Your October OAS Is Now $762.50 — the Official Table Finally Landed

If you are on Old Age Security and you have been waiting to see what October actually pays, the number now exists. The maximum OAS pension for October to December 2026 is $762.50 a month if you are 65 to 74, and $838.75 if you are 75 or older.

In late September the government confirmed a 1.4% increase for October but did not publish any dollar amounts. On September 29 that changed. The Government of Canada’s OAS payment amounts page and Employment and Social Development Canada’s quarterly figures table now both show the new quarter.

The first deposit at the new rate lands October 28. Here is what changed, what it is worth in real dollars, and why your own payment is probably not the number in the headline.

The new maximums, October to December 2026

Every figure below is a maximum monthly amount, taken from the Government of Canada’s OAS payment amounts page as updated September 29, 2026.

OAS pension, age 65 to 74: up to $762.50, up from $751.97. You must have had 2025 net world income under $152,062 to receive any of it.

OAS pension, age 75 and over: up to $838.75, up from $827.17. The income ceiling is $157,923.

Guaranteed Income Supplement, single, widowed or divorced: up to $1,138.90, up from $1,123.17. Your income must be under $23,112 — that threshold moved up too, from $22,800.

GIS, spouse receives the full OAS pension: up to $685.56 each, with the couple’s combined income under $30,528.

GIS, spouse does not receive OAS or the Allowance: up to $1,138.90, with combined income under $55,392.

The Allowance (age 60 to 64): up to $1,448.06, for a person whose spouse receives GIS and the full OAS pension. Combined income must be under $42,768.

The Allowance for the Survivor (age 60 to 64): up to $1,726.18, with income under $31,152.

Payment dates: October 28, November 26 and December 22, 2026.

What 1.4% is worth in real money

Take the new maximum, subtract the old one, and the answer is small. At the basic OAS maximum it is $10.53 a month. At 75 and over it is $11.58. On the single-senior GIS maximum it is $15.73.

The pattern is simple: a percentage increase gives the biggest dollar bump to the biggest payment. The Allowance for the Survivor gains $23.84 a month. A couple where both get OAS and GIS gains $9.47 each on the GIS portion.

Over a full year, the government says OAS benefits are up 3.0% from October 2025 to October 2026. That is the cumulative effect of four quarterly adjustments, not one big jump.

Why your deposit probably is not $762.50

These are ceilings. Four things push real payments below them, and none of them is an error.

Years in Canada

The full OAS pension assumes 40 years of residence in Canada after age 18. With fewer years you get a partial pension, calculated as years lived in Canada divided by 40. Someone with 30 years gets roughly three-quarters of the maximum. The 1.4% applies to your amount, not to $762.50.

Income

GIS and both Allowances are income-tested. They shrink as income rises and stop at the thresholds above. Nobody can tell you your GIS without your income figure — and be sceptical of any site that gives you a firm per-person number.

The clawback

The OAS recovery tax is deducted from each monthly payment, and most people only notice it when a deposit shrinks for no obvious reason. If your 2025 net income was above $93,454, the recovery is being taken out of your OAS from July 2026 through June 2027, including the October 28 payment.

It takes back 15 cents for every dollar above that threshold, and reaches the whole pension at $152,062 for ages 65 to 74 and $157,923 at 75 and over. The threshold for 2026 income is already set at $95,323; it governs July 2027 to June 2028, so if you are near the line you still have the rest of this year to plan around it.

Age 75

You get an automatic 10% increase to your OAS pension the month after your 75th birthday. That is why there are two OAS rates. If you turn 75 this quarter, your deposit will move twice in a short span, and that is expected.

How the quarterly cycle works

OAS is indexed four times a year. Each January, April, July and October, amounts rise to reflect increases in the cost of living. The government’s own wording is plain: “Pension amounts do not decrease if the cost of living goes down.”

The sequence this quarter was typical. The percentage appeared first. The dollar table followed a few days before the quarter started. That gap is why, in early September, nobody could honestly quote an October amount. Anyone quoting an exact figure before September 29 was estimating.

CPP is different. It adjusts once a year, in January. If you receive both, only the OAS side of your income changes on October 28.

And do not mix the OAS deposit up with the other October payments. The Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit, which replaced the GST/HST credit in July, pays October 5. The Canada Disability Benefit pays October 15. Those are separate programs on separate dates.

What to do this week

Check your own amount, not the maximum. Sign in to My Service Canada Account. It shows what you will actually receive and how it was calculated, including your years of residence.

Look at the income thresholds if you were close to the line. The single-senior GIS limit rose to $23,112. If your income was just over the old $22,800 limit, check whether you now qualify for a small GIS amount.

Keep your tax filing current. GIS and the Allowance are recalculated from your tax return. A missing return can stop payments even when nothing else in your life has changed.

Know when a cheque should arrive. If you are not on direct deposit, Service Canada mails cheques during the last three business days of the month. Do not assume a cheque is lost on October 28 itself.

Do not pay anyone to apply for you. OAS, GIS and the Allowance are free to apply for through Service Canada. So is every settlement claim we cover, including the Government of Canada account breach settlement. A fee to “unlock” or “fast-track” a federal benefit is a scam.

Expect phishing after this news. Every published increase brings texts and emails saying your deposit failed or that you must confirm banking details to get the new amount. Service Canada and the CRA do not ask for banking information by text. Go to My Service Canada Account or CRA My Account directly, never through a link.

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Also worth your time

• The GST/HST Credit Is Gone — What Replaced It, and What Lands October 5
• The CCB Maximum Is Now $8,157 — and Why Your October 20 Payment Might Be Smaller
• A $150 Disability Benefit Top-Up Landed September 17
• Three Settlement Deadlines Close in October — and One “Open” Claim Shut in March

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Figures are current as of October 2, 2026, taken from the Government of Canada OAS payment amounts and OAS recovery tax pages and ESDC’s October to December 2026 quarterly figures, updated September 29, 2026. Dollar increases are the difference between the published July–September and October–December maximums. This article is general information, not legal or financial advice. Benefit amounts, thresholds and payment dates change. Confirm your own figures in My Service Canada Account or CRA My Account before acting on anything here.