Seniors receiving Old Age Security will see a slightly larger deposit on Wednesday, July 29. Service Canada has confirmed a 1.2 percent increase for the July to September quarter, and the new rates are paid for the first time on that date. Canada Pension Plan payments arrive the same day, though CPP amounts do not change until January.
The quarterly bump is small in dollar terms. What matters more for many households is that July is also when the Guaranteed Income Supplement is recalculated for the year ahead. Here is what changes and what stays the same.
New OAS maximums
For the July to September 2026 quarter, the maximum monthly OAS pension is $751.97 for recipients aged 65 to 74 and $827.17 for those aged 75 and over. Those figures are up from $743.05 and $817.36 during the April to June quarter, an increase of roughly $8.92 and $9.81 per month respectively.
The gap between the two age groups reflects the permanent 10 percent top up that applies automatically the month after a recipient turns 75.
OAS rates are reviewed four times a year, in January, April, July and October, and move with the Consumer Price Index. If the cost of living falls, payments hold steady rather than dropping. There is nothing to apply for. The adjustment is automatic, and anyone receiving a partial pension because they have fewer than 40 years of Canadian residence gets the same percentage applied to their smaller base amount.
GIS and the Allowances
The Guaranteed Income Supplement rises alongside OAS. A single person receiving an OAS pension can now get up to $1,123.17 per month, with payments phasing out once annual income reaches $22,800.
For couples, the numbers depend on the spouse’s situation. If your spouse or common law partner does not receive an OAS pension or the Allowance, the maximum is $1,123.17 with an income cut off of $54,624. If your spouse does receive OAS, the maximum drops to $676.09 with a cut off of $30,096.
The Allowance, available to people aged 60 to 64 whose spouse receives the GIS, has a maximum of $1,428.06 per month. The Allowance for the Survivor pays up to $1,702.34.
One detail that is easy to overlook: those income cut offs exclude the OAS pension itself, the first $5,000 of employment or self employment income, and half of any such income between $5,000 and $15,000. Working seniors often qualify for more than they expect because of it.
Why your GIS may change by more than 1.2 percent
July starts a new benefit year. From this month, the GIS, the Allowance and the Allowance for the Survivor are recalculated using your 2025 tax return rather than your 2024 return. If your income rose last year, your supplement can shrink even though the base rates went up. If it fell, your July deposit could be noticeably larger.
Filing matters more here than in most programs. Service Canada needs an assessed 2025 return to keep GIS payments flowing, and a missing return can stop them.
CPP amounts hold until January
CPP does not follow the quarterly schedule. It is adjusted once a year in January, and the 2026 adjustment was 2 percent.
For someone starting a retirement pension at 65 in 2026, the maximum is $1,507.65 per month. The CPP disability pension tops out at $1,741.20. A survivor aged 65 or older can receive up to $904.59, and a survivor younger than 65 up to $803.54. The one time death benefit remains $2,500.
Very few people receive the maximum. Your actual amount reflects how much you contributed and for how long, so treat these figures as ceilings rather than expectations.
For scale, a senior aged 75 or over collecting both the full OAS pension and the maximum CPP retirement pension would see roughly $2,335 land on July 29, before any GIS.
The clawback line
Higher income seniors repay part of their OAS through the recovery tax. For the 2026 income year, the repayment range runs from $95,323 to $155,109 of net world income for recipients aged 65 to 74. For those 75 and over, the upper limit is $161,088. Net world income includes the OAS pension itself.
Because the recovery is calculated on the prior year’s income, a strong 2025 is what shows up in the benefit period that began this month.
Remaining payment dates for 2026
CPP and OAS share the same schedule. After July 29, the remaining dates this year are August 27, September 25, October 28, November 26 and December 22.
Deposits can take several days to appear when they arrive by mail. Service Canada asks recipients to wait five business days after the scheduled date before calling about a missing payment, and to keep banking and address details current in My Service Canada Account.
One final point for anyone still deciding when to start OAS. Deferring past age 65 raises the monthly pension by 0.6 percent for every month you wait, reaching 36 percent at age 70.