Canada Pension Plan (R.S.C., 1985, c. C-8)

Pension Index

Marginal note:Pension Index for subsequent years

• 43 (1) Subject to subsection (2), the Pension Index for each year shall be calculated, in prescribed manner, as the average for the twelve month period ending October 31 in the preceding year of the Consumer Price Index for each month in that twelve month period.

• Marginal note:Exception

  (2) For any year for which the calculation required by subsection (1) yields a Pension Index that is less than the Pension Index for the preceding year, the Pension Index shall be taken to be the Pension Index for the preceding year.

• Marginal note:Where basis of Consumer Price Index is changed

  (3) Where at any time the Consumer Price Index is adjusted to reflect a new time basis or a new content basis with a resulting percentage adjustment being made in the figures for that Index, a corresponding percentage adjustment shall, at the time of the next calculation of the Pension Index, be made in all values then existing of the Pension Index.

DIVISION ABenefits Payable

Marginal note:Benefits payable

• 44 (1) Subject to this Part,

  • (a) a retirement pension shall be paid to a contributor who has reached sixty years of age;

  • (b) a disability pension shall be paid to a contributor who has not reached sixty-five years of age, to whom no retirement pension is payable, who is disabled and who

    • (i) has made base contributions for not less than the minimum qualifying period,

    • (ii) is a contributor to whom a disability pension would have been payable at the time the contributor is deemed to have become disabled if an application for a disability pension had been received before the contributor’s application for a disability pension was actually received, or

    • (iii) is a contributor to whom a disability pension would have been payable at the time the contributor is deemed to have become disabled if a division of unadjusted pensionable earnings that was made under section 55 or 55.1 had not been made;

    • (iv) [Repealed, 1997, c. 40, s. 69]

  • (c) a death benefit shall be paid to the estate or succession of a deceased contributor who has made base contributions for not less than the minimum qualifying period;

  • (d) a survivor’s pension shall be paid

    • (i) before 2019, to the survivor of a deceased contributor who has made base contributions for not less than the minimum qualifying period, if the survivor

      • (A) has reached 65 years of age, or

      • (B) in the case of a survivor who has not reached 65 years of age,

        • (I) had at the time of the death of the contributor reached 35 years of age,

        • (II) was at the time of the death of the contributor a survivor with dependent children, or

        • (III) is disabled, and

    • (ii) after 2018, to the survivor of a deceased contributor who has made base contributions for not less than the minimum qualifying period;

  • (e) a disabled contributor’s child’s benefit shall be paid to each child of a disabled contributor who

    • (i) has made base contributions for not less than the minimum qualifying period,

    • (ii) is a contributor to whom a disability pension or a post-retirement disability benefit would have been payable at the time the contributor is deemed to have become disabled if an application for a disability pension or a post-retirement disability benefit had been received before the application was actually received, or

    • (iii) is a contributor to whom a disability pension or a post-retirement disability benefit would have been payable at the time the contributor is deemed to have become disabled if a division of unadjusted pensionable earnings that was made under section 55 or 55.1, had not been made;

    • (iv) [Repealed, 1997, c. 40, s. 69]

  • (f) an orphan’s benefit shall be paid to each orphan of a deceased contributor who has made base contributions for not less than the minimum qualifying period;

  • (g) a post-retirement benefit shall be paid to a beneficiary of a retirement pension under this Act or under a provincial pension plan who has made a contribution in respect of the post-retirement benefit; and

  • (h) a post-retirement disability benefit shall be paid to a beneficiary of a retirement pension who has not reached 65 years of age and is disabled if

    • (i) the beneficiary has made base contributions for not less than the minimum qualifying period and that period ends after 2018,

    • (ii) the beneficiary is a contributor to whom a post-retirement disability benefit would have been payable at the time the contributor is deemed to have become disabled if an application for a post-retirement disability benefit had been received before the application was actually received, or

    • (iii) the beneficiary is a contributor to whom a post-retirement disability benefit would have been payable at the time the contributor is deemed to have become disabled if a division of unadjusted pensionable earnings that was made under section 55 or 55.1 had not been made.

