OAS (Old Age Security)
A federal pension funded from general revenues, paid to most Canadians aged 65 and older.
OAS is residency-based, not contributory. You need to have lived in Canada at least 10 years after age 18 to qualify, and 40 years for the full amount. The maximum monthly OAS in 2024 is about $713 (ages 65 to 74) and $784 (75+), indexed quarterly to CPI. The catch is the OAS clawback (Recovery Tax), which kicks in when net income exceeds $90,997 in 2024, taking back 15 cents of OAS for every dollar above the threshold. OAS is fully clawed back at roughly $148,000 of income. You can also defer OAS up to age 70 for a 36% increase, useful if you are still working or in a clawback zone at 65.
A 60-second lesson that puts this term in context, alongside the others, lives inside the Finlo app.