Canada Pension Plan Retirement Application

NOTE: Changes to the Canada Pension Plan will be phased in gradually between 2011 and 2016, with the first major change occurring in January 2011 for people retiring after age 65. Read more to find out how these changes may affect you.

Also, find out how you can correct inaccurate or incomplete information or how to disclose information not already reported during previous dealings with the CPP and/or Old Age Security programs. Read our NEW Disclosure Policy.

Applying for your CPP Retirement pension online is a two part process:

  1. First, you must complete and submit your application electronically to Service Canada.
  2. Then you must print and sign a Signature Page and mail it to Service Canada.

At the end of the online application process you will be asked to print and sign a Signature Page and mail it to Service Canada. A date stamp will appear on the Signature Page indicating the date and time the online portion of your application was sent. The date stamp is in Atlantic Standard Time (AST) – the time zone you are in and day of the month you apply may affect the official receipt date of your application. Please contact us if you have any questions about how our online applications are dated.

If you would rather have us mail you an application form to fill out, please contact us.

Find the answers to several Frequently Asked Questions related to this online service.

To use this online service, you must...

  • be at least one day past the month following your 59th birthday;
  • have contributed to the CPP;
  • want your retirement pension payments to begin within 11 months from today;
  • have access to a printer;
  • use a computer that meets our minimum computer requirements; and,
  • have your JavaScript enabled.

Note: Your online session will expire if it has been inactive for 15 minutes. After 14 minutes and 30 seconds of inactivity, a pop-up, lasting 30 seconds, will appear with an option to extend your session for another 15 minutes. If you do not acknowledge, your session will timeout, and you will have to restart your session. For security reasons the system is not designed to save your information and you will lose all information previously entered. Please ensure you have all required information on hand prior to beginning your online application.

What you need before you begin:

  • Your Social Insurance Number (SIN);
  • If you wish to arrange for Direct Deposit, please have the financial institution number of your bank, the branch and account number;
  • If you lived or worked in a country other than Canada and want to apply for benefits from that country, give details of when you worked or lived outside Canada and your Social Insurance Number there;
  • If you want to take advantage of pension sharing for possible tax savings, your spouse or common-law partner's SIN; and,
  • If you were the primary caregiver of any child(ren) or received Family Allowance or Child Tax Benefits while they were under the age of 7, you need to provide:
    • the SIN of each child; and,
    • the date of entry into Canada for each child born outside of Canada.

Note: if you do not have the SIN of your child(ren), you can still use this service but will need to submit proof of each child's birth by mail.

Security Warning: If you are using this service on a shared computer in a public area (i.e. public kiosk or library), please ensure that you do not leave the computer unattended while accessing this service. Before leaving the computer, it is also important that you clear your browser's cache and close down your browser. This will ensure that no one else can access any personal information you may have entered.

Exceptions

  • This service is not available for individuals presently receiving a CPP (or Quebec Pension Plan) disability benefit.
  • If you fit into any of the following situations you will not be able to use this service and must apply to the Régie des rentes du Québec:
    • You have worked only in the province of Quebec;
    • You currently live in Quebec and have worked both in the province of Quebec and in another province or territory; or
    • You have worked in Quebec, currently live outside of Canada and your last province of residence was Quebec.

Continue to Information for the Canada Pension Plan Retirement Application