Why OAS amounts change four times a year

If you receive both the Canada Pension Plan and Old Age Security, you may have noticed that the combined deposit does not stay put for the year. It changes in January, and then it can change again in April, in July and in October. Nothing has gone wrong. The two programs are simply indexed on different clocks.

CPP is adjusted once a year. OAS, and the Guaranteed Income Supplement that sits on top of it, is reviewed every quarter. Once that is clear, a deposit that is a few dollars different in the autumn stops being a puzzle.

Two programs, two rhythms

The Canada Pension Plan is adjusted each January for benefits already in payment. For 2026 that adjustment was 2.0%, and the CPP amount then stays the same for the rest of the year.

Old Age Security follows a quarterly schedule. In the government's words, OAS payment amounts are reviewed each year in January, April, July and October, and increased to reflect increases in the cost of living. The GIS and the Allowances follow the same quarterly review. Because both programs pay on the same day near the end of the month, a household sees one combined figure, and that figure can move four times a year even though only part of it is changing.

What the four quarters of 2026 looked like

These are the published maximum monthly amounts. Many people receive less than the maximum OAS, for example because they have fewer than 40 years of residence in Canada after age 18, and GIS depends on income.

Read across the year and the maximum OAS for a 65-to-74-year-old rose by $20.19 a month between January and October, about 2.7%. The 75-and-over figure is exactly 10% higher than the younger band in every quarter, which is the separate age-75 increase discussed below.

Why the steps are so uneven

Each quarterly change reflects how the cost of living moved over the period being measured, so the steps follow inflation rather than a fixed percentage. In 2026 the April step was tiny, under a dollar a month at the 65-to-74 maximum, while July and October each added roughly $9 to $11.

The practical point is that nobody can predict the next quarter's figure from the last one. The new amounts are published shortly before each quarter begins, and the next review is the one for January, shown in the dates block above.

The floor, and what can still lower a payment

The quarterly review only works in one direction. The government states plainly that OAS amounts do not decrease if the cost of living goes down. In a quarter where prices fall, the amount simply stays where it is.

That protection applies to the rate, not to every individual deposit. A person's OAS can still be lower than the published figure because of the OAS recovery tax on higher incomes (for 2025 income it began above $93,454), and GIS is recalculated each year from the previous year's income. Those are personal adjustments, separate from the quarterly indexing.

Turning 75 adds a separate step

On top of the quarterly reviews there is one age-based increase. OAS rises automatically by 10% from the month after a person's 75th birthday. It does not change the GIS. Someone who turns 75 in, say, August will see the age increase in September and then the regular October review a few weeks later, which can make two consecutive deposits look quite different.

The deferral rules work differently again: OAS can be delayed to as late as 70 for a permanent increase, which is covered in what changes at 70 when the deferral clocks stop.

Who this matters for, and what to check

• Anyone on a tight monthly budget. Expect the combined figure to move in January, April, July and October. The payment dates themselves are listed in the CPP and OAS payment calendar.
• GIS recipients. The quarterly review raises the rate, but the annual July recalculation uses your tax return, which is why the April 30 deadline matters more once GIS is involved.
• People approaching 65. OAS normally starts the month after the 65th birthday, one of several changes covered in why turning 65 sets off several changes at once.
• Anyone comparing statements. Check the OAS and CPP lines separately in My Service Canada Account rather than the single bank deposit.

The short version

CPP changes once a year; OAS and GIS are reviewed four times. The quarterly steps follow the cost of living, they can be large or almost nothing, and they never go below the previous rate. A different deposit in April, July or October is usually the calendar at work rather than a mistake.

This is private sponsored information published by NIVO Consultancy OÜ on caethe.com. It is not a Government of Canada, Service Canada or Canada Revenue Agency website and has no affiliation with them. Nothing here is financial, tax or legal advice, and no figure in this article is a promise, quotation or entitlement for any reader; amounts and dates were checked against the official sources above on 22 October 2026 and can change. There are no applications, registrations or fees on this website. Never give your Social Insurance Number, banking details or My Service Canada Account or CRA credentials to a website. For anything about your own payments, use My Service Canada Account or contact Service Canada.