Old Age Security benefit increase for October to December 2015

Old Age Security Benefit Increase

Employment and Social Development Canada today announced the quarterly benefit amounts for Old Age Security (OAS) for October to December 2015.

The maximum basic OAS pension benefit paid to people 65 years of age and older will increase by $5.08 from $564.87 to $569.95 per month from October 1 to December 31, 2015. Payments under the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS), the Allowance and the Allowance for the Survivor will also increase by the same 0.9 percent for this quarter.

OAS benefit amounts are reviewed quarterly (in January, April, July and October) and revised as required to reflect increases in the cost of living, as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) set by Statistics Canada. The Old Age Security Act guarantees that OAS benefits can never be reduced, even when there is a decrease in the CPI. If the average CPI surpasses the previous level in the future, OAS benefits will go up again.

 Quick Facts

• The basic OAS pension is paid to all persons aged 65 or over who meet the legal status and residence requirements.
• The benefits under the OAS program include the basic OAS pension, the GIS and the Allowances. The GIS provides additional benefits to low-income pensioners who have little or no income aside from the basic pension, and the Allowances provide benefits to low-income Canadians aged 60 to 64 who are the spouses or common-law partners of GIS recipients or who are widowed.
• OAS benefits are funded through general tax revenues and provide Canadian seniors with a modest base upon which to build additional income for retirement. For 2014–15, it was forecasted that approximately $43.8 billion in OAS benefits will be provided to 5.5 million individuals.