Review Tribunals for the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) came into being on December 31, 1991. On January 1, 1997 the OCRT was also entrusted with appeals under the Old Age Security Act and began issuing Old Age Security (OAS) decisions early in 1998.
Review Tribunals were created to provide a body independent from government to make determinations about eligibility for persons claiming CPP and OAS benefits that had previously been denied.