RREGOP covers regular and casual, full-time and part-time employees in the Québec public service, the education sector and the health and social services sector.
Membership in the Gouvernment and Public Employees Retirement Plan (RREGOP) is mandatory for all employees subject to the plan can accrue a maximum of 40 years of credited service, excluding any years for which you acquired a pension credit or paid-up annuity. Note that even if you have not accrued 40 years of credited service, you will no longer be able to continue to contribute to RREGOP after 30 December of the year in which you turn 71.
To find out more about the details of your membership, consult your Statement of Participation online in My Account.
Years of service recognized for calculation purposes are the years that will be used to calculate the amount of the basic pension to which you will be entitled when you retire. They are your years of participation in the pension plan.
In order to accrue a complete year of service for the calculation of your pension, you must work full-time throughout the year and have no periods of absence without pay.
If you work part-time, at the end of each year, RREGOP recognized part of a year of service for calculation purposes. The part of the year is determined based on the percentage that represents the number of hours you worked in relation to the percentage of a person in an equivalent position on a full-time basis, excluding overtime.
Years of service recognized for eligibility purposes refers to the years that will be used to determine your eligibility for a pension, that is, the total of the following years:
One year of service corresponds to a calendar year, that is, from 1 January to 31 December and usually consists of 260 working days, that is, 5 days per week for 52 weeks. However, for most teachers, the years of service are generally calculated on a 200-day basis.
An incomplete year of service for the calculation of a pension can be recognized as a full year to be eligible for a pension for persons who were members of RREGOP on 1 January 2000 or have become members since that date. This provision (condition) applies to years of service since 1 January 1987.
Under the provision (condition), within certain limits provided for under the Income Tax Act, under RREGOP, you will be recognized a full year of service for eligibility to a pension if, during a given year, you are in one of the following situations:
Note that for the first and last year of participation, service recognized for eligibility purposes cannot exceed the number of days inclued from the date on which membership started until 31 December or from 1 January until the date on which membership ended.
Example
Lewis works part-time. In 2025, he works 17.5 hours a week, or 50% of the time of an equivalent full-time position with a 35-hour work week.
At the end of the year, RREGOP recognized Lewis one-half year of service for the calculation of a pension, and a full year of service for eligibility for a pension.
If certain incomplete years of service have not been recognized under your plan following periods of abscence without pay, we will automatically add the number of days corresponding to the absences to those years, up to 90 days, which is what we call the 90-day bank.
If the days of absence occurred prior to 1987, they will be recognized fully for the purposes of the calculation of the pension for the eligibility to benefits. The days of absence that occurred after 1987 are already recognized for eligibility purposes. Note that years of service may be incomplete for reasons such as a period of absence without pay that you have not bought back.
For years of service completed since 1 January 2011, only days of absence without pay related to parental leaves can be offset by the 90-day bank.
In , the contribution rate under RREGOP is %.
If your pensionable salary is less than or equal to 35% of the maximum pensionable earnings (MPE) multiplied by your credited or harmonized service, you do not have to pay any contributions. A pensionable salary is the salary used for pension calculation purposes. Credited service is used if your basis of remuneration is 200 days, while harmonized service is used if your basis of remuneration is 260 days.
If your pensionable salary is more than 35% of the MPE multiplied by your credited or harmonized service, your contributions will be calculated on the portion of your pensionable salary that exceeds 25% of the MPE multiplied by your credited or harmonized service. In , since the MPE is $, your contributions are calculated on the portion of your pensionable salary that exceeds $ ($ x 25%) multiplied by your credited or harmonized service.
In addition, if your pensionable salary is less than the MPE ($ in ) multiplied by your credited or harmonized service, your contributions will be reduced.
| % | ×Pensionable salary - ($ × credited or harmonized service)] | −Reduction | =Contributions |
If you work part-time, your contributions are calculated using the same formula. In that case, your exemption is determined based on the ratio between the hours you worked and the full-time schedule for an equivalent position.
You do not have to contribute to your pension plan while you are eligible to receive salary insurance benefits under a compulsory plan, including any waiting period required before payment of the benefits can start. The waiting period corresponds to the number of working days between the date on which you are deemed to be disabled under your working conditions and the date on which payment of your salary insurance benefits begins. The contributions that you would normally have to pay are credited to you as though you had paid them. As a general rule, your rights under the plan will remain the same during that period.
The same exemption (non-payment) applies if you are receiving benefits from the Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec, the Commission des normes, de l'équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail or under the Québec Pension Plan while you are eligible to receive salary insurance benefits depending on your working conditions.
The maximum exemption (non-payment) period is three years. Note that you will be exempt from contributions for three years even if your employer severs your employment ties after a two-year disability period. Under certain conditions, that period can exceed three years.
Your retirement pension is calculated based on your number of years of service credited when you retire. If you are entitled, you could buy back certain periods of service or absence without pay that were not credited to you under your pension plan. As a result, the amount of your retirement pension could increase. Only the buy-back of certain periods of service or absence could allow you to retire earlier. If you have days of absence that can be bought back, they can be found in the Days of absence that can be bought back section on your Statement of Participation.
Buy-backs of periods of absence and service accrued as a casual employee may increase your number of years of service recognized under RREGOP. The periods that are bought back are used both to determine your eligibility for a pension and to calculate its amount.
