Your pension and Canada Pension Plan Integrated

If you are new to contributing to the Public Service Pension Plan (PSPP) or you’ve been contributing for years, understanding the concept of Canada Pension Plan (CPP) integration can be confusing. However, if you are planning to retire before age 65, understanding how your PSPP pension income changes when you become eligible for CPP is important for your retirement planning.

As an active contributing member in the PSPP, you also contribute to the CPP which you are eligible to receive unreduced at age 65.

When you retire you will receive your lifetime pension from the PSPP. If you retire before age 65, you will also receive the PSPP early retirement bridge benefit which is designed to supplement your lifetime PSPP pension until you reach age 65. The early retirement bridge benefit will continue from your retirement date until age 65, which is when you become eligible to collect an unreduced CPP pension.

You can also elect to start your CPP benefit as early as age 60 but your benefit will be reduced and doing so does not affect your eligibility to receive the PSPP early retirement bridge benefit. What you need to keep in mind is that the PSPP early retirement bridge benefit stops when you reach age 65, while your lifetime pension from the PSPP continues for the rest of your life. Likewise, you can start your CPP pension after age 65, on an increased basis, up to age 70. You can get more detail about the CPP and your entitlements by viewing the CPP Integration and Your PSPP Pension booklet (PDF) or, refer to your online APS guide which you can access by logging into e-services(opens in a new tab).

You can also visit Canada.ca(opens in a new tab) to learn how to receive an estimate of your monthly CPP.