In case you think it's easy to get Canadian Benefits...

So, I turned 65 last December and had dutifully sent in my application for O.A.S. (old age security pension) early to give them plenty of time. They waited until the end of November to ask me for further info. and they sent my MAIL to Mexico. Eeeeegggaaaddd!
So I called them today to find out what's happening and just completed their "Consent to Exchange Information with Citizenship and Immigration Canada" form.

I am a Canadian citizen born in England... and, no, I do not know what kind of documentation I had when I landed with my mother in July of 1954. I was two and a half at the time. I do have a cute pic of me on the boat though. Considering that I sent them 1) a copy of my passport 2) a copy of my Canadian Citizenship Certificate and every other flippin' thing that they asked for the first time, I'm seriously wondering whether they suffer from ADHD or simply are too dumb to connect the dots.

Now I'm off to the Courier again to send them more information... a royal pain in the butt. Thanks for letting me rant.
The point being that ain't nuthin' easy to get any more. I mean, is there a point to a question that asks "List all the names you have ever used"... They actually do know that my surname has changed three times... but my given names and date of birth certainly haven't changed. What the hell is that? A trick question?

DHL quoted me USD$35 to deliver a one page document to Texas, so I feel your pain.

Whetever names questions are valid for insurance and tax purposes.

I think on the their website they recommend you apply 12 months in advance of turning 65. If I recall correctly they sent me the forms approximately 1 year before my birthday, I received my first payment right on time.....

I did apply 12 months in advance of turning 65 and, if you are a non-resident Canadian Citizen, they don't send you boodiddleysquat unless you ask for it or until you download the forms from the website. I knew what to do since my hubby was 11 years older than me and I did it for him. He would have been 76 last December.
My frustration stems from their having waited until the last minute to request more information. They had both my Vonage phone number and my e-mail address and they chose to send the request by pony express to Mexico. That piece of mail cost them to send it and I didn't receive it. Inefficient. Even the young man I spoke to agreed. I actually can understand not sending the info electronically but instructions to contact them electronically or instructions of which other forms they needed electronically would have been preferable.
Just giving everyone a heads up if you haven't gone through the process yet.

ferret, I feel your pain! I, too, wonder just what it takes for workers of any ilk to process ANYTHING correctly the first time. And I find it across the board... Government, private companies, banks, and especially insurance companies (of course theirs is a deliberate stonewall).
No one seems to take pride in doing their job well these days (THERE! is that the sound of an ole foggie venting!!!)

Ferret, what about your CPP at 60, and the survivor pension.

I just applied for OAS. If all goes well, which it doesn't usually, I am eligible to receive the first payment at the end of April. I am already receiving CPP but in spite of the fact I lived and worked in Canada all my life I now required to prove I am Canadian and lived and worked in Canada. They also wanted a certified copy of every lease I have had since I was 18 since I am a non resident.......ha ha ha, like I knew when I was 18 I was going to move to Mexico before 65. Waiting to see what happens as I haven't heard anything. The last time Canada Revenue sent me a letter it took 7 months for me to get it.

Holy cow. I thought you guys had it all together up there!

Up there it is altogether. It's when you're not "up there" that it's difficult.

@islandiver... yes, no problem with CPP. I've been collecting it since I was 60 and I also get the Survivor's benefit now added to that. Hubby's death benefit was a bit tarde... they sent a cheque to Mexico and I don't have a bank account here. I was also on the phone to them because they didn't take the taxes from that amount either. Even when I went into a Services Centre in Newmarket when I was there for my hubby's memorial, they would absolutely not accept those taxes even though they acknowledged that they need to be paid. That's an ongoing problem because we have both been officially non residents since 1998 and taxes are taken off at source and submitted. We don't have to file annually... or (duh) I don't have to file annually.
But, I think the gist of your enquiry is that if I'm getting my CPP what's the huge deal about OAS since I've already been run through the system and proved who I am. Beats the shit outta me.

The main problem that my brothers and sister had was the fact that we came to Canada from Ireland in the early 60's.
Even though we are all Canadian citizens for a long time, we still had to prove that we were "landed immigrants".
Fortunately, I am the youngest so I benefited from their experience and was prepared.

Ocelot wrote:I just applied for OAS.  If all goes well, which it doesn't usually, I am eligible to receive the first payment at the end of April.  I am already receiving CPP but in spite of the fact I lived and worked in Canada all my life I now required to prove I am Canadian and lived and worked in Canada.  They also wanted a certified copy of every lease I have had since I was 18 since I am a non resident.......ha ha ha, like I knew when I was 18 I was going to move to Mexico before 65.  Waiting to see what happens as I haven't heard anything.  The last time Canada Revenue sent me a letter it took 7 months for me to get it.  

Were you born in Canada or a landed immigrant?

I was born in Canada but because I left a few years before I could apply for OAS I have to jump through hoops even though I already did that to collect CPP.

Ocelot wrote:I was born in Canada but because I left a few years before I could apply for OAS I have to jump through hoops even though I already did that to collect CPP.  

I have a Canadian friend here who is going through the same thing. She has been at it for almost a year. She no sooner jumps through one hoop then they put up another one. It is completely ridiculous.