Since 1 January 1988, all casual employees in the education, public service and health and social services sectors working on a part-time or full-time basis have been covered by public-sector pension plans. It is no longer necessary to buy back periods of service accrued as casual employees because those employees have already made contributions to their pension plan.
The periods during which you were self-employed cannot be considered periods of service accrued as a casual employee for the purpose of a buy-back.
A period of absence without pay must meet all the following conditions:
To buy back a period of service or a period of absence without pay, you must have held a position covered by RREGOP with your employer during that period.
When you work part-time, you must have held a position only for the days planned in your work schedule. Therefore, since there are no employment ties with your employer on the days that are not planned in your work schedule, you cannot buy them back.
Example
Gerry works part-time, that is, three days a week (Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays). Since he works for his employer for only three days a week, he cannot buy back the period that corresponds to the other two days of the week (Thursdays and Fridays) because they are not included in his work schedule.
If Gerry were absent without pay during the days included in his work schedule (Mondays, Tuesdays or Wednesdays), he would have the right to buy back those days of absence without pay.
You must file your application for a buy-back while you are still a member of your pension plan. As a rule, you can no longer buy back periods of service or absence without pay once you leave your employment, even if you leave to retire.
To find out the number of days of absence that can be bought back, consult your Statement of Participation online in My Account in the Days of absence that can be bought back section.
If you would like to file an application for a buy-back, you must complete and send us one of the following applications, or both of them, depending on your situation:
To find out which of the above-mentioned applications must be filed based on the type of period to buy back, please consult the section entitled "The most common buy-backs", above.
If the study of your file shows that the periods in question can be bought back, we will send you a buy-back proposal, which you can accept or reject. The proposal will indicate the cost and payment terms of the buy-back, and will be valid for 60 days.
If your application is incomplete, we will return the documents to you. You must then send us your complete application once again so that we can process it.
Under the provisions (conditions) of your plan, up to 90 days can be automatically added at no cost to your years of service to offset certain periods of absence. This is what we call the 90-day bank. Those days are automatically recognized when Retraite Québec determines whether you are entitled to a retirement pension.
| Periods of absence Voir la Note 1 completed by the 90-day bank | |
|---|---|
| Before 1 January 2011 | After 31 December 2010 |
| Any period of absence without pay Voir la Note 5 | Any period of absence without pay related to a parental leave |
When Retraite Québec processes your buy-back application, it will deduct the number of days of absence that can be offset by the 90-day bank from the number of days of service corresponding to the period concerned by your application. Therefore, it will prevent you from paying to buy back the days of absence that could be recognized to you at no cost. If you would rather buy back all your days of absence, and you would like the 90-day bank not to be used while processing your application, it must be specified in the space provided for that purpose on the form entitled Application for a buy-back of one or more periods of absence (RSP‑727A‑ABS).
The total number of days of absence automatically added and free of charge cannot exceed 90 days.
The cost of a buy-back varies according to:
It is usually to your advantage to apply for a buy-back as soon as possible, that is, as soon as your period of absence ends.
If you apply for a buy-back for a period of absence without pay within six months following the end of that period, the cost of your buy-back could be lower than if you file your application after that time period.
Your Statement of Participation shows the number of days of absence that can be bought back. Have it on hand when using the online Buy-Back Cost Estimator for a quick estimate of the cost of a buy-back of:
Maternity leaves are generally recognized at no cost.
Members of the Teachers Pension Plan (TPP) or the Civil Service Superannuation Plan (CSSP) who had their years of participation transferred to RREGOP, will have their pension calculated as though they had always been members of RREGOP. As long as they are not eligible for a retirement pension under RREGOP, they retain their right to a disability pension, a surviving spouse's pension or an orphan's pension under the TPP or the CSSP with respect to the years during which they contributed to those plans.
Before becoming members of RREGOP, certain employees were members of what is called a supplemental pension plan (SPP). Most SPPs were administered by insurance companies, and not by Retraite Québec.
If your SPP contract did not provide for a transfer of funds, the insurance company that administered the plan still holds the contributions that you and your employer paid. At your request, the insurance company will pay you a pension in accordance with the provisions (conditions) of your contract, probably when you turn 65. This is what we call a paid-up annuity.
However, if the funds were transferred to us, you have what is called an SPP pension credit. It is a pension credit resulting from a transfer from a supplemental pension plan transfer or a transfer agreement. Thanks to the pension credit, an amount will be added to the pension provided for under RREGOP.
Years of service accrued under an SPP are used only to determine your eligibility for a pension, and not to calculate the amount to which you are entitled. In some cases, the value of the pension credit is a percentage of the average pensionable salary that will be used to calculate your retirement pension.
Payment of your SPP pension credit can start as soon as you retire. However, the amount of your pension credit will be reduced permanently if payment starts before certain requirements are met.
Situation 1
Before you became a member of RREGOP, you contributed to one of the following supplemental pension plans:
The amount of your pension credit will not be reduced if payment begins at age 65.
However, if payment starts earlier, the amount of your pension credit will be reduced permanently by 0.5% permonth of early retirement, that is, for each month you receive it before the month in which youturn 65 (6% per year). Please note that even if the amount of the pension credit is lower,receiving it sooner could be in your best interest. We recommend that you consult a financial advisor to help youassess your situation.
Situation 2
Before you became a member of RREGOP, you contributed to a supplemental pension plan other than the five mentioned above (in Situation 1).
