This guide covers the 2026 amounts, who qualifies, how the start age changes your payment, the remaining payment dates for 2026 and how to apply.

The short answer

You can get a CPP retirement pension from age 60 if you made at least one valid contribution. In 2026 the maximum at 65 is $1,507.65 a month, but the average new pension at 65 is $858.34. Starting before 65 cuts your payment by 0.6% for each month early, and waiting past 65 raises it by 0.7% a month, up to 42% more at 70.

You have to apply, and you can do it online. Payments arrive once a month on fixed dates, and tax is not taken off unless you ask.

Who qualifies for the CPP retirement pension

According to Service Canada, you qualify if you are at least 60 years old and have made at least one valid contribution to the CPP. Contributions come off your pay when you work in Canada outside Quebec and earn more than $3,500 a year. Employees working in Quebec are exempt from CPP contributions.

You do not have to stop working. Your pension is not reduced if you keep earning while you receive it.

How much CPP you can get in 2026

These are the official averages and maximums from Service Canada. The averages are for new pensions in July 2026. The maximums are for benefits starting in January 2026, and the page notes that maximums rise every month as the CPP enhancement phases in.

Source: CPP pensions and benefits monthly amounts, modified 2026-09-29. Retirement and post-retirement figures are for a start at 65, and senior survivors are 65 or older. Your own amount depends on your contribution record.

What sets your amount

Service Canada says your pension depends on three things: the age you start, how much and how long you contributed, and your average earnings over your working life. The pension has two parts.

• The base part is built from a 9.9% contribution rate, split between you and your employer. It can leave out up to 8 years of your lowest earnings.
• The enhanced part comes from the higher 11.9% rate introduced on January 1, 2019. It uses your best 40 years of earnings. This part grows the longer you contribute at the higher rate.
• Child rearing. Years with low or no earnings while caring for young children may be left out through the child-rearing provisions, which can raise your pension. You claim this on the application.
• Disability. Months on a CPP disability pension are excluded from the base part, and credited in the enhanced part. You do not need to apply for this.

Check your own estimate first

The quickest way to see your real number is the Statement of Contributions in My Service Canada Account. It shows your pensionable earnings for every year and an estimate of the pension you could get now. Compare each year with your T4 slips. If a year is missing or wrong, contact the CPP right away, because errors can lower your future pension. If you lived and worked only in Quebec, contact Retraite Québec instead.

When to start: 60, 65 or 70

The official rule is simple. Each month you start before 65 lowers your payment by 0.6%, up to 36% less at 60. Each month you wait after 65 raises it by 0.7%, up to 42% more at 70. There is no gain from waiting past 70. The change lasts for life.

The table below uses a hypothetical person whose pension would be $1,000 a month at 65. It shows the monthly amount at each start age and the total collected by 80 and by 90.

Hypothetical example in today’s dollars, before tax. It leaves out yearly cost-of-living increases and any new contributions, and assumes payments from your start birthday up to the month before your 80th or 90th birthday.

The break-even ages

Waiting means fewer payments, but each one is bigger. In this example, starting at 65 instead of 60 pulls ahead in total dollars at about age 74. Starting at 70 instead of 65 pulls ahead at about age 82. Starting at 70 instead of 60 pulls ahead at about 78.

Service Canada notes that starting early can suit people who need the money now or have little other income. Starting later can suit people in good health who expect a long life and have other income to live on.

CPP payment dates for the rest of 2026

CPP and Old Age Security share the same payment dates. The remaining dates in 2026 are October 28, November 26 and December 22. Direct deposit is faster than a mailed cheque.

If a payment does not arrive, the government asks you to wait 5 to 10 business days before contacting the program. You can check your payments in My Service Canada Account, or call the CPP line at 1-800-277-9914, Monday to Friday, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm local time. From outside Canada and the United States, call 1-613-957-1954.