• (1.1) [Repealed, 2018, c. 12, s. 372]

• Marginal note:Calculation of minimum qualifying period in case of disability pension and disabled contributor’s child’s benefit

  (2) For the purposes of paragraph (1)(b) and, if a disability pension is payable to a contributor, paragraph (1)(e),

  • (a) a contributor is deemed to have made base contributions for not less than the minimum qualifying period only if the contributor has made base contributions during the contributor’s contributory period on earnings that are not less than the contributor’s basic exemption, calculated without regard to subsection 20(2),

    • (i) for at least four of the last six calendar years included either wholly or partly in the contributor’s contributory period or, where there are fewer than six calendar years included either wholly or partly in the contributor’s contributory period, for at least four years,

    • (i.1) for at least 25 calendar years included either wholly or partly in the contributor’s contributory period, of which at least three are in the last six calendar years included either wholly or partly in the contributor’s contributory period, or

    • (ii) for each year after the month of cessation of the contributor’s previous disability benefit; and

  • (b) the contributory period of a contributor shall be the period

    • (i) commencing January 1, 1966 or when he reaches eighteen years of age, whichever is the later, and

    • (ii) ending with the month in which he is determined to have become disabled for the purpose of paragraph (1)(b),

    but excluding

    • (iii) any month that was excluded from the contributor’s contributory period under this Act or under a provincial pension plan by reason of disability, and

    • (iv) in relation to any benefits payable under this Act for any month after December, 1977, any month for which the contributor was a family allowance recipient in a year for which the contributor’s base unadjusted pensionable earnings are less than the basic exemption of the contributor for the year, calculated without regard to subsection 20(2).

• Marginal note:Proration — late applications for disability pensions

  (2.1) For the purpose of determining the minimum qualifying period of a contributor referred to in subparagraph (1)(b)(ii), the basic exemption for the year in which they would have been considered to have become disabled, and in which the base unadjusted pensionable earnings are less than the relevant Year’s Basic Exemption for that year, is an amount equal to that proportion of the amount of that Year’s Basic Exemption that the number of months that would not have been excluded from the contributory period by reason of disability is of 12.

• Marginal note:Family allowance — late applications for disability pensions

  (2.2) A contributor referred to in subparagraph (1)(b)(ii) is deemed to have made base contributions for not less than the minimum qualifying period for the purpose of subparagraph (1)(b)(i) if

  • (a) they became disabled in a month in which they were a family allowance recipient;

  • (b) in the year in which they became disabled

    • (i) the child in respect of which they were a family allowance recipient reached seven years of age, and

    • (ii) their base unadjusted pensionable earnings were less than their basic exemption, calculated without regard to subsection 20(2); and

  • (c) in the absence of this subsection, a disability pension would not be payable to them, but had they become disabled in the year immediately before the year in which they became disabled, a disability pension would have been payable to them under subparagraph (1)(b)(ii).

• Marginal note:Calculation for other supplementary benefits

  (3) For the purposes of paragraphs (1)(c), (d) and (f), a contributor is deemed to have made base contributions for not less than the minimum qualifying period only if the contributor has made base contributions during their contributory period

  • (a) for at least one third of the total number of years included either wholly or partly within their contributory period, excluding from the calculation of that contributory period any month in a year after the year in which the contributor reaches 65 years of age and for which the contributor’s base unadjusted pensionable earnings were equal to or less than the contributor’s basic exemption for that year, but in no case for less than three years; or

  • (b) for at least ten years.

• Marginal note:Calculation of minimum qualifying period — post-retirement disability benefit

  (4) For the purposes of paragraph (1)(h) and, if a post-retirement disability benefit is payable to a contributor, paragraph (1)(e), the contributor is deemed to have made base contributions for not less than the minimum qualifying period only if the contributor has made base contributions during their contributory period on earnings that are not less than the contributor’s basic exemption, calculated without regard to subsection 20(2),

  • (a) for at least four of the last six calendar years included either wholly or partly in the contributor’s contributory period;

  • (b) for at least 25 calendar years included either wholly or partly in the contributor’s contributory period, of which at least three are in the last six calendar years included either wholly or partly in the contributor’s contributory period; or

  • (c) for each year after the month of cessation of the contributor’s previous disability pension or post-retirement disability benefit.

