mark for short-term and immediate elders. The 10-year mark represents the point at which the
vast majority of immigrants have accumulated ten years of residency in Canada and, thus,
become eligible for OAS.33 Since the dates which immigrants landed in Canada were distributed
across the year, the start date for receiving benefits will also be distributed over the full first year.
Consequently, the average amount of benefits received by this group is much lower than the fullyear
benefits they receive in the following year. It is likely that the large share of individuals who
became eligible to receive only part-year benefits in the tenth year caused the temporary fall in
average benefits. The dramatic increase in incidence combined with the low level of initial
benefits appeared as a trough in the annual average benefits received by the immigrant cohort at
the ten-year mark.