If you were a member of the supplemental pension plan and were working in the public or parapublic sector on31 December 1999, the amount of your pension credit will not be reduced provided that, when paymentstarts, you meet one of the following three requirements (If this is not your case, the requirements listedin situation 1 will apply.):
If payment starts earlier, the amount of your pension credit will be reduced permanently by 0.33% for each month(4% a year) prior to the date on which you would have met one of the three requirements. Please notethat even if the amount of the pension credit is lower, receiving it sooner could be in your best interest. Werecommend that you consult a financial advisor to help you assess your situation.
If you were a member of the supplemental pension plan but were not working in the public or parapublic sector on31 December 1999, you must be at least age 65 to receive the full amount of your pension credit. Ifyou would like payment of your pension credit to start earlier, note that the amount will be reduced by 6% foreach year prior to your 65th birthday.
Important
When you apply for your retirement pension, you can request to have payment of your pension credits start on a date different from the date on which you retire. You must choose that option on the reply form provided with the document entitled Your Options, which you will receive after you file an application for a pension. Note that the closer the date on which you start receiving your pension credits is to the date on which they would be payable unreduced, the lesser they will be reduced. However, before making a decision, it is important to assess the consequences. Your SPP pension credits will be indexed (adjusted) on 1 January of each year once payment has begun See Note 2.
If there is an agreement between Retraite Québec and the organization responsible for the administration of your former pension plan, you could have the years of service accrued under that plan transferred to RREGOP. The effects on the retirement pension you will receive under RREGOP depend on the provisions (conditions) of your former plan and the transfer agreement under which the funds are transferred.
However, under federal tax laws, a person who contributes regularly to RREGOP cannot be granted more than one year of service per complete calendar year or a certain maximum for an incomplete calendar year.
Following a transfer, if you were granted only a portion of the service credited under your exporting plan for the calculation of your retirement pension under RREGOP, you can buy back service not recognized during the transfer.
If you change employment and your new employer offers a pension plan that is not administered by Retraite Québec, you can have your years of service accrued under RREGOP credited under your new pension plan provided that there is a transfer agreement with Retraite Québec.
The employers with which Retraite Québec has such agreements are the federal government and certain provincial governments, municipalities, as well as certain public and private organizations.
To take advantage of a transfer agreement, you must not be receiving a retirement pension from your old or new plan. Furthermore, based on the provisions (conditions) of various agreements, you must not be eligible for a pension, as provided for under the exporting plan when you file your application for a transfer. This requirement does not apply to the agreements made between the federal government and the plans for teachers or provincial civil servants.
If you bought back periods of service accrued prior to your membership in RREGOP, you have what is called a buy-back pension credit. This means that an amount will be added to the pension provided for under RREGOP.
You may request for your pension credit to be paid at the same time as your retirement pension, or on any other date between the date of your retirement and your 65th birthday. Note that the amount of your credit will be permanently reduced by 0.5% for each month (6% a year) prior to your 65th birthday. Also note that even if the amount of the pension credit is lower, receiving it sooner could be in your best interest. If you retire after age 65, payment of your pension credit will begin on the date on which you retire, and the amount will be increased by 0.75% for each month (9% a year) between your 65th birthday and the date on which you retire.
In certain cases, your buy-back pension credit may increase.
The acquisition of additional pensions concerns RREGOP members whose membership ended on 31 December 1999 or after and who have acquired a paid-up annuity as a result of their membership in a supplemental pension plan (SPP), or a pension credit resulting from a buy-back, a transfer from an SPP or a transfer carried out before 1985 under an agreement with another organization. When those persons retire, they benefit from additional pensions for the years that entitle them to a paid-up annuity or a pension credit.
There are two types of additional pensions:
a life annuity (guaranteed for life), linked to pension credit service, for which the amount is generally calculated as follows:
| 1.1% | × Average pensionable salary for your 5 best-paid years | × Number of years or parts of a year of service that entitle you to a paid-up annuity or a pension credit |
a temporary annuity linked to pension credit service payable until age 65 (or until death, in the event that you die before age 65) which, as a rule, corresponds to:
| $230 | ×Number of years or parts of a year of service that entitle you to a paid-up annuity or a pension credit |
The two pensions are paid in addition to your pension and pension credits. However, the total of the additional pensions and the paid-up annuity or pension credit must not exceed the amount to which the corresponding years of service would entitle you had they been credited for the purpose of calculating your pension. If that total is higher, the amounts of the additional life annuity (guaranteed for life) and the temporary annuity could be limited.
If you are eligible for a reduced pension, both your additional and pension will be reduced by 0.5% per month of early retirement (6% a year). Since additional pensions are associated with the pension, they cannot start being paid on a later date.
Additional pensions are indexed (adjusted) each year using the rate of increase of the Pension Index (PI), provided for under the Act respecting the Québec Pension Plan, minus 3%. When the rate of increase of the PI is equal to or lower than 3%, the pensions are not indexed (adjusted).
If you have more than 40 years of service credited for eligibility purposes, the total number of years that can be used for the calculation of the additional pensions cannot be greater than the difference between 40 and the number of years of service used for the calculation of the pension.
Example
In January 2025, Mary had 40 years of service credited for eligibility purposes. Of those years, 25 are used to calculate the amount of her pension, and 15 entitle her to a pension credit. In her case, the number of years that can be revalued cannot exceed 15 (40 - 25 = 15).
