Canada is, by international standards, a success story on old-age poverty: pensions built over decades pulled the senior poverty rate down from nearly a third in the 1970s to a small fraction today. But the averages hide a harder reality. Single seniors, and especially older women living alone, are several times more likely to be poor, and many retirees rely almost entirely on government cheques.
This page sets out the data on senior poverty in Canada, with pension and benefit amounts in Canadian dollars, the gender and household gaps, and what it all means for the modest estates most Canadians actually leave. Each figure links to a source at the bottom. Updated June 2026.
How many seniors are poor?
The headline rate is low, but it depends heavily on which poverty line you use.
1. About 5 percent are below the official poverty line
The official poverty rate for Canadians aged 65 and over, measured by the Market Basket Measure (Canada's official poverty line), was 5.0 percent in 2023, down from 6.0 percent in 2022.1
2. On a relative measure, the rate is far higher
Using the relative Low Income Measure (after tax), the senior low-income rate was 13.8 percent in 2023, well above the 5.0 percent official rate, and down from 15.4 percent in 2022. Many seniors live well below the typical Canadian income even if they clear the absolute poverty line.2
3. Senior poverty collapsed after pensions matured
The senior low-income rate fell from 30.6 percent in 1976 to around 4 percent by the mid-1990s, one of the largest poverty declines for any group in Canadian history, driven mainly by Old Age Security, the Guaranteed Income Supplement, and a maturing Canada Pension Plan.3
Single seniors and the gender gap
The risk of poverty in old age is concentrated among those who are on their own.
4. Single seniors are about three times as likely to be poor
Unattached (single) seniors had an official poverty rate of 11.5 percent in 2023, against just 3.6 percent for people in senior families. Living alone is one of the strongest predictors of poverty in old age.4
5. Senior women face higher low-income rates
Women aged 65 and over had a Low Income Measure rate of 17.5 percent in 2022, against 12.9 percent for men, a gender gap of 4.6 percentage points. Longer lives and lower lifetime earnings leave many older women with thinner retirement incomes.5
6. Racialized and immigrant senior women fare worst
Older racialized women were the most likely group of senior women to be in low income (18.6 percent), with older immigrant women at 17.6 percent. Poverty in old age is unevenly distributed along gender, race, and migration lines.6
7. Women lean harder on government transfers
Government transfers (OAS, GIS, and CPP) made up 43.1 percent of older women's total income in 2022, against 32.3 percent for older men. For many senior women, the public pension system is not a supplement but the foundation of their income.7
How Canada compares internationally
Against its peers, Canada does well on old-age poverty.
8. Canada beats the OECD average
Across the OECD, 14.8 percent of people over 65 live in relative income poverty, 3.3 points above the total-population average. Canada's senior poverty rate sits below that benchmark, marking it as a relatively strong performer.8
9. Canada is one of few countries where seniors are less poor than average
The OECD names Canada among a small group of countries, with France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Norway, where older people are less likely to be poor than the population as a whole, far from outliers like Korea where the rate approaches 40 percent.9
Pensions and benefits in CAD
For seniors with little private savings, these public benefits are the whole picture.
| Benefit (single senior, recent figures) | Monthly amount (CAD) |
|---|---|
| OAS maximum, age 65 to 74 | about $727.67 |
| OAS maximum, age 75+ | about $800.44 |
| GIS maximum, single senior | up to about $1,086.88 |
| CPP retirement, maximum at 65 | up to $1,433.00 |
| CPP retirement, average new beneficiary | about $808 |
10. OAS pays up to about $800 a month
The Old Age Security pension's maximum was about $727.67 a month for ages 65 to 74 and $800.44 for those 75 and over (Apr to Jun 2025 rates, which adjust quarterly). It is the base layer of retirement income for almost every Canadian senior.10
11. GIS tops up the poorest seniors
The Guaranteed Income Supplement adds up to about $1,086.88 a month for a single senior with little or no other income, so OAS plus GIS together come to roughly $1,800 a month for the poorest single seniors.11
12. Most retirees get far less than the maximum CPP
The maximum Canada Pension Plan retirement pension at age 65 was $1,433.00 a month in 2025, but the average new beneficiary received only about $808 a month, because most people did not contribute the maximum for a full career.12
Savings gaps and reliance on the state
Behind the benefit numbers is a large group of seniors with almost no private cushion.
