CPP Payment Dates 2024

Here’s the estimated average retirement income you can expect from the CPP in 2024:

Many individuals wonder whether or not it’s possible to maximize the CPP benefits that they receive. The answer to this question is technically “yes”—but it’s not always easy.

In order to maximize the amount of CPP retirement pension that you receive, you will have to make the maximum CPP contribution for many of your working years. The maximum CPP contribution amount is set out by the federal government and is re-evaluated every year. It’s referred to as the Year’s Maximum Pensionable Earnings, or YMPE. For 2021, the YMPE is set at $61,600.

However, in order to make the most out of your CPP benefits, you would need to have been making the YMPE for several years in a row. You will also need to avoid any years of unemployment.

Worried that you’re not getting enough out of your standard CPP benefits? Fortunately, there are some other types of CPP benefits that you can look into as well:

CPP post-retirement benefit

If you are under the age of 70 and continue to work while you’re receiving your CPP pension, you may be eligible for the CPP post-retirement benefit. Any contribution that you make during this time will be paid to you in your CPP pension once you fully retire.

When you’re 65, the government gives you the option of stopping your CPP post-retirement benefit contributions. Regardless of whether or not you stop working at age 70, your contributions to the post-retirement benefit programs stop.

CPP disability pension

This post-retirement benefit is another option for Canadians who are living with a disability. However, those eligible to receive it should take note that it’s not possible to receive both your CPP payments at the same time as your CPP disability pension. Instead, the federal government will automatically change your CPP retirement pension into a CPP disability pension when you turn 65.

CPP post-retirement disability benefit

If you are under 65 years of age and receiving the CPP retirement pension, you may be eligible for the CPP post-retirement disability benefit. In order to qualify, you will need to have a severe and long-term disability. You will also need to have made enough CPP contributions in order to qualify. This benefit is not applied automatically—it must be applied for.

Children’s benefit

If you are receiving CPP benefits and have a dependent child, you may be eligible for the children’s benefit. In order to qualify as a dependent, the child must be under the age of 18 (or 25 if they’re attending school).

CPP survivor’s pension

In the event that a CPP contributor passes away, their legal partner will receive their CPP contributions. In order to qualify, the recipient must either have been legally married to the deceased contributor or have been recognized as common-law. For these purposes, a common-law partner is a person of either the same or opposite sex who has lived together in a conjugal relationship for one year or more. This benefit may also be available to separated legal spouses in certain cases.

Death benefit

The death benefit differs from other CPP benefits in that it is a one-time payment. It is paid out to eligible individuals (or to the estate) when a CPP contributor passes away.

Applying for CPP benefits is easy and consists of the following steps:

1. Determine your eligibility. In order to receive CPP benefits, you must be at least 60 years of age and have made at least one valid contribution. A contribution usually comes as a result of work that you performed in Canada, but can also come from benefiting from the work that a former spouse/common-law partner did.

2. Determine when the benefits should start. Depending on your situation, you may choose to either start receiving your pension on the date of your first eligibility, or once you turn 65.

3. Submit an application. In some cases, such as if you live outside of Canada, are making your application through a power-of-attorney, or have a denied CPP benefit in your history, you will have to send in a paper application. In other cases, you can apply online through your My Service Canada (MSC) account. If you don’t have an MSC account, you can register for one.

4. Keep an eye on your application status. If you applied for CPP benefits online, you can log into your MSC account to look for updates on your application. Otherwise, you’ll have to contact CPP directly.

There are often many questions over when you should apply for CPP, and whether or not there are advantages to when you apply.

For most Canadians, it makes sense to start your pension at the age of 65. However, you do have the option of receiving your benefit as young as 60 or as late as 70. Note, though, that if you do decide to receive your pension at a younger age, the monthly amount that you’ll receive will be lower. Likewise, if you push off your payments until a later date, you will receive larger monthly payments.

There isn’t any advantage to pushing your payments back past the age of 70. Once you reach age 70, you will max out the amount of monthly payments that you are eligible to receive.

If you make your CPP application after turning 65, you may be able to receive some retroactive payments. These payments can go up to 11 months.

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has already set out the upcoming contribution limits for the year 2022. Earlier we mentioned that the maximum earning level was $64,900 annually—this has now been increased to $66,600.

The employee/employer contribution rates are also rising. They were previously 5.70%, and they will now be 5.95%. The self-employed contribution rate was previously 11.4%, but now it’s 11.9%.

It is common to be confused about the difference between CPP and OAS. While CPP is a benefit pension plan, it’s not technically part of government assets. It is funded by the contributions of Canadians and their Canadian employers.

OAS, however, is government-funded. This means that it will not be deducted from paycheques. It stands for Old Age Security and is paid out to Canadians who meet certain citizenship and residency requirements. First payments can be received one month after turning 65.

The CPP is a useful benefit, and if you’re approaching retirement age it’s worth your while to research as much as possible about how this benefit can affect you. This includes knowing when the best time to start collecting this benefit will be, as well as how much you can expect from your pension payments. Happy retirement!