When you die, only your life annuity (guaranteed for life) linked to pension credit service (1.1% of your average pensionable salary) will be taken into account in calculating your spouse's pension, in accordance with the same rules that apply to the pension.
Time management and work reduction measures have no effect on your retirement pension. You will be credited the same service and salary you would have been credited under your plan had you not benefited from the measures, even if your work schedule and your salary are reduced. This measure could be known under a different name depending on whether you work in the public service, education or health and social services sectors.
If you take a sabbatical leave with deferred pay, your retirement pension will not be affected. You will be recognized the same service and salary you would have been be recognized under your plan had you not benefited from this type of leave. However, once your leave is over, you must return to a position covered under RREGOP for a period equivalent to at least the duration of the leave, otherwise, the agreement from which you benefited this type of leave may be cancelled, which could affect your retirement pension.
Important!
During the term of the agreement, your contributions to RREGOP are calculated only on the salary you actually receive.
If your working conditions so provide, you can ask your employer to sign a phased departure agreement, which allows you to reduce your work schedule for a period between 12 and 60 months. However, you must retire at the end of that period. For the duration of the agreement, your new work schedule must not be less than 40% of the full-time schedule for an equivalent position. To be eligible for phased departure, you must be a part-time or full-time employee working on a regular basis.
You can also extend the duration of your agreement for a period between 12 to 60 months by signing a written agreement with your employer at least 6 months before the end date of your initial agreement. The total duration of the agreement, once extended, may not exceed seven years.
Before entering into a phased departure agreement, you must complete the form entitled Demande de confirmation d'admissibilité au départ progressif d'un régime de retraite du secteur public (RSP-267) (this form is available in French only) so that we can confirm that you will be eligible for a retirement pension when the agreement expires.
As a general rule, phased departure has no effect on your retirement pension. During the term of the agreement, your contributions to RREGOP are calculated on the salary you would have received had you not signed the agreement. You will be credited with the same service and salary you would have been credited had it not been for the agreement.
If you are age 65 or over, gradual retirement allows you to continue working in employment covered by RREGOP while receiving your retirement pension and salary. To do so, you must enter into an agreement with your employer. Consult the Gradual retirement at age 65 section to find out more.
Generally, and subject to tax rules, you could be eligible for an unreduced pension when your membership in the plan ends if you meet one of the following eligibility requirements on the date on which your membership under RREGOP ends:
Example
Jenny retires at the age of 61. She has 25 years of service recognized for both eligibility and calculation purposes. Her average pensionable salary for her 5 best-paid years is $72 000.
Since she meets the requirement of being at least 61 years of age, she is eligible for an unreduced pension, calculated as follows:
| Years of service credited for calculation purposes | 25 |
| Pension accrual rate | × 2% |
| Average pensionable salary of the 5 best-paid years of service | ×$72 000 |
| Pension | =$36 000 |
Therefore, Jenny's pension will be $36 000 a year, which represents $3000 a month ($36 000 ÷ 12 = $3000).
To determine the amount of your pension, we use the following formula:
| Years of service credited for calculation purposes (maximum 40) | × Pension accrual rate (2%) | × Average pensionable salary of the 5 best-paid years of service | = Pension |
If you were a part-time employee, we will consider the annual pensionable salary that you would have received had you worked full-time.
When you retire, in order to calculate your pension, we will use all or part of any payment you received, provided the following two requirements are met:
Important
If you received a retroactive payment, the payment will be spread over each of the years it should have been paid.
If you do not meet any of the three eligibility requirements for an unreduced pension on the date on which your membership ends but you are at least age 55, you will be eligible for a reduced pension. This means that your pension will be permanently reduced by 0.5% per month of early retirement (6% a year). The reduction applies to your pension because you will be receiving it for a longer period than if you had waited until you met one of the eligibility requirements for an unreduced pension.
Example
John retires, on his 59th birthday. He has 25 years of service recognized for both eligibility to a pension and calculation purposes. His average pensionable salary for his 5 best-paid years is $72 000.
First, we must determine the number of months between the date of his retirement and the date on which he would have been eligible for an unreduced pension. John would have been eligible for an unreduced pension at age 61. Since John is age 59, we therefore calculate 24 months of early retirement.
The percentage of reduction applicable to his annual pension due to early retirement is determined as follows:
| Number of months of early retirement | 24 |
| Monthly rate of reduction of the pension | × 0.5% |
| Percentage of reduction due to early payment of the pension | =12% |
To determine the amount of his annual pension, we do the following calculation:
| Years of service credited for calculation purposes | 25 |
| Pension accrual rate | × 2% |
| Average pensionable salary of the 5 best-paid years of service | × $72 000 |
| Pension | =$36 000 |
Then we can calculate the amount of the reduction applicable to his pension:
| Pension | $36 000 |
| Percentage of reduction | × 12% |
| Amount of the reduction due to early payment of the pension | =$4320 |
To determine the amount of the reduced pension to which John is entitled, we carry out the following calculation:
| Pension | $36 000 |
| Reduction due to early payment of the basic pension | − $4320 |
| Reduced pension | =$31 680 |
Therefore, John's annual pension will be $31 680 a year, or $2640 a month ($31 680 ÷ 12 = $2640).
