If you contributed to the Québec Pension Plan, you may be entitled to a retirement pension from the Régie des rentes du Québec when you retire. The pension amount depends on several factors, including retirement age and the contributions paid into the plan.
You may receive a retirement pension from the Régie as of age 60 if you have stopped working, are considered to have stopped working, or have signed an agreement with your employer to reduce your work time with a pay reduction of at least 20%.
Procedure
To apply for a retirement pension under the Québec Pension Plan, you must use the Régie des rentes du Québec online services or complete the Application for a Retirement Pension and mail it to the Régie.
Note
For more information on retirement, consult the electronic guide Prendre sa retraite. (French only)
Anyone who has contributed to the Québec Pension Plan may be eligible to receive a retirement pension from the Régie des rentes du Québec when he or she retires. The amount of the pension depends on several factors, including age at retirement and the employment earnings on which the person paid contributions to the Plan.
A person can start receiving a retirement pension from the Régie as early as age 60 if the person has stopped working, is deemed to have stopped working or has signed an agreement with his or her employer to take a pay reduction of at least 20% in view of retirement.
Contribution to the 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.
However, 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 outside Canada
Québec has social security agreements with several countries. Under these agreements, a person or the person’s spouse who has worked in another country could be entitled to a retirement pension from that country. Receiving a pension from another country in no way reduces the pension paid under the Québec Pension Plan.
Person who has worked elsewhere in Canada
A worker 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 worker 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, when the worker retires, his or her retirement pension will be calculated on the basis of the contributions paid to the Québec Pension Plan and to the Canada Pension Plan.
However, contributions cannot be transferred from one plan to the other. The last place of residence in Canada will determine under which plan the person receives a pension.
Worker who has contributed to both plans
If the person lives in Québec on the date of application for a retirement pension, the person will receive benefits under the Québec Pension Plan.
If the person lives outside Québec, but in Canada, on the date of application for a retirement pension, the person will receive benefits under the Canada Pension Plan.
Worker who has contributed to only one of the plans
A person who has contributed to only one of the plans will receive benefits under 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.
Calculation of the retirement pension
The amount of the retirement pension is calculated on the basis of the pensionable employment earnings recorded under the contributor’s name since 1966 or since the contributor’s 18th birthday if it was after December 31, 1966. However, a certain number of months in which pensionable earnings were at their lowest may be excluded from the contributory period, thereby increasing the amount of the pension.
The amount of the pension is calculated at the time retirement is taken and varies thereafter based solely on:
- the annual indexation of pensions;
- the addition of a retirement pension supplement calculated based on new contributions paid by the pension beneficiary who continues to work after having started receiving a retirement pension.
Variation in the amount of the retirement pension according to the age of the beneficiary
The amount of a retirement pension depends on the age of the person when he or she retires. The amount of the pension is higher if payment of the pension begins after the person's 65th birthday than if it begins before.
Before age 65
If a person starts receiving his or her pension before the age of 65, the pension will be reduced by 0.5% for each month between the date on which payment begins and the date of the 65th birthday (a reduction of 6% for each year). Therefore, the maximum reduction is 30% for a pension paid as of the beneficiary's 60th birthday. The reduction will apply for as long as the pension is paid.
Note
For retirement pensions beginning on January 1, 2014 or after, the reduction will depend on the year in which the person retires. It will also vary based on the amount of the pension, remaining around 0,5% for a person receiving a small pension and gradually increasing to 0,6% for a person receiving the maximum pension. Individuals born before January 1, 1954 will not be affected by this change.
At age 65
The normal retirement age is 65. If a person starts receiving a retirement pension in the month of his or her 65th birthday, the pension is neither reduced nor increased. In addition, the person can receive a retirement pension while continuing to work.
After age 65
If a person starts receiving a retirement pension after the month of his or her 65th birthday, the pension is increased by 0.7% for each month between the 65th birthday and the month in which payment of the pension begins. This increase applies for as long as the pension is paid.
There is no increase in the retirement pension as of the age of 70. If a person starts receiving a retirement pension at age 70 or later, the pension is increased by 42% (8.4% X 5 years) compared to the amount that would have been payable at age 65. That is the maximum increase.
Maximum monthly amounts in 2013 (for new retirement pension beneficiaries)
| 60 |
70% |
$708.75 |
| 61 |
76% |
$769.50 |
| 62 |
82% |
$830.25 |
| 63 |
88% |
$891.00 |
| 64 |
94% |
$951.75 |
| 65 |
100% |
$1,012.50 |
| 66 |
108.4% |
$1,097.55 |
| 67 |
116.8% |
$1,182.60 |
| 68 |
125.2% |
$1,267.65 |
| 69 |
133.6% |
$1,352.70 |
| 70 and over |
142% |
$1,437.75 |
Retroactive retirement pension
A person over 65, who has not yet applied for a retirement pension, can receive a retroactive pension as of the month following the one in which he or she has stopped working. Retroactive payments cannot exceed 60 months or begin before the person's 65th birthday. However, a person cannot receive both the retroactive payment and the increase of 7% each month for the same period.
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.
Retirement pension and other income
Benefits payable under the Québec Pension Plan are never reduced because the beneficiary is receiving payments under another public or private plan.
However, the amount of the retirement pension is taken into account in calculating the amount of social assistance and social solidarity benefits, Employment Insurance benefits and the Income Security Supplement. Individuals should contact the government departments and agencies concerned for information.
Indexation
The amount of the pension received by a beneficiary increases each year based on the Consumer Price Index for Canada.
Tax treatment
Retirement pensions are subject to income tax.
Conditions of payment
The pension is paid monthly either by cheque or by direct deposit in Québec and the United States. (It can also be paid every six months if the beneficiary so requests.)
Pension payment dates in 2013
Pensions are paid 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. Payment dates in 2013 are as follows:
- January 31;
- February 28;
- March 28;
- April 30;
- May 31;
- June 28;
- July 31;
- August 30;
- September 30;
- October 31;
- November 29;
- December 30.
