof that recovery tax cannot apply. Read the official amount and recovery information together.

If you are trying to reconcile a pension payment with tax information, first note which income year each document uses. Keep that separate from the quarter of the rate you are comparing. This can prevent an apparent mismatch created simply by comparing figures from different periods.

This page does not calculate recovery tax or tell you how much to repay. Use official information for your own record and seek personal advice where needed. The purpose here is to preserve the verified threshold and its year without overstating what one figure can tell you.

GIS and Allowance amounts on the OAS schedule

The Guaranteed Income Supplement is income-tested support for eligible OAS recipients. The verified eligibility summary requires receiving OAS, being at least 65, living in Canada, being a citizen or legal resident, meeting the income condition and not being under a sponsorship agreement.

For a single, widowed or divorced person, the October–December 2026 maximum GIS is $1,138.90 per month with income below $23,112. Partnered categories use combined income and different maximums. The table keeps those categories separate so a reader does not accidentally choose the wrong limit.

If a spouse receives full OAS, the listed combined income limit is below $30,528 and maximum GIS is $685.56. If the spouse receives the Allowance, the limit is below $42,768 with the same maximum. If the spouse receives neither, the listed limit is below $55,392 and maximum is $1,138.90.

The Allowance for eligible people aged 60 to 64 has a listed maximum of $1,448.06 with combined income below $42,768. The Allowance for the Survivor has a listed maximum of $1,726.18 with income below $31,152. These figures also refer to October–December 2026.

GIS and the two Allowances are not taxable. They are recalculated each July using prior-year income. The amounts here are not additions that every OAS recipient receives automatically; the appropriate category and the individual’s circumstances matter.

Direct deposit, cheques and missing OAS payments

The benefits calendar asks people to allow a few days for arrival and wait five to ten business days before contacting the program. A posted cheque can take longer than a direct deposit. Treat the issue date and the date you actually receive money as separate entries.

OAS account information is handled through Service Canada. CRA handles benefits such as CGEB and CCB. If you are checking banking information for several programs, keep the responsible agency beside each one rather than assuming one change updates every benefit.

Before reporting a missing payment, confirm the full scheduled date and check your own payment record. Where CPP and OAS are both expected, label the two benefits separately. The matching dates do not tell you which payment an account entry represents.

If the issue remains after the official waiting guidance, use official program channels for help. SettleCA cannot access an account, verify eligibility or trace a missing cheque. No personal identifier or bank record needs to be sent to this guide.

Business-day waiting periods can extend across weekends or bank closures. Remembrance Day is relevant to bank closures even where it is not a provincial employment-standards holiday. That distinction should help you count carefully, not encourage you to replace a published OAS date with a guess.

December, historical dates and the 2027 calendar

The final OAS payment listed for 2026 is Tuesday, 22 December. An earlier December payment does not itself establish an additional payment. When planning spending, keep the period after that deposit in mind rather than treating an earlier arrival as extra income.

Canada.ca hasn’t published the 2027 dates yet. We’ll add them when it does. The checked federal calendar therefore cannot support a confirmed January 2027 OAS date. A recurring monthly pattern is not enough evidence to supply an exact date.

The 2025 payment dates below are useful for reviewing old statements. They match the 2025 CPP schedule in the source record. The fact that both years finish on 22 December does not establish what a later year’s December schedule must be.

For a household receiving several benefits, the master payment calendar is a useful starting point. It keeps monthly pensions apart from quarterly CRA benefits and provincial assistance. Use the OAS rate information here only for its labelled quarter and category.