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Government benefits are always a hot topics. For those that are collecting Canada Pension (CPP) or Old Age Security, benefits are indexed every year. For those that are not collecting yet, it’s important to know the amounts for planning purposes. Here’s the latest figures released by the government.
Canada Pension Plan (CPP)
| Type of benefit | Average benefit | Maximum monthly benefit (2011) |
| Disability benefit | $810.46 | $1,153.37 |
| Retirement pension (at age 65) | $504.50 | $960.00 |
| Survivors benefit (under age 65) | $364.85 | $529.09 |
| Survivors benefit (age 65 and over) | $297.72 | $576.00 |
| Children of disabled contributors benefit | $214.85 | $218.50 |
| Children of deceased contributors benefit | $214.85 | $218.50 |
| Combined survivors & retirement benefit (pension at age 65) | $682.21 | $960.00 |
| Combined survivors & disability benefit | $940.78 | $1,153.37 |
| Death benefit | Average payment | Maximum one-time payment |
| $2,252.93 | $2,500.00 |
Old Age Security
| Type of Benefit | Recipient | Average Monthly Benefit | Maximum Monthly Benefit | Maximum Annual Income |
| Old Age Security Pension | All recipients | $490.47 | $524.23 | See note |
| Guaranteed Income Supplement | Single person | $452.04 | $661.69 | $15,888 |
| Spouse of pensioner | $286.53 | $436.95 | $20,976 | |
| Spouse of non-pensioner | $431.73 | $661.69 | $38,112 | |
| Spouse of Allowance recipient | $376.23 | $436.95 | $38,112* | |
| Allowance | All recipients | $390.15 | $961.18 | $29,376 |
| Allowance for the survivor | All recipients | $575.01 | $1,065.45 | $21,408 |
* For Spouse of Allowance recipient, the Allowance stops being paid at $29,376 while the GIS stops being paid at $38,112.
If you are a pensioner but do not receive the maximum OAS pension you should contact Service Canada to receive accurate information about your benefits.
Note – Pensioners with an individual net income above $67,668 must repay part or all of the maximum Old Age Security pension amount. The repayment amounts are normally deducted from their monthly payments before they are issued. The full OAS pension is eliminated when a pensioner’s net income is $109,607 or above.
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Regarding CPP benefits, if one retires early and stops contributing to CPP, does the benefit predicted on one’s CPP statement continue to inflate? Not because of additional contirbutions, but because of the normal indexing associated with CPP. In other words, a) is the benefit predicted in today’s dollars AND b) will it go up due to indexing even if one is no longer contributing? Thanks!
Yes Patrick, CPP is indexed to inflation with or without contributions and it should be reflected on the CPP statement of contributions. Thanks for the question.
I lost my job and at 59 do not think I will get another. Do I have some other option other than early cpp.