# When to start CPP and OAS

> How starting your CPP and OAS pensions earlier or later changes the payments, and the tax points to weigh: withholding and the OAS recovery tax.

- Web page: https://taxnotes.ca/guides/when-to-start-cpp-and-oas/
- For: Individuals & families · Topic: Retiring
- Last reviewed: 2026-10-10

You can start your Canada Pension Plan (CPP) retirement pension at any age from 60 to 70, and Old Age Security (OAS) from 65 to 70. Starting later means larger monthly payments; starting earlier means smaller payments that begin sooner. Tax is part of the decision too, because both are taxable and OAS is partly paid back when your income is high.

This guide covers the timing and the tax side. It doesn't list benefit amounts; Service Canada's pages, linked under Sources, have the current figures.

## CPP: any time from 60 to 70

The standard age to start CPP is 65. To qualify, you need to be at least 60 and have made at least one valid contribution. Your start age changes the size of your monthly payment:

- **Before 65:** your pension is reduced by 0.6% for each month before your 65th birthday (7.2% a year), up to 36% less if you start at 60.
- **After 65:** it's increased by 0.7% for each month you wait (8.4% a year), up to 42% more at 70.
- **After 70:** there's no further increase, so there's no reason to wait longer.

Your CPP pension isn't reduced if you keep working. If you're under 70, working and still contributing while you receive it, each year of contributions adds a post-retirement benefit to your income. You can choose to stop those contributions from 65.

If you apply after 65, you can ask for payments to start up to 11 months before the month Service Canada receives your application, but not before the month after your 65th birthday.

**Worked in Quebec?** The CPP and the Quebec Pension Plan work together. If you've only worked in Quebec, or worked in Quebec and another province and now live in Quebec, contact Retraite Québec about your retirement pension.

## OAS: any time from 65 to 70

OAS can't start before 65. For each month you put it off after 65, your payment goes up by 0.6% (7.2% a year), up to 36% more at 70. There's no benefit to waiting past 70.

Waiting doesn't always pay. Service Canada says there's no benefit to delaying if you're eligible for the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS). And while you delay OAS, you can't get the GIS, and your spouse or common-law partner can't get the Allowance.

Your years in Canada matter too. A full OAS pension generally needs 40 years of residence in Canada after age 18; with fewer, you get a partial pension (your years divided by 40), and you need at least 10 years if you live in Canada. Years you live in Canada after your pension starts don't increase it, so if you're short of 40 years, delaying can let more years count.

## The tax side

**Both are taxable, and tax isn't taken off automatically.** CPP and OAS count as income on your return. Tax isn't deducted from them unless you ask Service Canada to withhold it. Without withholding, you may owe tax when you file, or need to pay by [instalments](https://taxnotes.ca/guides/tax-instalments/).

**OAS has a recovery tax.** If your net income is over $93,454 for 2025, you repay 15% of the amount over that threshold, up to the full OAS you received. It's collected by reducing your monthly OAS payments: your 2025 income sets the recovery tax taken from payments from July 2026 to June 2027. The threshold for 2026 income is $95,323.

That's why Service Canada's list of things to consider before starting OAS at 65 includes whether you're still working. If your income will be above the threshold for a few years after 65, starting OAS later can mean less of it is paid back, and a larger monthly payment once your income drops.

**Every dollar of CPP and OAS adds to your taxable income.** If you'll also be drawing from an RRSP or RRIF, or a workplace pension, look at how the timing of each source changes your income year by year. Our [income tax calculator](https://taxnotes.ca/calculators/income-tax/) shows the tax at a given income, and [Converting your RRSP to a RRIF](https://taxnotes.ca/guides/rrsp-to-rrif/) covers the required RRIF withdrawals.

## Things to weigh

- **Your health and how long you expect to live.** If you're healthy and expect a long retirement, a later start gives you larger payments for those years.
- **Whether you need the money now.** Starting early can help if you have little other income.
- **Your other income at 65.** High income points toward delaying OAS because of the recovery tax.
- **GIS and the Allowance.** If you or your partner may qualify, waiting on OAS can cost you.
- **Years in Canada.** Fewer than 40 years after 18 can be a reason to delay OAS.

For couples, see [Pension income splitting](https://taxnotes.ca/guides/pension-income-splitting/), and for the wider picture, [Tax for seniors and retirees: an overview](https://taxnotes.ca/guides/seniors-and-retirement/).

## Sources

1. [CPP retirement pension: When to start your pension](https://www.canada.ca/en/services/benefits/publicpensions/cpp/when-start.html) (canada.ca)
2. [CPP retirement pension: Do you qualify](https://www.canada.ca/en/services/benefits/publicpensions/cpp/eligibility.html) (canada.ca)
3. [Old Age Security: When to start your retirement pension](https://www.canada.ca/en/services/benefits/publicpensions/old-age-security/when-start.html) (canada.ca)
4. [Old Age Security pension recovery tax](https://www.canada.ca/en/services/benefits/publicpensions/old-age-security/recovery-tax.html) (canada.ca)
5. [Adults 65 years and older and the CRA](https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/individuals/segments/changes-your-taxes-when-you-retire-turn-65-years-old.html) (canada.ca)

Tax figures in this guide come from the TaxNotes.ca rates tables (https://taxnotes.ca/rates/), which cite the Canada Revenue Agency and, for Quebec, Revenu Québec.

Last reviewed: October 10, 2026

How to cite: "When to start CPP and OAS", TaxNotes.ca, last reviewed 2026-10-10, https://taxnotes.ca/guides/when-to-start-cpp-and-oas/. For a figure or rule, also cite the official source listed above.

Licence: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Free to share and adapt with attribution: https://taxnotes.ca/reproducing-our-content/