The Old Age Security (OAS) and the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) programs are Canada’s public pensions programs. The OAS program is a residence based program which provides a minimum income to seniors to contribute to their income replacement in retirement. The CPP program is a mandatory, contributory, earnings-related social insurance program which provides partial income replacement for workers in Canada and their families in the event of retirement, disability or death.

Over the past decade, the availability and volume of personal information has increased at an incredible rate as information is constantly collected and disseminated through media such as television, newspapers, social media and publicly accessible databanks. Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) has received enquiries from employees relating to the collection of the personal information available on-line for use in the administration of Canada’s public pension programs ‒ the OAS and the CPP. As a result, ESDC developed, in consultation with a multitude of partners, an innovative policy instrument to guide employees on the collection and use of publically available information.