Understanding Your CPP, QPP and OAS Pension Benefits

Canadian Retirement Income

Government pension programs give Canadians a source of reliable retirement income, even if they were unable to consistently save on their own. Despite being reluctantly received when they were first created, most Canadians count on government pensions as a valuable part of their retirement.

Depending on where you live and your unique circumstances throughout your life, understanding your pension options can be challenging. Today Keith is joined by his colleague, Edmond Fhima, to discuss the Canadian Pension Plan (CPP), Quebec Pension Plan (QPP) and Old Age Security (OAS).

Edmond Fhima is a licensed financial planner at Tulett, Matthews & Associates and he’s been in the financial industry for over 30 years as a licenced fee-only financial planner. Edmond currently provides clients with advanced strategies for estate planning, insurance planning, cash flow and debt management, tax planning, investment planning as well as retirement planning.

In this episode, Edmond and Keith talk about how CPP, QPP and OAS work, the history of these programs and recent reforms, what you need to consider when deciding when to take your pension benefits, retirement age in Canada, how survivor, disability and orphan benefits are calculated, and so much more!

Thank you for listening!

Pension Programs in Canada

• Welcome Edmond (0:39)
• The unique way Edmond’s practice works (1:29)
• How CPP and QPP work (3:11)
• Why pensioners receive different amounts in CPP/QPP payments (4:38)
• What is OAS? (5:39)
• The history of Canadian pension programs (7:01)
• How to make CPP/QPP contributions (9:53)
• The forced savings aspect of CPP/QPP contributions (11:09)
• Major reforms to CPP and QPP contribution amounts in recent years (12:07)
• Considerations for deciding the age to start receiving your CPP/QPP benefits (16:08)
• How an advisor can help you when it comes to your CPP/QPP pension (18:00)
• The extra protection you gain by deferring your CPP/QPP pension (20:11)
• Qualification criteria for receiving survivor benefits work (22:10)
• Disability benefits under the CPP/QPP and how they impact your pension at retirement (23:54)
• Who is eligible to receive an orphan benefit (25:07)
• The latest CPP/QPP reforms to enhance retirement benefits (26:25)
• Qualification criteria for OAS (30:42)
• Why you might want to defer your OAS pension (31:53)
• What you need to know about income testing under OAS (32:54)
• Our main takeaways about CPP, QPP and OAS (36:10)
• And much more!