Changes to the disability pension under the Québec Pension Plan
Since 1 January 2022, financial protection for disabled persons age 60 or over has been improved to better reflect their reality.
New, more advantageous measures were implemented following the amendments made to the Act. They allow us to:
- increase the retirement pension of disabled persons
- provide more flexible eligibility rules for disability benefits
- offer greater flexibility to disabled workers.
Effective dates
2022
- More flexible eligibility rules
- Increased amount of authorized employment earnings
- An enhanced retirement pension for retirees having received a disability pension between ages 60 and 65.
2024
- Even more flexible eligibility rules
- Enhanced pensions for most disabled persons aged 60 or over
- Better continuity of payment in the work-retirement transition for a disabled person
- A simplified harmonization with other pensions received and indemnities paid by other agencies (e.g.:
SAAQ and CNESST).
The first changes have gradually been implemented during 2022. The concerned disabled persons already benefit from the first advantages applicable retroactively to January 2022. Changes for 2024 will be implemented in January 2024.
Advantages for retirees as of 2022
The retirement pension for persons having received a disability pension between the ages of 60 and 65 has been enhanced. This adjustment impacts:
- retirement pensions for disabled persons being paid on 1 January 2022
- retirement pensions for disabled persons turning 65 in 2022 or 2023.
Therefore, more than 70 000 retirees who benefited from the disability pension between ages 60 and 65 benefited from their pension amount being enhanced retroactively to 1 January 2022.
The increase of the disability pension amount varies based on the pension amount and the number of months during which the beneficiary received a disability pension between the ages of 60 and 65. However, it does not apply to persons whose disability pension payments began before 1 January 1999, because those persons already receive the maximum retirement pension amount.
Note that...
Since January 2022, an adjustment of the retirement pension is always applied. However, the adjustment factor will vary between 0.3% and 0.4% per month during wich a disabled person receives the disability pension, instead of between 0.5% and 0.6% per month.
Advantages for workers as of 2022
In order to help disabled persons keep their employment or return to work, the rules were made more flexible regarding the amount of authorized employment earnings to become eligible for a disability pension or to maintain their eligibility.
Concretely:
- the authorized annual employment earnings have been increased. From now on, your disability will not be recognized if your total annual gross income is $20 171 or more.
- whereas the disability pension previously ended when the sum of the earnings for 3 consecutive months exceeded the authorized quarterly amount, it will now be maintained provided that the authorized annual amount is not exceeded, regardless of the distribution of the earnings throughout the year.
Important!
If you believe that your gross earnings could exceed the authorized annual amount, please contact us. That way, you can avoid having to repay amounts to which you are not entitled.
Before, disabled persons age 60 or over had to have contributed to the Plan for at least 4 of the last 6 years to be eligible for a disability pension under the
QPP.
Now, they are required to have contributed at least 3 of the last 6 years.
A new calculation as of 2024
The disability pension payable as of age 60 will be amended for most persons deemed to be disabled in order to offer them better financial protection.
Based on the new rules, those persons will be able to simultaneously receive a retirement pension and a portion of the disability pension, that is, a pension the amount of which is identical for all beneficiaries. The amount is $558.71 for 2023 and is indexed each year. In most cases, a disabled person will receive an amount greater than the current amount for the disability pension. In other cases, the amount received will remain the same.
Other changes regarding eligibility for those benefits will also become effective as of that date.
Note that...
The persons impacted by these changes do not have any steps to take as all the files will be reviewed, and the required adjustments will be applied, if applicable.