# Receiving OAS while living outside of Canada



## lqmlllc (Feb 8, 2018)

Hi experts, I have a simple question -- according to government website: 

You can receive your OAS pension benefit payment outside the country if you:

resided in Canada for at least 20 years after turning 18; or

Question: I am 66 now and I am living in Canada. I have been receiving OAS benefits since 65. At the time of my application (when I was 65), OAS calculated my residency in Canada was 17 years, so they give me 17/40 of the total benefits. 

I know my benefits will not increase and will stay at 17/40 for the rest of my life. But, my question is, should I decide to move to another country permanently in 5 years (this country does not have totalization agreement with Canada), I will have actually lived in Canada for more than 20 years by that time, so, will I be eligible to continue to receive OAS? I know that if I move out of Canada right now, I will not be eligible , because I have only lived in Canada for 18 years. 

basically, simply put, do you continue to accumulate residency years after the time of your application , for the sole purpose of meeting that 'live 20 years and you can move abroad' requirement? 

or is it that, at the time of your application, if you have not lived 20 years (but more than 10 years of course) , then you are stuck with this number of years forever , for the purpose of calculating this 20 year requirement, even if you continue to live in Canada?


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## kcowan (Jul 1, 2010)

My wife did not have the maximum because she lived in Mexico and the US when she applied. We understood that the amount would not change after she applied. She has been receiving the reduced amount for 10 years.

OAS and CPP are direct deposited in her Cdn bank account.


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## Longtimeago (Aug 8, 2018)

Good question, it really isn't made very clear on the government websites. As written and as you quote it, it just says resident for 20 years and doesn't refer to before age 65. But it also doesn't refer to including after age 65, so I wouldn't want to just assume that is the case. 

I would suggest you phone Service Canada and get an answer 'from the horse's mouth.' 




__





Contact Old Age Security - Canada.ca


Contact Old Age Security




www.canada.ca





Post if you find out, the answer would be interesting.


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## Dogger1953 (Dec 14, 2012)

lqmlllc said:


> Hi experts, I have a simple question -- according to government website:
> 
> You can receive your OAS pension benefit payment outside the country if you:
> 
> ...


Although your continued residence in Canada will not be counted for purposes of increasing the number of 40ths that you receive, it will count for purposes of meeting the 20-year requirement for payment of OAS outside of Canada.


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## Longtimeago (Aug 8, 2018)

Dogger1953 said:


> Although your continued residence in Canada will not be counted for purposes of increasing the number of 40ths that you receive, it will count for purposes of meeting the 20-year requirement for payment of OAS outside of Canada.


Can you link a reference that shows that Dogger1953? Or is it just what you believe to be the case? I'm not trying to offend you Dogger1953, just asking for proof.

Or as they say, 'trust but verify.'


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## BC Eddie (Feb 2, 2014)

LTA - I guess you don't know who Dogger is. I think you can trust what he said.


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## Dogger1953 (Dec 14, 2012)

Longtimeago said:


> Can you link a reference that shows that Dogger1953? Or is it just what you believe to be the case? I'm not trying to offend you Dogger1953, just asking for proof.
> 
> Or as they say, 'trust but verify.'


Hi LTA - It is what I know to be true, not what I believe to be true. Here is a copy & paste from the OAS Act:
****
*No suspension where pensioner had 20 years
residence in Canada
Exception
9 (4) In the circumstances described in subsection (3),payment of the pension may be continued without suspension​if the pensioner establishes that at the time the pensioner ceased to reside in Canada the pensioner had resided in Canada for at least twenty years after attaining the age of eighteen years.
*
Notice that it says "at the time the pensioner ceased to reside in Canada", not "when the pensioner reached age 65".*


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## Dogger1953 (Dec 14, 2012)

BC Eddie said:


> LTA - I guess you don't know who Dogger is. I think you can trust what he said.


Thanks BC Eddie!


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## Longtimeago (Aug 8, 2018)

OK, I accept that. 

No I have on idea who Dogger1953 is BC Eddie. But maybe if you had indicated who he is and why his advice would be reasonable to accept on his word alone, it would have been a better response to my questioning than you gave.

My wife had 12 years residence when she reached age 65. So she will have 20 years at age 73 obviously. We have no intention of leaving Canada anytime soon but we have discussed what she will do if I die first. She has no family here in Canada and would not want to leave but at the same time, might find she has pretty much no choice but to return to her home country to have family support if she is left on her own. It would be a real dilemma for her since she prefers living here.

Financial aspects are one factor to be considered as well, so this is relevant to her situation. She would actually gain a good deal financially by returning to the UK since the UK freezes her pension while living in Canada but if she returns it becomes unfrozen and will go up considerably as a result. Knowing she will also still get OAS from Canada just adds to there being no financial 'disadvantage' to her going back.


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