COVID-19: Retraite Québec remains close to its clients

In order to limit the spreading of COVID-19, Retraite Québec suggests that you use our online services or that you contact us by telephone or email instead of coming to our offices in person. 

We wish to remind you that you can send your forms or documents via our Sending a document online service, which is complementary to our online services and available at all times.

You can reach us by:   

• Telephone
• Email:
  • Québec Pension Plan
  • Family Allowance
  • Public-sector pension plans (RREGOP, PPMP, etc.)
  • Pension plans of the private, municipal and university sectors, VRSPs, LIRAs or LIFs.

Should you at any time require more information on our different services, follow us on social media, such as Facebook  and LinkedIn .

Given the exceptional circumstances that COVID-19 engenders, Retraite Québec recommends you contact us via our online services, or by telephone or email.

At our points of service, we must ensure that your state of health does not pose a threat to other clients or employees. Therefore, our employees will clean the counter space after responding to each client. If you decide to come to one of our offices in person, please read the government instructions and hygienic measures posted at the entrance.

We will also ensure that the service you request is an essential service.

You must respect the isolation period recommended by public health officials. To ensure the security and health of our clients and employees, you cannot show up at one of our points of service until your isolation period has ended.

Yes, waiting times may be longer given that our employees are also subject to government directives and certain employees may be affected by school and daycare closings or required to work remotely. Rest assured that we are taking the necessary steps to continue offering you the high-quality service you expect.

Despite the current situation, Retraite Québec wishes to confirm that payment of benefits will be maintained according to scheduled payment dates. There is no need to worry about the matter.

If you receive your benefits by cheque, why not sign up for direct deposit?

Rest assured that despite the current situation, Retraite Québec can confirm that it will ensure that the electronic payment of benefits is made on the scheduled payment dates.

However, if you receive your payment by cheque, it may not be delivered to you or it may arrive late, depending on your country of residence. Consult the list  of areas where mail delivery has been suspended or delayed.

Important! During the COVID-19 pandemic, sign up for direct deposit to receive your pension securely and on time.

Despite the current situation, the administrator of your supplemental pension plan must take the necessary steps to maintain your pension payments according to scheduled payment dates. If you have any questions regarding the matter, please contact the Direction générale des régimes complémentaires de retraite by telephone ou email.

In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, temporary easing measures have been implemented to assist administrators of supplemental pension plans. Once parliamentary proceedings resume, the measures may be subject to specific legislative provisions.

With regard to supplemental pension plans administered by Retraite Québec following the bankruptcy of your employer or an order or judgment rendered under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act, we wish to confirm that the payment of pensions will be made according to scheduled payment dates

Despite the current situation, Retraite Québec wishes to confirm that payments for Family Allowance, the Supplement for Handicapped Children and the Supplement for Handicapped Children Requiring Exceptional Care will be made according to scheduled payment dates. You do not have to worry about the matter.

If you receive your benefits by cheque, why not sign up for direct deposit?

Retraite Québec suggests that you file any new application for a pension or benefits online. If you require assistance, you can call us, and a member of our staff will assist you.

Following a change in your family situation (union, a change in or end of custody, etc.), you received a notice informing you of a change in your allowance, which can affect the amount to which you are entitled. Should you receive any overpayments, you will be required to repay them.

We understand that making repayments during the COVID-19 pandemic may be difficult. In order to ease the burden on your financial situation, note that you can contact Retraite Québec at any time to determine a repayment method and make an arrangement for repaying your debt.

Contact us by telephone.

The easing measure, which ensures that no penalties will be imposed or any interest charged to citizens who filed their income tax return or who paid their income taxes after the legal deadline of 30 April 2021, but prior to 31 May 2021 at the latest, could have an impact on the Family Allowance payment for those who have availed themselves of it.

If you are receiving the financial assistance, you will receive the Family Allowance annual notice by the end of June 2021. The notice will give you the amounts that you will receive from July 2021 to June 2022. The Family Allowance amounts indicated on the notice are based on certain criteria, in particular, if the information is available, your family income as entered on line 275 of your 2020 Québec income tax return.

If you have not yet filed your income tax return and the information regarding your family income is not yet available when we send your annual notice, we will adjust the amounts to which you are entitled once Revenu Québec has received the 2020 information regarding your family income and has sent it to Retraite Québec.

In addition, the Family Allowance payment that certain clients who availed themselves of the easing measure regarding the date on which they sent their income tax return could cease in July, in accordance with the usual procedure, which applies when Revenu Québec has not yet sent Retraite Quebec the information about the family income of these clients when calculating the amount of their Family Allowance payment. If this situation applies to you, once Revenu Québec has sent us the information regarding your family income for 2020, we will calculate and pay you the amounts to which you are entitled. If applicable, you will receive a new notice providing you with the information. You and your spouse must produce your income tax return by 31 May 2020 at the latest in order to obtain the amounts to which you are entitled.

We understand that making repayments during the COVID 19 pandemic may be difficult. In order to ease the burden on your financial situation, note that you can contact Retraite Québec at any time to determine a repayment method and make an arrangement for repaying your debt.

