A Reference Guide - Old Age Security and Canada Pension Plan
Old Age Security Program
The Benefits
The Allowance and The Allowance For The Survivor
The Allowance and the Allowance for the survivor are benefits for 60- to 64-year-old low-income seniors. They are designed to lessen the financial difficulty faced by couples living on a single pension and by many seniors whose spouse or common-law partner has died. Benefits must be applied for every year and are not considered to be income for tax purposes. Allowance benefits are not payable outside Canada beyond a period of six months after the month of departure, regardless of how long the person resided in Canada.
To qualify: The Allowance may be paid to the spouse or common-law partner of an OAS pensioner who is eligible for the GIS, and the Allowance for the survivor to a senior whose spouse or common-law partner has died. To qualify, an applicant must be between 60 and 64 and have resided in Canada for at least 10 years after turning 18. He or she must also have been a Canadian citizen or a legal resident of Canada on the day before approval of the application. His or her annual income, combined with that of the pensioner (or on its own in the case of a surviving spouse/common-law partner), cannot exceed certain limits, which are set annually. OAS and GIS benefits are not included in the calculation of income for the Allowance.
The Allowance stops when the recipient becomes eligible for an OAS pension at 65 or if the beneficiary leaves Canada for more than six months or dies. For a couple, the Allowance stops if the recipient of the OAS pension ceases to be eligible for the GIS or if the couple separate or divorce. The Allowance for the survivor stops if a survivor remarries or enters into a common-law relationship for more than 12 months.
Retroactive benefits: People who apply for the Allowance or the Allowance for the survivor after the age of 60 can, if eligible, receive a retroactive payment covering up to 11 months. The period of retroactivity is calculated from the month the application is received. (They would at the same time receive payment for the month in which the application was received.)
Sponsored immigrants: A sponsored spouse/common-law partner of an OAS pensioner with less than 10 years of residence in Canada after the age of 18 is not eligible for the Allowance for the period of his or her sponsorship (up to a maximum of 10 years).
Non-sponsored immigrants: A pro-rated benefit may be paid to a non-sponsored immigrant who has not resided in Canada for 10 years after reaching 18 if he or she qualifies under a social security agreement with another country. The Allowance entitlement grows gradually over 10 years, paid at the rate of one tenth of the benefit for each year of residence in Canada.
Amount of benefit: Allowance benefits are income-based. The maximum amount payable to a pensioner's spouse/common-law partner is equal to the combined full OAS pension and the maximum GIS at the "married/common-law" rate. The maximum amount for a survivor is higher.