13. Millions depend on the public system
Canada had about 6.6 million OAS basic-pension beneficiaries and 2.2 million GIS recipients in 2020, projected to rise to roughly 10.1 million and 3.4 million by 2035 as the population ages. The public pillar is the dominant income source for a huge and growing group.13
14. Many seniors living alone have no private savings
About 36 percent of seniors living alone had no registered retirement assets at all, no workplace pension, RRSP, or TFSA, against 16 percent of those in families. For them, OAS, GIS, and CPP are the entire retirement plan.14
15. Public pensions are a major national expense
OAS and GIS together cost about $60 billion in 2021, the single largest federal program expenditure, with CPP and QPP retirement benefits over $52 billion. The scale shows how central these transfers are to keeping seniors out of poverty.15
What it means for your estate
Most Canadian estates are modest, which makes avoidable costs and conflict hurt more, not less.
16. A will matters most for a modest estate
Half of Canadians have no will, and the share is even higher among lower-income households. Yet it is precisely modest estates where intestacy, probate costs, and family conflict do the most damage, because there is little margin to absorb them. A clear will is not just for the wealthy. See our data on average net worth in Canada and the average inheritance, and learn what dying without a will costs a family.16
The lesson behind these numbers: Canada has done well at keeping most seniors out of poverty, but single seniors and older women remain exposed, and many retirees leave only a modest estate built on a home and a small cushion. That makes planning the estate carefully, with a clear will and a named executor, more valuable, not less. To start in a guided way, use our will generator, or read our related data on nursing home costs, dying alone in Canada, and wills in Canada.
Frequently asked questions
What is the senior poverty rate in Canada?
About 5.0 percent of Canadians aged 65 and over were below the official Market Basket Measure poverty line in 2023. On the relative Low Income Measure the figure is higher, around 13.8 percent, and single seniors and older women face well above-average rates.
Why are senior women poorer?
Women live longer, often earned less over their careers, and are more likely to be single in old age. Senior women had a Low Income Measure rate of 17.5 percent in 2022 against 12.9 percent for men, and they rely more heavily on government transfers.
How much do government pensions pay?
For a single senior, OAS pays up to roughly $727 to $800 a month, GIS adds up to about $1,087, and CPP averages around $808 for a new beneficiary (maximum $1,433). The exact OAS and GIS amounts adjust quarterly.
The clearest takeaway: a will protects a modest estate just as much as a large one, and most Canadians leave a modest one. To begin, use our will generator or read how to write a will.
Sources
- 1Statistics Canada (statcan.gc.ca)
- 2Statistics Canada (statcan.gc.ca)
- 3Statistics Canada (statcan.gc.ca)
- 4Statistics Canada (statcan.gc.ca)
- 5Statistics Canada (statcan.gc.ca)
- 6Statistics Canada (statcan.gc.ca)
- 7Statistics Canada (statcan.gc.ca)
- 8OECD (Pensions at a Glance 2025) (oecd.org)
- 9OECD (Pensions at a Glance 2025) (oecd.org)
- 10Government of Canada (canada.ca)
- 11Government of Canada (canada.ca)
- 12Government of Canada (canada.ca)
- 13Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (osfi-bsif.gc.ca)
- 14Library of Parliament (parl.ca)
- 15Library of Parliament (parl.ca)
- 16Angus Reid Institute (angusreid.org)
About the author
Max Kuch
Max Kuch has spent years studying succession law, retirement income, and the consumer side of estate planning. For GetAWill he gathers and synthesizes data from Statistics Canada, the Government of Canada, and the OECD, and presents it in clear, accessible terms.