The Canada Pension Plan (CPP) pays a monthly pension to people who worked and paid into it outside Quebec, plus benefits for people with a disability, surviving spouses and children. You can start your retirement pension as early as 60, and it goes up with the cost of living every January. For 2026 it rose by 2.0%.
Which payments arrive on the CPP date
Every type of CPP payment comes on the same day: retirement, disability, survivor’s and children’s benefits. The Old Age Security (OAS) pension and the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) are paid that day too. The Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit (the old GST/HST credit) comes on different dates.
Direct deposit arrives on the date in the calendar at the top of this page. Cheques are mailed during the last 3 business days of the month, so they can take longer. December is paid early.
How much CPP pays in 2026
Official 2026 monthly amounts. Maximums are for benefits starting in January 2026.
| Benefit | Average for new recipients | Maximum |
|---|---|---|
| Retirement pension (starting at 65) | $877.01 | $1,507.65 |
| Post-retirement benefit (at 65) | $25.76 | $54.69 |
| Disability benefit | $1,234.68 | $1,741.20 |
| Post-retirement disability benefit | $610.46 | $610.46 |
| Survivor’s pension (under 65) | $549.62 | $803.54 |
| Survivor’s pension (65 and over) | $339.36 | $904.59 |
| Children’s benefit (under 18, or full-time student 18 to 25) | $307.81 | $307.81 |
| Children’s benefit (part-time student 18 to 25) | $153.91 | $153.91 |
| Combined survivor’s and retirement (at 65) | $1,103.97 | $1,531.56 |
| Combined survivor’s and disability | $1,335.78 | $1,756.14 |
| Death benefit (one time) | $2,606.18 | $2,500, or $5,000 with the top-up |
Most people get far less than the maximum. It goes to people who earned at or above the yearly earnings limit ($74,600 in 2026) in most years from 18 to 65.
To see your own estimate, sign in to My Service Canada Account and check your Statement of Contributions against your T4 slips. Report mistakes early.
Who qualifies
- Retirement pension: you’re at least 60 and made at least one valid CPP contribution. You don’t have to stop working.
- Disability benefit: you’re under 65, made enough contributions, and have a severe and prolonged disability that stops you from working regularly.
- Survivor’s pension: you were the legal spouse, or common-law partner for at least 1 year, of a contributor who died.
- Children’s benefit: the child of a contributor who has died or gets the disability benefit, if the child is under 18 or a student aged 18 to 25.
- Quebec: Quebec workers are covered by the Quebec Pension Plan instead.
How to apply
The CPP retirement pension is not automatic for most people. You need to apply.
- Pick your start month. You can apply up to 12 months before it.
- Apply online in My Service Canada Account. You should get a decision within 28 days.
- Or mail the paper form ISP1000. A decision can take up to 120 days. You must use paper if you live outside Canada.
- If you stayed home with a child under 7, fill in the child-rearing section. It can raise your pension.
If you get the CPP disability benefit, it changes to a retirement pension automatically at 65. You don’t need to apply again.
When to start CPP: 60, 65 or 70
Starting early means a permanently smaller pension. Waiting means a bigger one.
| Start age | Change from your age-65 amount | If your amount at 65 is $877.01 |
|---|---|---|
| 60 | 36% less (0.6% for each month before 65) | about $561 |
| 65 | No change | $877.01 |
| 70 | 42% more (0.7% for each month after 65) | about $1,245 |
There’s no gain in waiting past 70. If you apply after 65, you can ask for up to 11 months of back payments, but never for months before you turned 65. If you apply at 65 or earlier, there are no back payments.
Using only these percentages, before inflation and taxes, starting at 65 instead of 60 pays more in total once you live past about 74. Starting at 70 instead of 65 pays more past about 82.
Starting early can suit people in poor health or with no other income. Waiting can suit people who are healthy, have savings, or want a bigger survivor’s pension for their spouse. If you change your mind, you can cancel within 12 months of starting, but you must pay back everything you received.
CPP and the GIS
If your income is low, this matters. CPP counts as income for the Guaranteed Income Supplement, but OAS does not. The CPP death benefit is also left out.
For a single person, GIS goes down by 50 cents for every $1 of other income. On income above $2,000, the GIS top-up goes down by another 25 cents per $1. So $300 a month of CPP ($3,600 a year) could lower a single person’s GIS by roughly $1,800 to $2,200 a year.
GIS is based on your income from the previous year, so a change in CPP shows up in your GIS later. If you expect to get GIS, get help comparing start ages before you apply. A free tax clinic or Service Canada can walk you through it.