The reduction due to early payment of your pension can be decreased or eliminated by transferring to RREGOP the amount necessary for you to receive each year an amount corresponding to the amount of the reduction you wish to have decreased or eliminated. The transfer must be made from your registered retirement savings plan (RRSP) or a registered pension plan (RPP) within 60 days of the end of your membership under RREGOP. Your employer can also pay the amount necessary to eliminate or reduce the reduction in your pension amount no later than the date on which you stop being covered by your pension plan.
If you choose to receive your pension by direct deposit, it is paid on the 15th of each month or, if the 15th is not a working day, on the preceding working day. Cheques for payment of a pension are issued no later than 48 hours before that date. Note that federal income tax and Québec income tax will be deducted from your retirement pension as though your pension were your sole income. If the deductions are too high or too low, you can ask to have them decreased or increased.
If you stop working before you are eligible for a pension, you can receive a refund of contributions, a reduced or unreduced deferred pension, or request to have the value of the benefits accrued under your pension plan transferred to a locked-in retirement account (LIRA) or a life income fund (LIF).
You can request a refund of your contributions, with interest, if you meet these two requirements on the date on which your membership in the plan ends:
You must have ceased all employment for at least 210 days before you can file an Application for a Retirement Pension Under a Public-Sector Pension Plan.
If you hold more than one position covered by RREGOP, the PPMP or the Pension Plan of Peace Officers in Correctional Services (PPPOCS) and you are a member of more than one of these plans at the same time, you must have left all of those positions for at least 210 days before applying for a refund.
If you are not eligible for a refund of contributions, you are under age 55 and you have at least 2 years of service (but less than 35) credited for eligibility purposes when you stop working, you can choose between the following two options.
Option 1
Receive a reduced or unreduced deferred pension.
Deferred pensions are fully indexed (adjusted) from 1 January of the year following the one in which plan membership ends to 1 January of the year in which payment of the pension begins.
You can :
Since you are applying for early payment of a pension that you would normally start receiving at age 65 and integration with the QPP would apply at that time, your deferred pension will be integrated with the QPP as soon as payment begins. The reduction due to integration with the QPP will be reduced by the same percentage as your pension. The introduction of the additional plan to the QPP as of 1 January 2019 does not change the current provisions (conditions) of public-sector pension plans. Therefore, only the pension provided by the Québec Pension Plan's base plan is taken into account to calculate the amount of reduction as a result of integration.
If the actuarial value of the deferred pension is lower than the total of your contributions with interest, the amount of your pension will be increased until its actuarial value is equal to the contributions you paid, plus interest.
Option 2
Request from Retraite Québec the transfer of the value of the benefits accrued under your pension plan to a locked-in retirement account (LIRA) or a life income fund (LIF).
The amount that can be transferred to an LIRA or an LIF corresponds to the higher of the following two amounts:
You can ask for a transfer if you have ceased all employment for at least 210 days and filed an Application for a Retirement Pension Under a Public-Sector Pension Plan. You will then have to confirm your choice of a transfer by completing the Your Options reply form which you will receive after filing your application for a retirement pension. This reply form is uploaded automatically to My Account. You can file it and track your application in your digital file. You must send us your application before your 55th birthday, or within the 12 months following the date on which you stop working, if it is between your 54th and 55th birthdays.
In order to compare the advantages of a deferred pension to those of a transfer to an LIRA or LIF, you must consider your age, the amount of your deferred pension, the indexation rate that could apply and, mainly, the interest rate that you could obtain on the amount you would transfer to an LIRA or LIF.
If you return to work in the public or parapublic sector after having the value of the benefits accrued under RREGOP transferred to an LIRA or an LIF, you can have the periods of service that you had accrued before the transfer credited under your pension plan. In order to do so, you must have held your new position for at least three months and repay the amount that was transferred from RREGOP to your LIRA or LIF, plus the interest accrued at the RREGOP rate of return. As a result, the rights that you had before the transfer with regard to both the number of years of service and the benefits accrued under your pension plan will be reinstated.
If you start working for an employer whose pension plan is not administered by Retraite Québec, you could have your years of service accrued under RREGOP recognized under the pension plan offered by your new employer, provided that there is a transfer agreement between Retraite Québec and the employer. Retraite Québec has such agreements with various organizations, including the federal government and certain provincial governments, municipalities, as well as certain public and private organizations. To take advantage of a transfer agreement, you must not be receiving a retirement pension from the exporting plan or receiving plan. Furthermore, based on the provisions (conditions) of various agreements, you must not be eligible for an unreduced pension under the exporting plan when you file your application for a transfer. This requirement does not apply to the agreements made between the federal government and the plans for teachers or provincial civil servants.
During your career, you were exempt from contributing to RREGOP on a portion of your salary because you were also contributing to the Québec Pension Plan (QPP). When you retire, both plans (pensions) complement each other in the same way your contributions did. As a result, your pension under RREGOP is reduced to take into account the pension paid under the QPP. This is what we call integration of your pension plan with the QPP.
When you turn 65, your pension under RREGOP will be reduced to take into account the fact that you also receive a pension under the QPP. The reduction will be applied to your pension as of the month following your 65th birthday, even if you apply for your pension under the QPP at age 60.
Important
Integration does not apply to the portion of a pension that corresponds to years accrued after 35 years of service. The same applies to the introduction of the additional plan to the QPP as of 1 January 2019, which does not change the current provisions (conditions) of public-sector pension plans. Therefore, only the pension provided for by the Québec Pension Plan's base plan is taken into account to calculate the amount of the reduction as a result of integration.