I have a Canadian friend here who is going through the same thing. She has been at it for almost a year. She no sooner jumps through one hoop then they put up another one. It is completely ridiculous.[/quote]

Yikes! That doesn't bode well for me. I agree it is completely ridiculous. It's not like we just suddenly appeared out of nowhere and want to collect.

Canadian citizenship, as a status separate from British nationality, was created by the Canadian Citizenship Act, 1946, which came into effect on 1 January 1947.

So some people born in Canada before 1947 never got registered by their parents, they know what "Hoops" are.

I found an old pic of my mum and I on the boat... luckily she is standing beside a life preserver with "Ascania" and "Liverpool" written on it. I've even been on some websites trying to find the passenger lists for the correct time frame. Of course, given the date, that doesn't mean that the name information was entered correctly. I also remember going to Nursery School at St. Barnabas Church on the Danforth in Toronto and Kindergarten at Norman Ingram Public School in Don Mills. But that doesn't mean that they kept records either.
The point being, if you are young enough and your parents are still alive, find out as much info as you can (hopefully with back up) and stash it in a shoebox. You just never know what you may need when the time comes.
I'll keep plodding away. And, I've decided to think of this as a forced savings plan because, according to the young man that I spoke with, it will all be retroactive to the day I turned 65. Hope it doesn't take 10 years.

p.s. They never asked for my mum's SIN either and she worked most of her life as a legal stenographer... and I got stuck in St. Barnabas where I loved to be bad so I could get put in the "small room" as punishment. It had a piano ;)

Service Canada has moved.

Ferret, can you use the internet to read this link without a computer?

https://www.canada.ca/en/services/benefits/publicpensions/cpp/old-age-security.html

Sorry, I don't know the answer to your question.

But, thank you for the link. Now I'm really confused since it is based on how many years you lived in Canada after your 18th birthday. I got my SIN to work at Baker Guennels in Eglinton Square when I was 15 and filed income taxes every year thereafter. WTF?

It looks to me that if you met the requirements (living in Canada for 20 years after the age of 18) you get the basic of $578.00 per year month. There are supplemental benefits for poverty and survivors. Living there longer than 20 years after the age of 18 gets you nothing more.....

I think that's $578 per month CBob.

Here's where it gets interesting and why I'm bringing it to everyone's attention... from the website and I have BOLDED AND UNDERLINED the catch 22 of taking early retirement.

"How the Old Age Security pension is calculated


Full pension

You may qualify for a full OAS pension in one of two ways:
1.You resided in Canada for at least 40 years after turning 18; or
2.You were born on or before July 1, 1952, and ◦on July 1, 1977, you resided in Canada, or
◦after turning 18, you resided in Canada for a period of time prior to, but not on July 1, 1977, or
◦on July 1, 1977, you possessed a valid Canadian immigration visa.


In addition, you must have resided in Canada continuously for the 10 years immediately before the approval of your OAS pension. If you were absent from Canada during that 10-year period, you may still qualify for a full pension if:
•you resided in Canada for at least one year immediately before the approval of your OAS pension, and
•you had periods of prior residence in Canada that were equal to at least three times the period of absence during the 10-year period (i.e., three years of residence for every year of absence). For example, an absence of two years between the ages of 60 and 62 could be offset by six years of residence in Canada after age 18 and before age 55.

Partial pension

If you do not qualify for the full OAS pension, and do not want to wait until you do, you may qualify for a partial OAS pension.

A partial OAS pension is calculated at the rate of 1/40th of the full OAS pension for each complete year of residence in Canada after age 18.

The minimum period of residence in Canada you need to qualify for a partial OAS pension is 10 years after your 18th birthday (as long as you reside in Canada when you receive your OAS pension). For example, if you resided in Canada for 10 years after your 18th birthday, you may qualify to receive 10/40ths or one-quarter of the full OAS pension.

Note: Once your partial OAS pension has been approved, it will not increase with additional years of residence in Canada."

So... that's where the problem lies. I've lived full time in Mexico for nearly 21 years and 26 years in Canada after my 18th birthday. So much for following my older hubby when he retired. BE WARNED!

That was news to me. So you will qualify for 26/40ths of the full amount. That's not too bad considering you have had 21 years in paradise so far. I just declared non-residency starting in 2016 so I will only qualify for 35/40ths (I'm 53) of the full amount. That's the price one pays for retiring early in paradise I suppose........

CanuckBob wrote:That was news to me. So you will qualify for 26/40ths of the full amount. That's not too bad considering you have had 21 years in paradise so far. I just declared non-residency starting in 2016 so I will only qualify for 35/40ths (I'm 53) of the full amount. That's the price one pays for retiring early in paradise I suppose........

A wonderful way to look at it CBob. I'm OK and you're OK but others may not be, hence the warning. I guess the info that I've sent them (which includes my official non residency letter from the Canadian government) will get the ball rolling.
Now I'm off to enjoy another day in paradise.

Did they change things within the last 5 years? When I left Canada I believe it was simply 20 years beyond the 18th birthday for full OAS. Perhaps they changed it to 40 years after the age of 18 when they reverted back to 65 from 67 to collect OAS?

I honestly don't know. I guess something had to give considering that I'm a middle of the pack boomer and there's still five more years of a whole pile of us turning 65. Maybe things will have changed again by the time you want to collect. Quien sabe.

Yeah maybe. I wasn't planning on getting much so I'm not going to sweat it for another 10 years or so......