(Dreamstime)

By David Opinko

Seniors will receive T4As for CPP and OAS, despite what some have reportedly been told

Mar 25, 2022 | 12:13 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – Canadian seniors can rest easy knowing that they will in fact receive government-issued forms for their benefits and they can continue to collect those benefits.

LNN was contacted by a senior in Lethbridge this week who was concerned after talking to a local tax preparer.

“I spoke to someone at H&R Block and they said the Canada Revenue Agency isn’t mailing out CPP and OAS statements to seniors this year. I spoke to another person, a senior citizen whose taxes I do just as a service to a friend, who says she also heard from a tax preparer that they’re not sending them out this year.”

He was not given a reason for why this might be the case and was worried that he would have his Old Age Security (OAS) and Canada Pension Plan (CPP) benefits cut off or otherwise be in trouble for not being able to file his taxes on time.

“The law requires us to file by April 30, right? So if you’re not able to do that, you’re going to be penalized.”

What's Happening in Lethbridge this week: January 20-26, 2025

Jan 20, 2025

What's Happening in Lethbridge this week: January 6-12, 2025

Jan 07, 2025

What's Happening in Lethbridge this week: December 30 - January 5, 2025

Dec 30, 2024

LNN spoke with officials from both H&R Block and the federal government, both of whom told us that these forms are indeed being sent out through the mail – there’s just a slight delay.

Saskia Rodenburg, a spokesperson with Employment and Social Development Canada, says there was an issue back in August 2021 when Service Canda issued a One-Time Payment of $500 for Older Persons (OTP).

Approximately two percent of the 3.4 million recipients, or 67,797, were accidentally sent the wrong amount.

Service Canada officials then had to take corrective measures, which set the process of preparing tax forms back a little bit.

Rodenburg explains that “the majority of seniors were not sent erroneous tax slips, and received their correct tax slips before February 28; however, some are receiving their tax slips in the first couple of weeks of March. Every effort is being made to minimize delays and all seniors should receive their tax slips no later than the week of March 14.”

Yannick Lemay, Tech Training Specialist at H&R Block, says he is not aware of any employees telling customers that T4As were not being sent out and he is not sure why somebody would say that.

He adds that anyone who has not received their T4As in the mail yet should get them shortly, leaving them plenty of time to file their taxes before the end of April.

Either way, Lemay says the CRA has already received the necessary information from Service Canada so seniors should not have to worry about receiving CPP and OAS.

Canadians also have the option of viewing their tax slips online by creating a CRA account.