Consult our leaflet entitled Integration of your public-sector pension plan with the Québec Pension Plan (QPP) for more information.
Integration with the QPP has no impact on pension amounts under the QPP. However, a reduction not linked to integration can apply to disability or surviving spouse's pensions provided for under the QPP.
The reduction applicable to your pension under RREGOP is calculated as follows: number of years of service since 1 January 1966 (maximum 35 years) used to calculate your basic pension × QPP annual pension integration rate (0.7%) × the lesser of your average pensionable salary for your last 5 years of service and your average maximum pensionable earnings (MPE) for your last 5 years of service.
Example
Lynn retired at age 61. She had 25 years of service since 1 January 1966 credited for calculation purposes. Her average MPE for her last 5 years of service was $37 000, and her average pensionable salary for the same period was $30 000.
Since her average pensionable salary was lower than the average MPE for her last 5 years of service, her average pensionable salary (not her average MPE) must be used to calculate the reduction that will apply to her pension as of the month following her 65th birthday.
This reduction is calculated as follows:
| Years of service credited for calculation purposes | 25 |
| QPP annual pension integration rate | × 0.7% |
| Average pensionable salary (since it is lower than the average MPE) | ×$30 000 |
| Reduction applicable to the pension | =$5250 |
As of the month following her 65th birthday, Lynn's annual pension under RREGOP will be reduced by $5250, for a monthly reduction of $438 ($5250 ÷ 12).
Under RREGOP, you benefit from an exemption from contributions because your pension under that plan will be integrated with your pension under the QPP when you turn 65. As a result, the contributions you pay under RREGOP throughout your career are lower.
In the example found in the section entitled Contributions, if the pension under RREGOP was not integrated with the pension under the QPP, Ann's contributions to RREGOP would be calculated on her total pensionable salary. Therefore, in , her contributions to RREGOP would be $6 904.00 instead of $5 294.51, which corresponds to $1609.49 more.
Once you start receiving your pension under RREGOP, it is indexed (adjusted) each year on 1 January as follows:
If you retire on a date other than 1 January, when your pension is indexed for the first time (on 1 January following the date on which you retire), indexation (adjustment) will be calculated based on the number of days where your pension was paid during the year in which you retired, out of 365 days (or 366 days, if it is a leap year). Taking the previous example, but in which Roger retired on 5 May , each of the three portions of his pension will be indexed on 1 January as follows, if the rate of increase of the PI is %:
Therefore, on 1 January , Roger's annual pension will increase to $25 825.21.
If you have a terminal illness, that is, an illness which, in the opinion of your physician, is such that your life expectancy is two years or less, the higher of the following two amounts can be paid to you:
Any amounts paid or transferred to obtain a pension credit will be added, with interest, to the amount you receive.
However, you will not be able to receive the amounts if you are eligible for a pension at the time you file your application. Note that your membership in RREGOP will end if you continue to work after receiving those benefits.
They are:
Those types of union could give the spouse of a member or beneficiary of a public-sector plan entitlement to:
Marriage
Marriage is the lawful union of two individuals under the conditions provided for by law for the purpose of living together.
There are two different types:
Religious marriage
Marriage approved and celebrated in accordance with the beliefs of a religion recognized in a country or state. It refers to a civil marriage that meets the requirements under the Civil Code of Québec and is celebrated during a religious ceremony.
Civil marriage
Non-religious marriage approved and celebrated by a civil authority. With a few exceptions, a marriage celebrated in Québec is recognized worldwide.
The recognition of a marriage is immediate and gives entitlement to partition of the family patrimony in the event of divorce or legal separation, as well as survivors' benefits in the event of death.
Civil union
A civil union is a type of legal relationship between two individuals who decide to live together as a couple without entering into a civil or religious marriage. After the union is celebrated, an act of civil union, which is the official document confirming the union, is issued by the Directeur de l'état civil. On 24 June 2002, the Act instituting civil unions and establishing new rules of filiation came into force, allowing for the union of two persons of the same sex or different sex.
Civil unions are recognized only in Québec. In order for their union to be recognized by the federal government, spouses in a civil union must qualify as de facto spouses (or common-law partners) within the meaning of the Canadian Income Tax Act. Therefore, they must meet at least one of the following conditions:
If spouses in a civil union qualify as spouses, they are covered by the provisions (conditions) of the plan pertaining to partition of the family patrimony and survivors' benefits.
De facto union
A de facto (common-law) union is when two persons have been living together for a certain time and are united by particular emotional and economic ties. In cases where de facto spouses who are recognized as such stop living together, they can have the benefits accrued under their public-sector pension plan partitioned. The de facto union gives entitlement to survivors' benefits in the event the person who was a member of RREGOP dies.
A de facto union can be considered valid provided that certain conditions are met regarding:
To be recognized as de facto (common-law) spouses under RREGOP, the spouses must show that they lived together and were in a conjugal relationship during one of the following periods:
Regardless of their type of union, the individuals concerned must know how a breakdown of their union or death could impact their benefits provided for under their public-sector pension plan. Consult the information regarding the situation that applies to you on Retraite Québec's website.
