Your contributions to the Québec Pension Plan

The Québec Pension Plan is a compulsory public insurance plan. The Plan is financed by your contributions, deducted from your pay, and those of your employer. These contributions are collected by Revenu Québec and are managed by the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec .

If you are receiving a disability pension, you are no longer contributing to the Plan.

Contributions: payment and deductions

How long does the contributory period last?

For everybody, whether or not they work, the contributory period begins in the month following the 18th birthday, or on 1 January 1966, the date the Plan started, if a person turned 18 before that date.

The contributory period used to calculate the benefits ends at the end of the first of the following months:

• the month preceding the one in which payment of a retirement pension under the Plan begins
• the month of the 70th birthday
• the month of death.

If you are receiving a retirement pension and continue to work, you must contribute to the Plan once your earnings exceed the $3500 basic exemption. Those contributions will give entitlement to a pension increase known as the retirement pension supplement.

It is possible that certain months will not be taken into account when calculating the contributory period, which could give you entitlement to a certain benefits under the Québec Pension Plan or even increase the amount; if they are: 

• months for which you received a disability pension under the Québec Pension Plan or the Canada Pension Plan or an unreduced income replacement indemnity from the Commission des normes, de l'équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (CNESST).
• as of 1966 (the year in which the Québec Pension Plan came into effect), any months for which you received family benefits paid by the Québec government or the Canadian government for a child under 7. The period can be extended up to 18 years for the parent of a child requiring exceptional care receiving a benefit under the Supplement for Handicapped Children Requiring Exceptional Care^SeeNote 1 program.
  
• months during which the person's earnings were the lowest (up to 15% of the period).

To find out how much your retirement pension may be and other information, you need your Statement of Participation in the Québec Pension Plan!

Request your Statement to find out how much employment income has been recorded under your name.

Your Statement will also give you information about:

• the employment income on which you have made contributions to the Québec Pension Plan and the Canada Pension Plan
• an estimate of the disability pension amount to which you could be entitled if you became disabled
• the amount of your retirement pension at age 60 (or on the date of the Statement if you are over 60) and at age 65, based on the earnings entered under your name
• the amount of your retirement pension at age 60 (or on the date of the Statement if you are over 60) and at age 65, assuming you continue to contribute on earnings similar to those already recorded
• an estimate of the amount of the surviving spouse's pension and other benefits to which your family could be entitled after your death.

Obtain your Statement to check whether all the employment earnings on which you have made contributions to the Québec Pension Plan have been recorded under your name.