[Report] The First 100 Years of Old Age Security

As Canada marks 100 years since introducing its first old age pension, two new releases from the National Institute on Ageing (NIA) argue that ensuring retirement security for future generations will require looking beyond Old Age Security (OAS) to Canada’s retirement income system as a whole.

The First Hundred Years of Old Age Security report examines the evolution of OAS and the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS), their role in reducing poverty and providing secure retirement income, and the complex ways these programs interact with taxes, pensions, savings and other government benefits. 

Its companion policy brief, The Next 100 Years of Old Age Security: Policy Considerations, looks ahead to describe the potential implications of a range of policy levers the government may be considering.

With Canada’s population ageing and the number of OAS beneficiaries growing, questions about the program’s affordability have become increasingly prominent. But the NIA argues that focusing on the cost of OAS alone risks overlooking both its role within the broader retirement income system and the potential consequences of changing one part of an interconnected system.