How to apply for CPP

1. Pick your start date. You can apply up to 12 months before it. Applying early gives Service Canada time to process the file before your first payment.
2. Gather what you need. Your Social Insurance Number and your bank name, transit number and account number for direct deposit. If you lived or worked in another country, have the country, its insurance number and your dates there. For the child-rearing provisions, have each child’s name, SIN and date of birth.
3. Apply online. Sign in to My Service Canada Account, open the Canada Pension Plan section and choose “Apply for Canada Pension Plan retirement pension.”
4. Or apply by mail. Use form ISP-1000. If you live outside Canada, you must use the paper form and send it to the Service Canada office for your last province or territory of residence.
5. Watch for the decision letter. Expect a decision within 28 days for online applications and 120 days for paper ones. The letter shows your monthly amount and first payment date.

If you are already past 65, you can ask for a start date up to 11 months before the month Service Canada receives your application, but not earlier than the month after your 65th birthday. Any older months are lost, so do not wait years to apply.

Working while you collect CPP

According to the CRA, if you are 60 to 70, working and receiving a CPP pension, you must keep contributing. From 65, you can choose to stop. Employees use form CPT30, and self-employed people use Schedule 8 of their tax return. Contributions end at 70 in any case.

Each year you keep contributing earns a post-retirement benefit. You become eligible the following January, and you do not need to apply. It is paid for life on top of your pension. In 2026 the maximum at 65 is $54.69 a month and the average is $26.25.

What you pay in during 2026

Source: CRA and Service Canada contribution pages. Earnings between the two ceilings attract separate second additional contributions, not shown here.

For example, an employee earning $60,000 in 2026 pays 5.95% on the $56,500 above the exemption, which is $3,361.75. The employer pays the same. Running the same formula on the $74,600 ceiling gives $4,230.45, which matches the official maximum.

Taxes on your CPP pension

CPP is taxable income. If you live in Canada, tax is not automatically deducted from your payments. To avoid a bill at tax time, choose “Change my tax deductions” in My Service Canada Account or mail form ISP3520CPP. Your tax slip is available online early each year, or mailed in February. If you live outside Canada, non-resident tax of 25% or less is withheld, depending on your country.

Sharing your pension with a spouse

If you live with a legal spouse or common-law partner and at least one of you gets or has applied for a CPP pension, you can share your pensions. The total stays the same, but splitting it between you may lower your combined tax. The share depends on how many months you lived together during your joint contributory period. Sharing starts when approved and cannot be backdated. Apply in My Service Canada Account or with form ISP1002. The post-retirement benefit cannot be shared.

This is different from credit splitting, which divides the CPP credits you built up together after a divorce or separation. Credit splitting is permanent. For a separation, you must have lived together and then apart for at least 12 consecutive months each. For a common-law union, apply within 48 months of moving apart, unless your former partner agrees in writing to waive the limit.

CPP is only one part of public retirement income. Old Age Security and, for lower incomes, the Guaranteed Income Supplement are separate benefits with their own rules. Check how your CPP income affects each one when you plan your start date.

Frequently asked questions

• Sources, checked October 25, 2026: Canada Pension Plan overview (modified 2026-10-07); CPP monthly amounts (modified 2026-09-29); CPP retirement pension: Do you qualify (modified 2026-10-01); When to start your retirement pension (modified 2026-10-02); How much you could receive (modified 2026-10-13); Apply (modified 2026-10-14); After you apply (modified 2026-10-01); Benefit payment dates (modified 2026-08-07); Statement of Contributions (modified 2026-08-10); Post-Retirement Benefit: Apply (modified 2022-06-02); CRA: CPP contributions for working beneficiaries (modified 2026-01-20); Contributions to the CPP (modified 2026-08-03); CRA: CPP contribution rates, maximums and exemptions (modified 2025-10-31); Taxes on CPP and OAS (modified 2026-05-25); Sharing your CPP pension (modified 2025-06-18); CPP credit splitting (modified 2026-05-25); Contact CPP (modified 2026-07-23).
• Method: The start-age table and break-even ages were calculated by script for a hypothetical $1,000 pension at 65, using the official 0.6% and 0.7% monthly adjustments, and checked a second way by summing month-by-month payments. The same rules reproduce the official 36% and 42% limits, and the contribution formula reproduces the official $4,230.45 maximum.

Important: This guide is general information, not financial, tax or legal advice. Your CPP amount depends on your own contribution record, so check your Statement of Contributions before you decide when to start. Gizly is not affiliated with the Government of Canada. See our affiliate disclosure.