CPP retirement pension: How much you could receive

How much you could receive

The amount of your CPP retirement pension depends on different factors, such as:

  • the age you decide to start your pension
  • how much and for how long you contributed to the CPP
  • your average earnings throughout your working life

For 2023, the maximum monthly amount you could receive as a new recipient starting the pension at age 65 is $1,306.57. The average monthly amount paid for a new retirement pension (at age 65) in January 2023 is $811.21. Your situation will determine how much you’ll receive up to the maximum.

You can get an estimate of your monthly CPP retirement pension payments by signing in to your My Service Canada Account.

If you don’t have an account, you can register for one. You’ll receive a personal access code to complete your registration.

The Canadian Retirement Income Calculator can also help you better understand your future financial security.

Canadian Income Retirement Calculator

Situations that can affect your pension amount

Other factors can also affect your pension amount. We’ll automatically consider them when we calculate your CPP retirement pension amount if you’ve provided all the required information in your application.

Working while receiving the CPP Retirement Pension

You’ll qualify for a CPP Post-retirement benefit if you work while receiving your CPP retirement pension while under age 70 and decide to keep making contributions.

Each year you contribute to the CPP will result in an additional post retirement benefit and increase your retirement income. We will 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.

Contributions after age 65

If you work after you turn 65 and have not yet started to receive your CPP retirement pension, your earnings after age 65 may be used to replace any periods of low earnings before age 65, if it would be to your benefit to do so. This may increase your pension amount. Your contributions will stop when you reach age 70, even if you’re still working.

Periods of low or no salary

You might have years of low or no earnings. We will automatically exclude up to 8 years of your earnings history with the lowest earnings when calculating the base component of your CPP retirement pension. This will increase the amount of your pension.

The enhanced component of the retirement pension is based on your contributions to the CPP enhancement. It’s calculated using your best 40 years of earnings. This will only affect you if you work and make CPP contributions after January 1, 2019.

Periods of raising children

The child-rearing provisions can help to increase your CPP benefits depending on your earnings during the period you were caring for your children under the age of 7. The provisions may also help you to qualify for other benefits.

Periods of disability

The months when you received a CPP disability payment will not be included in the calculation of the base component of a CPP benefit. This will increase your CPP retirement pension and may help you qualify for other benefits.

When calculating the enhanced component of the CPP (based on earnings in 2019 or after), we’ll give you a credit for the months you’re disabled before you started collecting your retirement pension. The value of the credit is based on your earnings in the 6 years before you became disabled.

Pension sharing

You can share your pension with your spouse/common-law partner. Pension sharing can lower your taxes in retirement by decreasing your taxable income.

Divorce or separation

Credit splitting allows your CPP contributions to be split equally between you and your spouse/common-law partner if you separate or divorce.

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