If you have contributed sufficiently to the Québec Pension Plan, you are entitled to a basic source of income when you retire. The amount of the pension depends on your age at retirement and the employment earnings on which you have contributed.
A retirement pension is a basic source of income that you can receive if you have contributed to the Québec Pension Plan. You can apply for it as early as age 60. However, the amount of the pension is lower if you start receiving it before 65, while it is increased if you start receiving it after 65.
Retirement Pension and Work
You do not have to stop working to apply for a retirement pension. The Québec Pension Plan provides for measures whereby you can receive a retirement pension while gradually working toward retirement.
Retirement Pension and Disability
If you receive a retirement pension and are deemed disabled by Retraite Québec in the first 6 months after payment begins, you can ask that it be cancelled in order to receive a disability pension instead. The amounts paid as a retirement pension would then have to be reimbursed.
If it is impossible for you to have the retirement pension cancelled, you may be entitled to the additional amount for disability.
Cancellation of a Retirement Pension
You can cancel your retirement pension within 6 months after payment begins. To do so, contact Retraite Québec and request cancellation in writing. The amounts received as a retirement pension must then be reimbursed.
Since the clientele and the conditions vary according to the service, the information is provided under each service.
The amount of the retirement pension is calculated on the basis of:
- the number of years you contributed to the Québec Pension Plan
- the employment earnings on which your contributions were paid
- your age when you start receiving your retirement pension
If you start receiving your retirement pension at age 65, the amount will correspond to about 25% of the monthly earnings on which contributions were made.
Payment of the retirement pension continues until death.
Pension for which payment begins at age 60 or over, but under 65
For persons born before January 1, 1954
If you start receiving your pension before age 65, it will be reduced by 0.5% for each month between the month of the first payment and the month when you turn 65 (a reduction of 6% for each full year). This means that the maximum reduction is 30%, for a pension starting in the month when the beneficiary turns 60. The reduction will apply for as long as the pension is paid.
For persons born on or after January 1, 1954
If you start receiving your pension before age 65, it will be reduced by an adjustment factor applied to each month between the month of the first payment and the month you turn 65. Depending on the year you retire and the amount of the pension, the reduction will range from 0.5% to 0.53% for a pension starting in 2014, from 0.5% to 0.56% for a pension starting in 2015, and from 0.5% to 0.6% for a pension starting in 2016.
Pension for which payment begins at age 65
The normal retirement age is 65. If you start receiving your retirement pension in the month when you turn 65, it is neither reduced nor increased.
Pension for which payment begins when you are over 65, but under 70
If you start receiving your pension after the month when you turned 65, it is increased by 0.7% for each month between the month you turned 65 and the month of the first payment, up to a maximum of 42% at age 70. The increase will apply for as long as the pension is paid.
Pension for which payment begins at age 70 or over
If you start receiving your pension at age 70 or later, it is increased by 42% over the amount you would receive if you started at 65. That is the maximum increase.
Maximum Monthly Amounts in 2017
| 60 |
64% |
$713.07 |
| 61 |
71,2% |
$793.29 |
| 62 |
78,4% |
$873.51 |
| 63 |
88% |
$980.47 |
| 64 |
94% |
$1,047.32 |
| 65 |
100% |
$1,114.17 |
| 66 |
108.4% |
$1,207.76 |
| 67 |
116.8% |
$1,276.04 |
| 68 |
125.2% |
$1,394.94 |
| 69 |
133.6% |
$1,488.53 |
| 70 and over |
142% |
$1,582.12 |
Start of Pension Payments
If you apply for your pension before you turn 65, payments will begin on the latest of the following dates:
- the month after you turn 60
- the month after your pension application is received
- the month specified in your pension application
Retroactive Payment
If you are over 65 and have not yet applied for a retirement pension, you could receive a retroactive pension. Retroactive payment can cover up to 12 months, but cannot extend to before your 65th birthday. Note that if you choose to receive retroactive payment you will forfeit the increase of 0.7% per month that normally applies when pension payments begin after age 65.
Tax Treatment
Your retirement pension is subject to income tax.
You can ask Retraite Québec to deduct income tax at source.
Indexation
The retirement pension is indexed annually.
Terms of Payment
The retirement pension is paid on the last working day of the month, by cheque or direct deposit.
Dates of Monthly Payments
In 2017, monthly payments of the retirement pension are made on the following dates:
| January 31 |
April 28 |
July 31 |
October 31 |
| February 28 |
May 31 |
August 31 |
November 30 |
| March 31 |
June 29 |
September 29 |
December 28 |
Retirement Pension and Other Income
A retirement pension from the Québec Pension Plan is not reduced if you also receive payments from another public or private plan. However, the amount of the pension is taken into account in the calculation of social assistance and social solidarity benefits, Employment Insurance benefits, and the Guaranteed Income Supplement. Contact the government departments and agencies concerned for more information.
Pension Sharing Between Spouses
To save on income tax, spouses can share their retirement pension under certain conditions. Pension sharing is calculated based on the number of years the spouses have been together and the number of years each has contributed. This means that for tax purposes, the pension is not necessarily divided equally between the spouses.
