600,000 Old Age Security clients successfully onboarded to the new common benefit delivery platform

From: Employment and Social Development Canada

News release

December 14, 2023              Ottawa, Ontario            Employment and Social Development Canada  

The Government of Canada is modernizing and strengthening the way it delivers key statutory benefits to Canadians through the Benefits Delivery Modernization Programme. The implementation of a new system to manage and deliver benefits will provide Canadians with a more modern client experience, improved electronic services, reduced wait times, streamlined applications and faster payments.

Today, Terry Beech, Minister of Citizens’ Services highlighted the successful implementation of phase 1 of Old Age Security (OAS) on the new system. In June 2023, the programme brought the first group of OAS clients onto the new platform, including Case Management Support for over 600,000 Foreign Benefit Clients, who receive some of their pension income from other countries. At the end of October 2023, minor technical updates and adjustments were made to phase 1, which will continue, marking the final steps of the migration and full completion of the phase. This release is a first step towards fully modernizing and delivering digital services to citizens.

The successful implementation of phase 1 is a key affirmation of the Government’s capacity to transform and modernize technology. The next phases of the OAS migration, scheduled to be completed in December 2024, will see approximately 7 million new and existing OAS clients transitioned onto the new platform. Once complete, Canadians will receive a modern experience through flexible technology, setting the stage for onboarding additional benefits in the future. Thanks to careful planning, clients will have a seamless and uninterrupted experience during all migration phases.

In 2022,  the Government of Canada announced that OAS would be the first benefit program to onboard onto the new common benefit delivery platform as part of the modernization programme. The current OAS system was built more than 60 years ago, using now antiquated programming languages which introduces risk and limits the Department’s ability to make and adopt policy changes in a timely manner.

Quotes

“By transitioning from outdated systems to innovative, digital technologies, we're reshaping how the federal government interacts with and serves Canadians. The seamless onboarding of over 600,000 OAS clients onto the BDM platform is a major milestone, and this achievement is the first of many on our path to delivering more efficient government services for Canadians.”
– Minister of Citizens’ Services, Terry Beech

Quick facts

  • The Old Age Security (OAS) program is one of the Government of Canada’s largest programs. It is a national program that provides monthly payments to Canadians 65 and older.

  • In 2022-23, the OAS program paid $69.4 billion in OAS benefits to 7.1 million beneficiaries. Service Canada processed approximately 7.5 million work items per year.

  • The OAS program is expected to serve 9.4 million seniors by 2030, delivering approximately $105 billion in benefits.

  • Cúram Social Program Management (Cúram) is the technology platform used to replace the current OAS processing system. This is designed specifically for social service programs and is used globally by 970 government social programs in 12 countries, 7 languages and served 187 million citizens (as of 2022).

Associated links

Contacts

Erik Nosaluk
Director of Communications and Issues Management
Office of the Minister of Citizens’ Services, Terry Beech 
erik.nosaluk@hrsdc-rhdcc.gc.ca 

Media Relations Office 
Employment and Social Development Canada 
819-994-5559 
media@hrsdc-rhdcc.gc.ca 
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