• Marginal note:Contributory period — post-retirement disability benefit

  (5) For the purposes of subsection (4), the contributory period of a contributor is the period

  • (a) commencing when they reach 18 years of age, and

  • (b) ending with the month in which they are determined to have become disabled for the purpose of paragraph (1)(h),

  but excluding

  • (c) any month that was excluded from the contributor’s contributory period under this Act or under a provincial pension plan by reason of disability, and

  • (d) in relation to any benefits payable under this Act for any month after December 1977, any month for which the contributor was a family allowance recipient in a year for which the contributor’s base unadjusted pensionable earnings are less than the contributor’s basic exemption for the year, calculated without regard to subsection 20(2).

Marginal note:Survivor’s pension, death benefit or orphan’s benefit not payable

• 44.1 (1) Despite section 44, a survivor’s pension, death benefit or orphan’s benefit is not payable to an individual in the following circumstances:

  • (a) in the case of the survivor’s pension, the individual who otherwise would have been entitled to receive the survivor’s pension as a result of the death of the contributor is not so entitled if the Minister is informed and satisfied that the individual has been convicted of first or second degree murder or manslaughter of the contributor;

  • (b) in the case of the death benefit, the individual who otherwise would have been entitled to receive the death benefit under section 71 as a result of the death of the contributor is not so entitled if the Minister is informed and satisfied that the individual has been convicted of first or second degree murder or manslaughter of the contributor; and

  • (c) in the case of the orphan’s benefit, the individual who otherwise would have been entitled to receive the orphan’s benefit as a result of the death of the contributor is not so entitled if the Minister is informed and satisfied that the individual

    • (i) has been convicted of first or second degree murder or manslaughter of the contributor,

    • (ii) has received an adult sentence for that murder or manslaughter, and

    • (iii) is 18 years of age or older.

• Marginal note:Conviction reversed

  (2) If the Minister is informed and satisfied that an individual’s conviction for first or second degree murder or manslaughter of the contributor has been reversed, the charges have been withdrawn or the proceedings were stayed and not recommenced within the required time period and that all rights of appeal have been exhausted, the individual’s entitlement to the pension or benefit to which they would otherwise have been entitled under this Act shall be reinstated and any amount recovered from the individual shall be repaid.

• Marginal note:Conviction outside Canada

  (3) If an individual has been convicted by a court outside Canada in respect of an offence that, if it had been committed in Canada, would have constituted first or second degree murder or manslaughter, the Minister may deem that conviction to be a conviction of first or second degree murder or manslaughter for the purposes of this section.

• Marginal note:Recovery of pension or benefits

  (4) An individual who has received a pension or benefit referred to in this section and in respect of whom the Minister is subsequently informed and satisfied that the individual has been convicted of first or second degree murder or manslaughter of the contributor shall be deemed not to have been entitled to receive such pension or benefit, which shall constitute a debt due to Her Majesty under section 66 and the Minister shall recover those amounts, including any amounts paid before the date of the individual’s conviction.

• Marginal note:Conviction prior to coming into force

  (5) For greater certainty, this section applies in respect of any first or second degree murder or manslaughter conviction of which the Minister is informed before, on or after the coming into force of this section.

• Marginal note:Definition of first or second degree murder

  (6) For the purpose of this section, first or second degree murder means murder within the meaning of section 231 of the Criminal Code.

• Marginal note:Definition of manslaughter

  (7) For the purpose of this section, manslaughter means manslaughter within the meaning of the Criminal Code.

• Marginal note:Exception — probation order

  (8) This section does not apply to an individual who is convicted of manslaughter if the individual is released on the conditions prescribed in a probation order under paragraph 731(1)(a) of the Criminal Code.

DIVISION BCalculation of Benefits

Basic Amount and Annual Adjustment

Marginal note:Basic amount of benefit

• 45 (1) A reference in this Part to the basic amount of any benefit shall be construed as a reference to the amount thereof calculated as provided in this Part without regard to subsection (2).

• Marginal note:Annual adjustments

  (2) Where any benefit has become payable commencing with a month in any year, the basic monthly amount of the benefit shall be adjusted annually, in prescribed manner, so that the amount payable for a month in any following year is an amount equal to the product obtained by multiplying

  • (a) the amount that would have been payable for that month if no adjustment had been made under this section with respect to that following year,

  by

  • (b) the ratio that the Pension Index for that following year bears to the Pension Index for the year preceding that following year.