Contact us by telephone.

In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have implemented a temporary measure regarding voluntary retirement savings plans (VRSPs). Once parliamentary proceedings resume, the measure may be subject to specific legislative provisions.

The measure provides for a 3‑month extension of the deadlines granted to VRSP administrators to:

• have financial reports prepared;
• submit annual information returns (AIR) and the required documents to Retraite Québec.

Therefore, the deadline for VRSP administrators to submit the AIR as at 31 December 2019 to Retraite Québec has been extended to 30 September 2020.

For additional information, contact the Direction générale des régimes complémentaires de retraite by telephone or by email at rcr@retraitequebec.gouv.qc.ca. 

Yes.

Retraite Québec has taken all steps necessary to ensure applications are processed in due time. However, delays may be greater in cases where employees responsible for processing files are unable to make it to work. The time required for Retraite Québec to obtain additional medical documents from professionals in the health sector may also increase. The documents come from hospitals, medical clinics and other government agencies that are also facing the same challenges as Retraite Québec regarding the repercussions of COVID-19.

If the person processing your file is not isolated from work due to COVID-19, you can contact him or her. Should that person be absent, you will be informed via a message on his or her voicemail.

Retraite Québec suggests that you complete the form available on our website and mail it to us. Although our points of service have remained open, we recommend you use the postal service when filing applications; we also recommend you use the telephone or our website should you require any information. If you are required to respect the isolation period suggested by public health authorities, we ask that you do not go to one of our points of service to ensure the security of other clients and our employees.

No. The Incentive Program to Retain Essential Workers benefits are not considered employment earnings. Therefore, receiving benefits does not affect the amount of or your entitlement to a disability pension or the additional amount for disability under the Québec Pension Plan.

If you are receiving a disability pension or an additional amount for disability under the Québec Pension Plan and you would like more information on the Incentive Program to Retain Essential Workers, please contact Revenu Québec . 

Normally, payment of the disability pension ends when your total employment earnings for three consecutive months exceed the maximum allowable amount for that period ($4240 in 2021).

An administrative relief in place for the pandemic to be taken into account allows a beneficiary to earn employment earnings up $16 962 for 2021, regardless of the months during which those employment earnings were earned. This measure offers greater flexibility for workers who wish to take the opportunity to temporarily increase their employment earnings.

Therefore, in 2021, you can accrue employment earnings up to $16 962 without any consequence on your disability benefit under the Québec Pension Plan.

The administrative relief in place for the pandemic to be taken into account allows a beneficiary to earn employment earnings up $16 962 for 2021, regardless of the months during which those employment earnings were earned.

However, if your employment earnings for 2021 exceed $16 962 , that relief will not apply, and the usual rules will be observed. According to the usual rules, payment of the disability pension ends when your total employment earnings of three consecutive months exceed the amount allowed for that period ($4240 in 2021). Payment of the pension therefore ends in the last month of that period.

Example: The beneficiary of a disability pension earns $1300 per month from January to March and $1600 per month as of April 2021. Therefore, the first period of three consecutive months that exceeds $4240 is March, April and May ($4500 of employment earnings for those three months). Since that person earned more than $16 962 in 2021 ($17 400), the relief does not apply, and the last month for which the pension is payable will be May 2021. The amounts paid after that date will therefore have to be repaid.

If you are certain that your 2021 employment earnings will not exceed the annual allowable amount of $16 962 through the administrative relief, you do not have to notify Retraite Québec.

To avoid having to repay an amount to which you are not entitled, you must notify Retraite Québec if you believe that your 2021 employment earnings will exceed $16 962 . Retraite Québec will have to be notified as soon as you expect that your employment earnings for three consecutive months exceed the allowable amount of $4240 (which corresponds to an approximate average of $1413 per month).

You can file a new application for disability benefits. In addition, if less than 24 months after payment of your disability pension has ended, you can use the abridged form to file your new application. We will process your application on a priority basis and check whether we can quickly reinstate your pension payments.

Given the exceptional circumstances, we have eased the rules in effect regarding the maximum employment earnings for beneficiaries of a disability pension or the additional amount for disability. Therefore, in 2021, you can accrue employment earnings up to $16 962 without any consequence on your disability benefit under the Québec Pension Plan.

No. The benefits are not considered as employment earnings. Therefore, receiving one of the benefits will not affect the amount of or your entitlement to a disability pension or the additional amount for disability under the Québec Pension Plan.

If you are receiving a disability pension or an additional amount for disability under the Québec Pension Plan and you would like more information on the different benefits, please contact the federal government.

Should your appointment be cancelled, a Retraite Québec employee will notify you.

In order to have your appointment with a specialist cancelled, contact the person who sent you the letter informing you of your medical assessment. Do not call your physician directly to cancel your appointment. If you no longer have the name of the person who sent you the letter, please call an agent who will transfer you to the correct person.

Yes, it may be postponed. If so, an agent from Retraite Québec will contact you.

Retraite Québec may be required to cancel certain medical assessments. Should your assessment be cancelled, we will take all necessary action to rectify the situation and ensure that we can continue processing your application.