The retirement pension under the Québec Pension Plan
To receive a retirement pension, you must have contributed sufficiently to the Québec Pension Plan.
The amount of your retirement pension is calculated on the basis of the employment earnings recorded under your name since 1966, the date on which the Plan started. The amount of your pension also varies according to your age when you begin receiving your pension.
You can start receiving a retirement pension as early as age 60, but the amount will be lower than if you wait until you reach normal retirement age, that is, age 65. If you stop working earlier, you will have to wait until you turn 60 to start receiving it. Under the Act respecting the Québec Pension Plan, you are considered to be 60 years of age the month following your 60th birthday.
On 1 January 2019, the Québec Pension Plan was enhanced with an additional plan. The enhancement, which increases progressively, will help future generations of retirees improve their financial security in retirement. Their retirement pension will increase based on the number of years of contributions they make to the additional plan. The full effect of the changes will be achieved in roughly 40 years. Persons who are no longer contributing to the Plan because they stopped working before 1 January 2019 will not be affected by the changes.
What you need to know