Can Canadians Retire Abroad? The History of Pension Portability in Canada.

The article focuses on the evolution of Canada’s pension system and its role in constructing national belonging through eligibility and residency requirements. Since its inception in 1927, the Canadian pension system shifted from citizenship-based eligibility to residency and economic contribution criteria, reflecting neoliberal values. While contributory pensions like the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) are fully portable internationally, the universal Old Age Security (OAS) pension requires at least 20 years of Canadian residency for portability, and the means-tested Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) imposes stricter residency rules, limiting recipients—especially poorer, racialized immigrant seniors—from living abroad for more than six months annually. This creates inequalities in mobility and reliance on kin care, as illustrated by interviews with older Ghanaian Canadians who navigate complex transnational living arrangements to maintain pension benefits. The system thus simultaneously reduces poverty among older adults and generates new social and geographic inequalities tied to economic contributions rather than citizenship or ancestry.