Retirement plans and disability

You have a disability? What will the retirement plans provide? 
 

Québec Pension Plan (QPP)

 

For severe and permanent disabilities, the Québec Pension Plan pays a disability benefit to the worker who's under 65 years of age and who has contributed sufficiently. It also pays an allowance for his or her children under the age of 18.

 

• To be eligible

  
  You must have contributed for at least:
  
  

  • 2 out of the last 3 years included in your contribution period or
  • 5 out of the last 10 years or
  • half of the years included in your contribution period, with a minimum of 2 years.
  
  You must also be declared disabled by the Régie des rentes du Québec. For example:
  
  
  • your disability must be severe and last indefinitely and
  • you must be incapable, due to your health condition, to perform any type of remunerating work, that is, work where you would earn more than $12,372 a year, in 2006.

Important...

 

• Being declared disabled by another organization, such as an insurance company, does not automatically grant you the right to the QPP disability pension. The criteria may be different.
• In the medical evaluation for assessing your capacity to work, the Régie des rentes du Québec only looks at the health condition factor.
• If you are aged between 60 and 65, you could be declared disabled if you are no longer able to perform your usual work. However, this work must be remunerated and you must have ceased employment due to your disability and not for any other reason, such as retirement or unemployment.
• If you have ever contributed to the Canada Pension Plan, or to a pension plan in a country with which the Québec or federal government has established a social security agreement, these contribution years can be added to your QPP participation and entitle you to the disability pension.

 

How much will you receive?

The amount of the disability pension is made up of 2 parts:

 

• a fixed portion of $397.58 and
• a portion equal to 75% of your basic pension.

The maximum monthly amount in 2006 is $1031.02.

To get an estimate of your disability pension, consult your statement of participation. The Régie des rentes du Québec automatically sends it to contributors every 4 years. You can also request a copy anytime.

The disability pension is payable as of the fourth month following the month in which you became disabled. All QPP pensions are indexed in January of each year in order to account for inflation. They are also taxable.

When you reach 65 years of age, your disability pension will automatically be replaced by a retirement pension. You will also probably be entitled to the OAS pension from the federal government. 
 

You have dependant children under the age of 18?

If you are granted a disability pension, your dependent children under age 18 will be entitled to a pension for a disabled person's child. This pension, which is added to your disability pension, is $63.65 a month for each child, in 2006.

For more information on the disability pension from the Québec Pension Plan, consult www.rrq.gouv.qc.ca under the section entitled « Disability ». 
 

Canada Pension Plan (CPP)

 

If you work somewhere else in Canada, you probably contribute to the Canada Pension Plan. This plan also pays a disability pension, but the legislative provisions that govern this pension are different than for the QPP.

For more information on the Canada Pension Plan, consult www.dsc.gc.ca under the section entitled « Seniors ».

Private pension plans

 

If you participate in a private pension plan, you could be eligible for a disability pension. Check with your plan administrator whether such a pension is available. 

Other benefits in case of disability

In addition to the fore-mentioned disability benefits, there are also those provided by various other organizations:
 

Insurance companies

Some insurance companies offer individual or group disability insurance. If you hold this type of insurance policy, check with your insurance company for the applicable eligibility conditions and benefit amounts. If you are entitled to both the disability pension from the Québec Pension Plan and from your insurance company, it is possible that the benefits paid by the insurance company will be reduced by the amount of your benefits from the QPP.  

The Commission de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (CSST)

The CSST provides benefits to persons that become disabled due to a work-related accident or disease. For more information, check with your employer. 

The Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ)

A person that becomes disabled due to a car accident must apply to the SAAQ. For more information consult www.saaq.gouv.qc.ca, under the section entitled « Accident victim ». 

The Ministère de l'Emploi, de la Solidarité sociale et de la Famille

The Québec government offers financial assistance to persons without any income. A person that becomes disabled and who is not eligible for any disability benefit can obtain financial assistance from the Ministère de l'Emploi, de la Solidarité sociale et de la Famille. For more information, consult www.mess.gouv.qc.ca under the section entitled « Financial assistance ». 

The help desk for victims of criminal acts

Québec has implemented measures intended to help and compensate victims of criminal acts. For more information, consult www.ivac.qc.ca under the section « Victimes d'actes criminels » (French only).

Worth knowing about...

• Each plan or program has its own definition of disability. Hence, you must check this definition with each potential organization that could eventually pay you a benefit.
• The disability pension payment could be for a limited duration. Make sure you know all the payment conditions, right from the start.