OAS Calculator (2026)

The two numbers people mix up

OAS has a maximum and a clawback, and they answer different questions. The maximum tells you the ceiling. The clawback tells you how much of that ceiling survives your income. Almost every calculator online gives you one and leaves you to work out the other — which is why people arrive at a number that turns out to be wrong once the recovery tax lands.

The mechanics are simple enough once separated. Your gross pension comes from three things: your age band, your years of residence, and whether you deferred. Your net pension is that figure minus 15% of every dollar of net world income above the threshold. The calculator above runs both from the same inputs so the two can't drift apart.

The clawback: threshold, rate and the point of no return

For the July 2026 to June 2027 payment period the recovery tax starts at $93,454 of net world income, and the rate is a flat 15% of the excess. The government's own worked example: on $100,000 of income, $100,000 − $93,454 = $6,546, and 15% of that is $981.90 repayable across the period.

Keep going up the income scale and the repayment eventually swallows the whole pension. That happens at $152,062 for ages 65 to 74, and $157,923 at 75 and over — the 75+ figure is higher precisely because there's more pension to claw back.

The July 2027 row is published by Service Canada as an estimate until October of the current tax year, when the figures are finalised.

Why the clawback uses income you earned last year

This is the part that catches people out. The recovery tax period runs July to June, not January to December, and it's assessed on the previous calendar year's income. The payments you receive from July 2026 through June 2027 are reduced based on what you earned in 2025.

The practical consequences are worth planning around. A one-off spike in income — selling a property, a large RRIF withdrawal, unlocking a LIRA — doesn't hit your OAS in the year you take it. It hits the following July, by which time your income may be back to normal and the deduction feels like it came from nowhere. Retiring works in your favour the same way in reverse: the year your employment income stops, your OAS stays reduced until the following July catches up with reality.

The repayment isn't billed as a lump sum either. Service Canada divides it across the twelve monthly payments as a recovery tax deduction, so a clawback shows up as a smaller cheque rather than a bill.

Partial pensions: the 40-year rule

Full OAS requires 40 years of residence in Canada after age 18. Below that you get a partial pension worked out as your years of residence divided by 40 — so 20 years pays half the maximum, 30 years pays three-quarters. The fraction is locked in when your pension starts.

There's a floor: you need at least 10 years of residence to collect OAS while living in Canada, or 20 years if you're living abroad. Time in a country with a social security agreement with Canada may count toward meeting the minimum.

Partial pensions interact with the clawback in a way the published ceilings don't capture: with less pension to recover, your OAS reaches zero at a lower income than the $152,062 headline figure. The calculator above accounts for this by capping your repayment at the pension you actually receive.

Deferring to 70

You can't start OAS before 65, but you can delay it to 70. Each month you wait adds 0.6% — 7.2% a year, capping at 36% at age 70. On the current maximum that's the difference between $751.97 and $1,022.68 a month, for life, indexed.

Deferral is worth a hard look if you're still working past 65 with income above the threshold — you'd be handing back a chunk of the pension anyway, so taking a permanently larger one later can be the better trade. It's the wrong move if you're eligible for the Guaranteed Income Supplement, which you can't receive while OAS is deferred, or if your health or cash needs argue for money now. Nothing accrues past 70.

Common questions