How much you could receive
How we calculate your CPP payment
The amount of your Canada Pension Plan (CPP) retirement pension depends on different factors, such as:
- Age: at what age you start receiving your pension
- Contributions: how much and for how long you contributed to the CPP
- Average earnings: your earnings throughout your working life
Maximum and average payment amounts
The maximum and average CPP amounts are not guaranteed. Your actual CPP pension may be different depending on your contribution history and when you start collecting.
| Maximum CPP pension at age 65 (January 2025) | $1,433.00/month |
|---|---|
| Average CPP pension at age 65 (October 2024) | $899.67/month |
Estimate your pension amount
To get an accurate estimate for your CPP retirement pension, start with your Statement of Contributions.
Statement of Contributions
Your Statement of Contributions provides:
- a detailed record of your CPP contributions and pensionable earnings
- an estimate of your CPP pension amount if you’re eligible to receive it now
This statement is essential for understanding the CPP pension available to you and planning your retirement effectively.
Canadian Retirement Income Calculator
After reviewing the Statement of Contributions, you can use the Canadian Retirement Income Calculator (CRIC) to help you assess your future income from various sources.
Situations that can affect your pension amount
Other factors can also affect your pension amount. We will automatically consider them if you’ve provided the required information in your application.
Working while receiving the CPP Retirement Pension
You qualify for a CPP post-retirement benefit if you’re:
- under age 70
- working while receiving your pension, and
- still making contributions
How the CPP post-retirement benefit works
- Each year you contribute to the CPP will result in an additional post-retirement benefit which will increase your retirement income
- We’ll automatically pay you this benefit the following year
- You’ll receive it for the rest of your life
You can choose to stop your post-retirement contributions when you reach age 65. Your contributions will stop when you reach age 70, even if you’re still working. We will contact you if we need more information for you to qualify.
Divorce or separation
Credit splitting allows you to split your CPP contributions equally between you and your spouse/common-law partner if you separate or divorce.
Periods of low or no earnings
If you have years of low or no earnings, we can maximize your CPP pension by:
- excluding up to 8 years of your lowest earnings (when calculating the CPP base component )
- using your best 40 years of earnings (when calculating the CPP enhanced component )
Contributions after age 65
If you work after age 65 and haven’t started your CPP pension, we may use those earnings to replace any low-earning periods before age 65. We will only include these earning if it increases your pension amount. Your contributions will stop when you reach age 70, even if you’re still working.
Periods of raising children
You may have taken time off from work or worked less to look after young children. If you had low or no earnings during that time, the child-rearing provisions may increase the amount of your CPP retirement pension. They may also help you qualify for other CPP benefits.
Periods of disability
If you received a CPP disability pension, we can maximize your CPP pension by:
- excluding the months you received a disability pension (when calculating the CPP base component)
- including credits for the time you were disabled, worth 70% of your average earnings from the 6 years before you became disabled (when calculating the CPP enhanced component)
This protects the value of your benefits from the months you had a lower income while receiving the CPP disability pension. It will increase your retirement pension as well as your spouse or common-law partner's survivor's pension. It may also help you qualify for other benefits. We will do this based on information we already have. You do not need to apply.
Pension sharing with your spouse/common-law partner
You can share your CPP retirement pension with your spouse/common-law partner. Pension sharing can lower your taxes in retirement by decreasing your taxable income.
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