If you move, you can notify the Régie des rentes du Québec of your change of address using the Service québécois de changement d'adresse. Through this service, you can notify several government departments and agencies of your new address at the same time.
If you wish to communicate your new address to the Régie des rentes du Québec only, other options are also available.
The disability benefits paid by the Régie des rentes du Québec are the following:
- the disability pension;
- the pension for a disabled person's child;
- the additional amount for disability intended for retirement pension beneficiaries.
A disability pension may be paid to a person under 65 who has a severe and permanent disability preventing him or her to work. To be entitled to a disability pension, the person must have contributed sufficiently to the Québec Pension Plan.
Being recognized as disabled by an insurance company does not automatically entitle a person to receive a disability pension from the Régie. The disability must be recognized by the Régie.
Contribution to a plan
The plan to which a person contributes (the Canada Pension Plan or the Québec Pension Plan) depends on where the person works, not where the person lives. A person working in Québec contributes to the Québec Pension Plan; a person working in another province or a territory contributes to the Canada Pension Plan.
A person working as a member of the Canadian Forces or the Royal Canadian Mounted Police is subject to the Canada Pension Plan, even if the person’s place of work is in Québec.
Person who has worked in Canada outside Québec
A person who leaves Québec to move to another province or a territory of Canada retains the full value of the contributions paid to the Québec Pension Plan.
A person from another province or a territory who moves to Québec after contributing to the Canada Pension Plan retains the full value of the contributions paid to that Plan.
In both cases, if the person becomes disabled, his or her disability benefits will be calculated taking into account the contributions paid to both the Québec Pension Plan and the Canada Pension Plan.
However, contributions cannot be transferred from one plan to another. The person’s last place of residence in Canada determines which plan will pay benefits.
Person who has contributed to both plans
A person who has contributed to both plans and who lives in Québec at the time of filing an application will receive benefits from the Québec Pension Plan.
A person who has contributed to both plans and who lives in Canada outside Québec at the time of filing an application will receive benefits from the Canada Pension Plan.
Person who has contributed to only one of the plans
A person who has contributed to only one of the plans will receive benefits from that plan, regardless of where the person lives in Canada.
Since the clientele and the conditions vary according to the service, the information is provided under each service.
The monthly amount of a disability pension comprises a basic amount plus a variable amount determined based on the person’s employment earnings before he or she became disabled.
Basic monthly amount at January 1, 2013: $453.49
Maximum monthly amount at January 1, 2013: $1,212.87
A disability pension is payable from the 4th month following the month in which a person is declared disabled by the Régie des rentes du Québec (waiting period).
The children of a person who is granted a disability pension are entitled to a pension, provided they are under 18 and that they have been living with the disabled person for at least one year.
Payments
Pensions are paid by direct deposit or by mail (in Québec and in the United States) on the last day of the month or on the first working day preceding the last day of the month if it falls on a Saturday, a Sunday or a statutory holiday. In 2013, pensions will be paid on
- January 31;
- February 28;
- March 28;
- April 30;
- May 31;
- June 28;
- July 31;
- August 30;
- September 30;
- October 31;
- November 29;
- December 30.
Indexation
The amount of the pension received by a beneficiary increases each year based on the Consumer Price Index for Canada.
Tax treatment
Disability pensions are subject to income tax.
Retirement pension and disability benefits
A person under 65, who receives a retirement pension under the Québec Pension Plan, can receive disability benefits if he or she becomes disabled.
A beneficiary who has been receiving a retirement pension for less than 18 months and who proves that he or she has become disabled no later than 6 months after the first payment of his or her retirement pension can cancel the retirement pension to receive a disability pension. Any retirement benefits already received will have to be repaid.
If the Régie considers that the beneficiary became disabled after that six-month period, he or she could be eligible to receive an additional amount for disability. The additional amount for disability is a set monthly amount that is indexed in January of each year and added to the beneficiary's retirement pension.
Disability benefits are paid until the person turns 65. If the person is receiving a disability pension, it is automatically replaced by a retirement pension at age 65; no application is required.
Income replacement indemnity of the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec
Special rules apply to the payment of a disability pension if a person is receiving an income replacement indemnity from the Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec.
