An estimated 244,400 seniors eligible for the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) were not receiving it in 2022. Two years later, 234,600 higher-income seniors had their entire Old Age Security (OAS) pension recovered through the clawback, according to figures supplied in federal responses to MPs William Stevenson and Anna Roberts. 

The figures cover different years and benefits, but together show how much depends on seniors getting into the system and payments being processed correctly. 

Those whose OAS was fully recovered in 2024 had an average income of $369,100. Another 457,400 seniors faced a partial clawback and had an average income of $121,400. Ottawa paid $60.7 billion in OAS and $18.8 billion in GIS that year.

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At the other end, the government’s 2022 estimates identified 290,000 eligible people aged 70 or older who were not receiving OAS, along with the 244,400 eligible non-recipients of GIS. Barriers cited include not knowing a benefit exists, mistakenly believing income rules out eligibility and mistrust of government.

Roberts’ separate question examined Service Canada’s processing problems. The OAS applications awaiting processing fell from 207,765 in January 2026 to 144,653 in July, while overtime for OAS and GIS staff totalled $10.47 million over those seven months. The response also reported 413 software defects on the Cúram platform since January, with 197 unresolved as of July 31. Spending on the platform has reached $647.7 million since 2021. 

Finance Canada also told Parliament it had not produced an estimate of the cost of exempting OAS from income tax, despite being asked for figures based on 2023 and 2024 tax data.