Taxes on CPP
CPP is taxable, and no tax is taken off unless you ask, which can mean a bill in April. To have tax taken off each month, choose “Change my tax deductions” in My Service Canada Account, mail form ISP3520CPP, or call.
Early each year you get a T4A(P) slip if you live in Canada, or an NR4 slip if you don’t. People living outside Canada have non-resident tax taken off at 25% or less, depending on the country.
Sharing CPP with a spouse
If you live with your spouse or common-law partner and at least one of you gets a CPP retirement pension, you can share your pensions. Your combined total stays the same, but sharing can lower your taxes.
Apply with form ISP1002 or in My Service Canada Account. This is not the same as pension income splitting on your tax return. The post-retirement benefit can’t be shared. Sharing ends if you divorce, separate for 12 months, or one of you dies.
After a divorce or separation, you can ask to split the CPP credits you built up while living together (form ISP1901), if you lived together for at least 12 months in a row. Common-law partners must apply within 48 months of moving apart.
After a death: survivor’s pension and death benefit
If someone who paid into CPP has died, these are the steps.
- Tell Service Canada as soon as you can to avoid an overpayment.
- Apply for the survivor’s pension with form ISP1300 or online. If you’re 65 or older, you get 60% of the person’s retirement pension. Under 65, you get a flat amount plus 37.5% of it. Back payments are limited to 12 months, so don’t wait. It usually takes 6 to 12 weeks.
- Apply for the death benefit with form ISP1200 or online. It’s a one-time $2,500. A $2,500 top-up, for a total of $5,000, applies if the person never received a CPP retirement or disability pension and left no spouse who qualifies for a survivor’s pension. The executor should apply within 60 days of the death.
- Check the children’s benefit for any children under 18, or students aged 18 to 25.
A survivor’s pension continues if you remarry. If you already get CPP, the two are combined up to the limits in the table above. If you got a CPP credit split from January 2025 on, you can’t get a survivor’s pension from that same former spouse, unless you got back together for at least 12 months before the death.
What changed in 2026, and what’s coming in 2027
- 2.0% increase: all CPP payments went up 2.0% in January 2026 to keep up with inflation.
- January 2027 increase: the next increase is based on inflation up to October 2026. It isn’t known yet and normally comes out in late December.
- Lower contributions in 2027: the base CPP contribution rate drops from 9.9% to 9.5% (split between workers and employers) starting in 2027. This affects paycheques, not the pensions being paid now.
- 2027 dates: not posted yet. They’ll appear in the calendar above once published.
Payment late, missing or different?
Wait 5 to 10 business days after the payment date before you call. Cheques take longer than direct deposit. Then check these common causes:
- Your bank account closed or changed. Update it in My Service Canada Account.
- You moved and a cheque went to your old address.
- December is paid early, so the wait for January feels longer.
- Your amount changed because of the January increase, a new post-retirement benefit, or tax deductions you asked for.
Call CPP at 1-800-277-9914 (TTY 1-800-255-4786), Monday to Friday, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm local time. From outside Canada and the US, call collect at 1-613-957-1954. Have your Social Insurance Number ready.
Watch for scams. There is no “extra” CPP payment coming. Service Canada won’t ask for your SIN or banking details by text or email, and a request to pay by gift card, Bitcoin or wire transfer is always fake. Report scams to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501.
Other help you might be missing
- Old Age Security: a separate pension from 65, based on years lived in Canada.
- Guaranteed Income Supplement: extra monthly money for low-income OAS recipients. File your taxes every year.
- Allowance and Allowance for the Survivor: for low-income people aged 60 to 64 whose partner gets GIS or has died.
- Canada Disability Benefit: for people aged 18 to 64 approved for the Disability Tax Credit.
- Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit: quarterly payments for low and modest incomes.
- ODSP: in Ontario, people on CPP disability can qualify without a separate disability review.
Common questions
Is CPP disability paid on the same day as CPP and OAS?
Yes. CPP disability, the retirement pension, OAS and GIS all arrive on the same date each month.
Is there an extra CPP payment this year?
No. CPP pays once a month, and the only yearly change is the January inflation increase. Posts promising a bonus CPP payment are false, and some are scams.
Can I work while getting CPP?
Yes, and working won’t reduce your pension. If you’re under 70, you keep paying into CPP (it’s optional from 65 to 70), and each year of contributions adds a small post-retirement benefit for life.
Does CPP get clawed back?
CPP itself isn’t clawed back. But it counts as income, so it can lower your GIS and push you toward the OAS recovery tax if your income is high.
Can I get CPP if I move outside Canada?
Yes. CPP is paid to people living abroad, with non-resident tax of up to 25% taken off unless a tax treaty lowers it.
