You can apply for Old Age Security (OAS) and the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) together through My Service Canada Account (MSCA) or by submitting the combined paper application. However, you may not need to apply at all. Under the 2026 rules, many people are automatically enrolled when the government already has enough information.
Check Whether You Actually Need to Apply
Before completing an application, check the letter sent around your 64th birthday. It may confirm your automatic OAS enrolment and indicate that an attempt will also be made to enrol you automatically for GIS. If you are not automatically enrolled, you can receive a letter asking you to apply. If a month has passed since your 64th birthday without an enrolment letter, contact the OAS program to find out whether an application is required.
This is worth checking first. Sending another application when your benefits are already being processed creates unnecessary work and is specifically restricted through the online application system.
Apply for OAS and GIS Together Online
For a 2026 online application, you must be at least one month past your 64th birthday, have no OAS application already submitted or under assessment, and not have a third party such as a trustee or power of attorney managing your OAS account.
Sign in to My Service Canada Account, open the Old Age Security section and select “Apply for Old Age Security and manage my benefits.” Because you are applying for both benefits, choose “Application for Old Age Security Pension and Guaranteed Income Supplement.” The separate GIS application is intended for someone who has already applied for or receives OAS.
Before starting, have your Social Insurance Number and date of birth available. The combined application process may also require your spouse or common-law partner’s SIN and date of birth, your residence history since age 18, applicable foreign income, details of a recent reduction in employment or pension income, and banking information if you want direct deposit. For questions about supporting evidence rather than the application itself, see our separate guide to OAS documents and forms.
Apply for Both Benefits by Mail
The combined paper application is Form ISP-3550, Application for the Old Age Security Pension and the Guaranteed Income Supplement. Download the form, complete the sections that apply to you, print it and sign every section requiring a signature in pen. Include copies of any required documents and mail the completed package to the address specified for your application.
The ISP-3550 reference guide provides instructions for completing the form. Do not use ISP-3025 when you need both benefits because that form is specifically for applying for GIS after OAS has already been dealt with. Our broader OAS application guide covers the pension-only process separately.
Make Sure the GIS Income Information Is Complete
A combined application does more than establish your OAS entitlement. GIS is income-tested, so the 2026 application process requires the income information needed to assess the supplement. The Old Age Security Act requires a GIS applicant to provide a statement of income for the applicable base calendar year unless that requirement is waived because the necessary information is already available.
This matters particularly when your recent income no longer reflects your normal situation. The application asks for information about employment or pension income that stopped or decreased during the previous two years, where applicable. Complete that part rather than assuming an older income figure will automatically reflect the change.
Once you have submitted everything, you can check your OAS application status through MSCA. The decision letter will tell you the monthly amount approved, when the first payment starts and whether any past payments are owed. If both benefits are approved, GIS is added to OAS and paid as one payment.
Other Questions About Applying for OAS and GIS Together
What if someone only helps me communicate with Service Canada?
You can use Form ISP-1603 to authorize another person to communicate on your behalf. That authorization does not allow the person to apply for benefits for you, change your payment address, or change tax withholding instructions.
What if I cannot manage my own OAS and GIS application?
A person seeking to administer benefits for someone who is incapable of managing their own affairs follows a different process. It involves a medical professional completing Form ISP-3505 and the proposed administrator completing the applicable trustee or agency agreement.
Can I apply for OAS and GIS together from outside Canada?
The application process differs when you live abroad, particularly because OAS and GIS have different residence rules. Use the dedicated guide to applying for OAS outside Canada rather than assuming the standard Canadian online process applies.
