The partial Old Age Security pension
Old Age Security is earned through residence, not work: each year lived in Canada after 18 is worth one fortieth of the full pension.
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A partial Old Age Security pension pays one fortieth of the full amount for each year you lived in Canada after age 18. With the full pension at $762.50 a month from October to December 2026, each year of residence is worth about $19.06 a month at 65 to 74. Someone with 22 years receives 55.0 % of the full pension, or $419.38 a month. Service Canada sets two floors. Living in Canada, you need at least 10 years of residence after 18 to receive anything; living outside Canada, the minimum is 20 years. At 40 years the pension is full and further years add nothing. Contributions and earnings play no role, unlike the Canada Pension Plan. A social security agreement with the country where you also lived can help you reach the minimum, but the amount still reflects only your years in Canada. The partial pension is indexed every quarter, rises by 10 % at 75 and can be deferred like a full one. Your Service Canada decision states the number of years retained.
Your partial OAS pension
Partial OAS per month
$419.38
| Share of the full pension | 55.0 % |
| Full pension (40 years) | $762.50 |
| Minimum years for your case | 10 |
October to December 2026, pension started at 65. A social security agreement can help you qualify, not raise the amount.
The amount for each number of years
The table applies the fraction to the maximum amounts of the October to December 2026 quarter, for a pension started at 65, before any recovery tax.
| Years after 18 | Share of full pension | Ages 65 to 74 | Age 75 or older |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 25.0 % | $190.63 | $209.69 |
| 15 | 37.5 % | $285.94 | $314.53 |
| 20 | 50.0 % | $381.25 | $419.38 |
| 25 | 62.5 % | $476.56 | $524.22 |
| 30 | 75.0 % | $571.88 | $629.06 |
| 35 | 87.5 % | $667.19 | $733.91 |
| 40 | 100.0 % | $762.50 | $838.75 |
The line is straight: every year adds the same amount, from the floor of 10 years to the ceiling of 40. A partial pensioner is indexed like everyone else each quarter, so the share stays fixed while the dollars follow the cost of living. The source of the fraction is the Service Canada page on the OAS amount, which writes it as years lived in Canada divided by forty.
Which years count
Residence is counted from the 18th birthday, year by year. Years as a child do not count, even if spent entirely in Canada. Legal status matters at two moments: if you live in Canada, you must be a citizen or legal resident when the application is approved; if you live abroad, you must have been one on the day before you left.
Time abroad is not always lost. Work outside Canada for a Canadian employer can count as residence if you came back within 6 months of the end of the job, or reached 65 while still posted abroad and kept your home in Canada. The rules are on the eligibility page. Other periods abroad are assessed by Service Canada from your file, so note them precisely when you apply.
Living outside Canada: the 20-year line
The 10-year minimum applies to people who live in Canada when they claim. Someone who claims from abroad needs 20 years of residence after 18. The amount follows the same fraction; only the entry ticket differs. A retiree with 15 years who plans to settle abroad before 65 is therefore in a different position from one with the same 15 years who stays: the first needs an agreement to qualify, the second receives $285.94 a month. Anyone near the threshold should check their own situation with Service Canada before moving.
Social security agreements
Canada has signed social security agreements with several dozen countries, listed on the agreements page. For Old Age Security, an agreement lets you combine your residence or contributions in each country to meet the minimum requirements. It does not convert foreign years into Canadian ones for the amount. Service Canada’s example is precise: Thomas lived in Canada for 16 years after 18 and then returned to Austria. Because of the agreement with Austria, he can count his adult years there toward the 20-year rule and qualifies, but his payment remains based on his 16 Canadian years, or $305.00 a month at the October 2026 rate.
Under an agreement, Service Canada writes, your payments are based on your contributions or residence in each country: Canada pays for the Canadian years, and the other country’s benefit, if any, follows its own rules for the years spent there. You can apply to both pensions, and the agreements page explains how to do it from either side.
Your partial OAS pension
Partial OAS per month
$419.38
| Share of the full pension | 55.0 % |
| Full pension (40 years) | $762.50 |
| Minimum years for your case | 10 |
October to December 2026, pension started at 65. A social security agreement can help you qualify, not raise the amount.
Deferral, the age-75 increase and the recovery tax
A partial pension follows the same rules as a full one on three points. Deferral adds 0.6 % for each month after 65, applied to your partial amount; the deferral guide shows the effect. At 75 the pension rises by 10 %: the 22-year pensioner goes from $419.38 to $461.31. And the recovery tax applies to 2025 net income above $93,454, capped at the pension received: with $120,000 of income, the same pensioner keeps $87.55 a month, while a full pensioner with that income keeps $430.67. A smaller pension disappears at a lower income, which the clawback calculator does not show because it assumes a full pension; the OAS calculator handles partial cases.
The income-tested supplement
The Guaranteed Income Supplement is a separate benefit, tested on income, and requires that you receive an OAS pension, partial or full. Its maximum for a single senior was $1,138.90 a month in late 2026, and it shrinks as income other than OAS rises. A partial pensioner with little other income should run the GIS calculator, since the supplement is assessed separately from the fraction of forty.
Before you apply
A worked case shows why the details matter. Someone who arrived at 43 has 22 years at 65, worth $419.38 a month. Had the same person been posted abroad for two of those years by a Canadian employer and failed to report it, the pension would drop to $381.25, a loss of $457.56 a year before indexation.
Gather the dates: arrival in Canada, departures and returns, and the countries where you lived as an adult. Service Canada builds the fraction from that history, and a missing period can cost a fortieth for life. If Service Canada enrolled you automatically, read the decision letter for the number of years retained; if it looks short, ask for the calculation before the first payment, since the residence after that date no longer counts.