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Do you qualify

Eligibility requirements

To apply for the Canadian Dental Care Plan (CDCP), you must meet all four requirements.
    • your employer benefits or a family member’s employer benefits, including health and wellness accounts
    • your pension plan or a family member’s pension plan, including federal, provincial and territorial government employer pension plans
    • a professional or student organization, or
    • insurance purchased by you, a family member or through a group plan from an insurance or benefits company
  • This applies even if you decide not to take it, have to pay a premium for it, or do not use it.
    How employers and pension plan administrators report access to dental insurance

    If you receive a pension, look at box 015 on your T4A tax slip.

    • 1 in this box means you do not have access to dental insurance through your pension
    • 2, 3, 4, or 5 means you do have access to dental insurance.
      You are considered to have access even if you have to pay for it, don’t use it, or previously opted out but can opt back in

    If you are working, employers use the same codes (1-5) in box 45 of the T4 tax slip.

    Before you attest in your CDCP application or renewal that you do not have access to dental insurance, you should always check the code shown on your tax forms.

    If you apply for the CDCP and your T4 or T4A slip shows that you had access to dental insurance, you may be asked to provide proof that you are no longer covered. This may be required even if your situation has changed or if the information on your tax slip was incorrect.

    If your attestation is not accurate and it is determined that you have access to dental insurance, you will be removed from the plan and will have to repay any amounts claimed for services provided to you under the plan during the time you were not eligible.

    Exception: You may be eligible for the CDCP if you're retired and:
    • you opted out of your dental insurance or coverage through your pension plan before December 11, 2023, and
    • you cannot opt back in under the pension rules
  • What is an adjusted family net income?
    Your family net income (line 23600 of your tax return plus line 23600 of your spouse's or common-law partner's tax return)
    Minus any universal child care benefit (UCCB) and registered disability savings plan (RDSP) income received (line 11700 and line 12500 of your or your spouse's or common-law partner's tax return)
    Plus any UCCB and RDSP amounts repaid (line 21300 and line 23200 of your or your spouse's or common-law partner's tax return)
    equals adjusted family net income

If you have dental coverage through government social programs

If you have dental coverage through a provincial, territorial or federal government social program, you could still qualify for the CDCP. If you qualify, your coverage will be coordinated between the plans to make sure there are no duplication or gaps in coverage.

Eligibility review

To be eligible for coverage under the CDCP, applicants must attest in their application and when they renew that they do not have access to any private dental insurance or coverage.

If you provide false information on your application, you and your family may be removed from the plan. If you are found to be ineligible for the CDCP, you will be required to repay any amounts claimed for services provided to you under the plan.

The CDCP member eligibility review process allows us to verify the accuracy of these attestations by reviewing documentation, such as tax records (T4/T4A) submitted by employers or pension plan administrators, to demonstrate that CDCP members do not have access to dental coverage.

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