If you were married or in a civil union
Benefits accrued under a public-sector pension plan during a marriage or civil union are part of the family patrimony. The value of those benefits can therefore be partitioned in the event of a divorce, separation from bed and board, annulment of marriage, payment of a compensatory allowance, or dissolution or annulment of a civil union, provided that they have not renounced partition and they are covered by the provisions (conditions) of the plan relating to partition of the family patrimony.
The Court generally awards the member's former spouse 50% of the value of the benefits accrued under the pension plan during the marriage or civil union. However, the spouse could be awarded up to a maximum of 50% of the value of the benefits accrued over the total period of membership in the plan.
Upon request, Retraite Québec can determine the value of your benefits once you have instituted proceedings (filed an application with the civil division of the clerk's office and had it stamped by the court), or earlier if an accredited mediator confirms that you are attending family mediation. To find out the value of the benefits accrued under a pension plan, you must file an Application for a Statement of Benefits – Married or Civilly United Spouses (form RSP-388A) with Retraite Québec.
If the Court decides that the value of the benefits must be partitioned, you must file an Application for Payment of the Value of Accrued Benefits Under a Public-Sector Pension Plan – Married, Civilly United and De Facto Spouses (form RSP-389A) with Retraite Québec.
Retraite Québec will transfer on request the amount allocated to your former spouse to a financial instrument authorized in his or her name at the financial institution of his or her choice.
In order to take into account the amount transferred, we will calculate what is called a reduction due to partition. When you retire, or if you have already retired, your retirement pension will be permanently reduced accordingly.
If you were de facto (common-law) spouses
Since January 2019, it has been possible for de facto spouses who are recognized as such to have the benefits accrued under their public-sector pension plan partitioned in the event of a breakdown of their union, provided that they have signed a written agreement to that effect.
The agreement must:
Your former spouse cannot be granted more than 50% of the value of the benefits accrued over your total period of membership under RREGOP. If the value of the benefits accrued under the plan is partitioned between you and your former spouse, your retirement pension will be reduced permanently.
To find out the value of the benefits accrued under a pension plan, you must file an Application for a Statement of Benefits - De Facto Spouses (form RSP-387A) with Retraite Québec.
If a partition agreement is carried out, you must file an Application for Payment of the Value of Accrued Benefits Under a Public-Sector Pension Plan – Married, Civilly United and De Facto Spouses (form RSP-389A) with Retraite Québec. You must enclose with your application all the required documents, including the written agreement.
Retraite Québec will transfer the amount agreed upon to your former spouse to a financial instrument authorized in his or her name, at the financial institution of his or her choice.
In order to take into account the amount transferred, we will calculate the reduction due to partition. It means that, when you retire, or if you have already retired, your retirement pension will be permanently reduced according to that amount.
Your pension plan provides for benefits to be paid to your spouse. The benefits are determined based on whether you are eligible for a retirement pension or you have retired at the time of your death.
If you have less than two years of service recognized for eligibility purposes (excluding any added service) at the time of your death, your spouse will receive the total of your contributions to your plan, plus accrued interest. If you do not have a spouse, the amount will be paid to your heirs.
However, if you have at least two years of service recognized for eligibility purposes, your spouse will receive the higher of the following two amounts:
If you do not have a spouse, the higher of those amounts will be paid to your heirs.
Your spouse or, if you do not have a spouse, your heirs, will also receive a refund for any amounts you paid to obtain your pension credits, plus accrued interest. If you do not have a spouse, the amount will be paid to your heirs.
Your spouse will receive, until his or her death, a surviving spouse's pension equal to 50% of the pension that would have been payable to you at the time of your death (including 50% of your pension credits). Integration with the QPP will apply to the pension as of the month following your death. The introduction of the additional plan to the QPP as of 1 January 2019 does not change the current provisions of public-sector pension plans. Therefore, only the pension provided for under the Québec Pension Plan's base plan is taken into account to calculate the amount of reduction as a result of integration.
If the actuarial value of your spouse's pension is lower than the total of your contributions with interest, the amount of the pension will be increased until it reaches that total.
If you do not have a spouse, your heirs will receive the total of your contributions to your pension plan, plus accrued interest.
Your spouse or, if you do not have a spouse, your heirs, will also receive a refund for any amounts you paid to obtain your buy-back pension credits, plus accrued interest.
Depending on the option you choose when you retire, your spouse will receive, for life, a surviving spouse's pension equal to 50% or 60% of the pension paid to you at the time of your death (including 50% or 60% of your SPP pension credits, transfer agreement pension credits and life annuity linked to pension credit service). You can choose to reduce your pension by 2% so that your spouse receives 60% of your reduced pension.
If your pension is not already integrated with the QPP, integration will apply to the surviving spouse's pension as of the month following your death. The introduction of the additional plan to the QPP as of 1 January 2019 does not change the current provisions (conditions) of public-sector pension plans. Only the pension provided for under the Québec Pension Plan's base plan is taken into account to calculate the amount of reduction as a result of integration.
Your spouse's pension will not include any pension credits you received following a buy-back prior to your membership in RREGOP (buy-back pension credit) or temporary annuity linked to service giving entitlement to pension credit.
However, if applicable, your spouse will also receive an amount corresponding to the amounts paid to obtain your buy-back pension credits, plus interest, minus the amounts already paid to the retiree.
If do not have a spouse at the time of your death, your heirs can receive an amount that equals to the difference between the contributions accrued in the pension plan and the amounts paid to obtain your pension credits and the total of the amounts paid to the retiree as a pension and pension credit.
