Benefits under the Québec Pension Plan

As of age 60, workers who made sufficient contributions can draw a retirement pension under the Québec Pension Plan and continue to work on a part-time or full-time basis.

You will not automatically receive your retirement pension under the Québec Pension Plan. You must file an application for your pension. When you decide to do so, access My Account to use a pre-completed form and benefit from personalized steps. You can apply for your retirement pension up to 12 months before the time you would like to receive your first payment.

If a worker applies for his or her retirement pension at age 65, it will replace between 25% to 33.33% of the average earnings on which he or she contributed. The rate varies based on the number of years during which the worker contributed to the additional plan, which was added to the basic plan when the enhancement to the Québec Pension Plan came into effect in 2019.

The maximum is  $1306.57 in 2023 and the amount is indexed each year.

Pensions are fully indexed each year as of the year following the first payment. The indexation rate is set according to the rise in the cost of living as established by Retraite Québec on the basis of information provided by Statistics Canada. Pension indexing ensures that beneficiaries maintain the same purchasing power. In 2023, for example, pensions under the Québec Pension Plan were increased by 6.50 %.

Pensions under the Québec Pension Plan are paid by cheque or direct deposit on the last working day of each month. See the payment dates for retirement pensions.

To give entitlement to survivors' benefits, the deceased must have contributed for at least one third of his or her contributory period, but never less than three years. The contributory period usually begins at age 18 or in 1966, when the Plan took effect, and it ends when the worker retires, dies or reaches age 70.

Therefore, if the deceased contributed to the Plan for 10 years, survivors' benefits can be paid to his or her survivors provided the eligibility requirements for each benefit are met.

A death benefit for a contributor who has made sufficient contributions to the Plan is $2500.

A surviving spouse's pension can be paid to the person who lived in a conjugal relationship with the deceased, provided the latter made sufficient contributions to the Plan. The conjugal relationship can be as either married or de facto spouses.

If the deceased was not married or was legally separated, the surviving spouse's pension is paid to the person who is deemed to be the de facto spouse. To be deemed to be a de facto spouse, you must have been living in a conjugal relationship for at least 3 years at the time of the death, unless a child was born or is to be born of your union, or the couple adopted a child or the surviving spouse adopted the child of the deceased spouse. In that case, you are required to have lived together for only one year.

The amount of the pension varies according to the following factors :

• the contributions your spouse made to the Québec Pension Plan
• your age
• whether you care for your spouse's dependent children
• whether you are disabled
• whether you are receiving a retirement or disability pension.

Consult the monthly amounts.

Until age 18, children of the deceased are entitled to an orphan's pension. The pension is indexed each year.

The maximum is $1537.13 in 2023 and is indexed each year.

Yes, it is possible, which is why it is important to contact Gouvernement du Québec  for information.