Old Age Security is a critical pillar of the Canadian Retirement Income system and our social safety net. It forms the base of income for millions of Canadian retirees.

Despite its importance, in many cases it forms a relatively small part of monthly retirement income when compared to CPP, private pensions, withdrawals from investment accounts, and employment. And since it is an income-tested benefit - many higher income retirees may receive a reduced amount of OAS, or possibly none at all. For these reasons, in many cases it drops down the priority list of many retirees when they plan their retirement income.

Nevertheless, there are still some significant planning opportunities available to maximize your Old Age Security benefit. And, when I thought about who the best person to help us learn these strategies would - Aaron Hector jumped to the top of my mind.

Aaron is a Private Wealth Advisor at CWB Wealth based out of Calgary, Alberta. Aaron is one of the preeminent financial advisors in Canada and his written work on Old Age Security, Estate Planning, and Tax Planning form some of the best insights available into these planning areas for Canadians. I asked Aaron to help me with this video and I was so glad when he agreed to do it.

In the video we talk about eligibility for the Old Age Security benefit, how timing when you begin collecting OAS can impact your benefit, how OAS Clawback works, and opportunities for even high-income retirees to collect some OAS benefit even though they may otherwise be ineligible due to persistently high income throughout retirement. The video includes visuals from an OAS calculator that Aaron uses with his clients, and they really help clarify the importance of making a good OAS decision in your retirement.