Under RREGOP, your spouse is the person to whom you are married, with whom you are in a civil union, or your de facto (common-law) spouse. To be recognized as spouses, neither individual can be married or in a civil union See Note 4.
You cannot bequeath by will the benefits accrued under your pension plan to the person of your choice. The Act respecting the Gouvernment and Public Employees Retirement Plan (RREGOP) contains provisions regarding the beneficiary of the benefits accrued under your pension plan, depending on whether you have a spouse at the time of your death. Your spouse can waive his or her spousal benefits in favour of your heirs and revoke that waiver at a later time by informing us in writing.
We must receive the Notice of Waiver before your death. If you do not have a spouse, the benefits accrued under your pension plan are part of your estate. Therefore, the heirs you designated will be entitled to those benefits under your will. If you did not make a will, your estate, including the benefits accrued under your pension plan, will be transferred to your heirs in accordance with the provisions (conditions) of the Civil Code of Québec.
Before you decide to retire, it is important to be ready to enter this new stage of your life. It is also important that you evaluate the total income you will have in retirement, for example, your pensions under RREGOP and the Québec Pension Plan, your Old Age Security pension (payable at age 65) and any income from your registered retirement savings plan (RRSP) or from other sources. You should then compare that income with your expenses.
If you are thinking about retiring, know that Destination Retraite (Destination Retirement; French only) webinars provide a wealth of useful information to make an informed decision. All the important subjects to financially plan for your retirement and estimate your income are covered: Québec Pension Plan, public-sector pension plans, registered retirement savings plans, gradual retirement, life as a couple, insurance, legally-oriented questions and much more.
If you are planning your retirement n the long-term, you can use the Pension Estimator tool. The estimator tool will quickly and easily provide you with an estimate of the amount of the pension to which you could be entitled on the date you plan to stop working.
However, if you intend to retire within the next four to 24 months, we advise you to apply for a pension estimate using the Application for a Pension Estimate.
In order to receive your pension under the RREGOP, you must file an Application for a Retirement Pension Under a Public-Sector Pension Plan.
We recommend that you send your application to us at least 90 days before the month in which you retire. That period includes a 30-day time limit to inform us of your choices regarding payment of your benefits. To do so, you must use the Your Options reply form, which will be sent to you. This reply form is uploaded automatically to My Account. You can file it and track your application in your digital file.
If you do not meet the deadline, the default option indicated on the Your Options document will apply when we determine the amount of your pension.
If you are eligible for a reduced immediate pension, you can wait until you are eligible for an unreduced pension before applying for your retirement pension. However, before you make that decision, it is important to consider the consequences.
If you are eligible for a reduced immediate pension when you leave your employment and you file your application for a retirement pension more than 60 days after you stop working, but you are not yet eligible for an unreduced immediate pension, we will not pay your pension retroactively to the date on which you stopped working, but rather retroactively to the date on which we received your application or any later date specified on your reply form. We will take into account that date when we calculate the reduction due to your early retirement.
Example
Martha leaves her employment in June 2021 at age 59. She has 22 years of service credited for eligibility purposes. She is therefore eligible for a reduced immediate pension. Since she will be eligible for an unreduced pension in two years, when she turns 61, she decides to wait before applying for her pension.
In June 2022, at age 60, even though she is not yet eligible for an unreduced immediate pension, Martha files her application for a retirement pension.
We will pay her pension retroactively to the date on which we received her application (June 2022) and will take that date into account to calculate the reduction applicable to her pension.
If you are eligible for a reduced immediate pension when you leave your employment and you file your application for a retirement pension once you are eligible for an unreduced immediate pension, we will pay your pension retroactively to the date on which you became eligible for an unreduced pension, and not retroactively to the date on which we received your application.
Example
Paul leaves his employment in June 2020 at age 60. He has 25 years of service credited for eligibility purposes. He is therefore eligible for a reduced immediate pension. Since he will be eligible for an unreduced pension in one year, when he turns 61, he decides to wait before applying for his pension.
In June 2021, on his 61st birthday, Paul becomes eligible for an unreduced immediate pension. However, he forgets to file his application.
In October 2021, Paul applies for his retirement pension. We will pay his pension retroactively to the date on which he became eligible for an unreduced pension (June 2021).
If your return to work in the Québec public service, the education or health and social services sectors, or for any other employer subject to RREGOP, whether as a full-time, part-time or casual employee, your pension will not be affected. You will no longer contribute to any pension plan and will receive the full amount of your pension, regardless of your age. However, if you return to work in employment covered by the Retirement Plan for Senior Officials (RPSO), you must inform us of your decision and specify whether you intend to contribute to your plan by filing Return to Work of a Retiree as a Member of a Public-Sector Pension Plan form (RSP-202A), available on our website.
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Retraite Québec obtains personal information from citizens, government departments and public agencies. It protects that information and makes sure that it is used by duly authorized personnel in carrying out their duties.
However, Retraite Québec can release the information to certain government departments and public agencies in accordance with written agreements approved by the Commission d'accès à l'information du Québec.
Online
retraitequebec.gouv.qc.ca
By telephone
418 643-4881 (Québec area)
1 800 463-5533 (toll-free)
By mail
Retraite Québec
Régimes de retraite du secteur public
Case postale 5500, succursale Terminus
Québec (Québec) G1K 0G9
