Canada Pension Plan (or CPP) is a monthly payment for people who cannot work due to disability, disorder, or illness. There are three types of disability benefits: CPP Disability Benefit, CPP Post Retirement Disability Benefit and CPP Children’s Benefit.
Who Qualifies?
You can qualify for CPP disability benefits if you meet the following criteria.
- You’re under 65
- You’ve contributed enough to the CPP
- You cannot find or retain gainful employment due to a mental or physical disability.
- You have a long-term, permanent, or fatal disability.
You may also qualify for the CPP post-retirement disability benefit if you receive CPP retirement pension payments and you:
- Are 60-65
- Have contributed enough to the CPP
- You cannot find or retain gainful employment due to a mental or physical disability.
- You have a long-term, permanent, or fatal disability.
- Started getting CPP retirement pension payments more than 15 months ago or became disabled after you started receiving your retirement pension.
If you are getting CPP disability payments, your dependant children are also entitled to CPP children’s benefits if they are:
- Under 18 or,
- Between the ages of 18 – 25 and are attending school full time.
How Much Can You Get?
The basic payout amount is $524.64, and the remaining is based on how long you worked and how much you contributed to CPP. The average monthly payout amounts for the CPP Disability Benefit is $1064.80, $524.64 for the CPP Post Retirement Disability Benefit and $264.53 for the CPP Children’s Benefit.
How To Apply
Submit Your Application
The most important thing is to submit your application as soon as possible to get the ball rolling. There are two ways you can do this.
- Register for a My Service Canada Account
- Fill out the application
- Complete and mail the Consent for Service Canada to Obtain Personal Information Form or drop it off at any Service Canada location.
- You can log onto your MSCA at any time to submit supporting documentation which includes your medical form (see below), Social Insurance Number (or SIN), banking information for direct deposit, and your spouse or common law partner’s SIN.
- Paper Application Form
- Fill out the Terminal or Non-Terminal Illness Application Form
- Mail your completed form or drop it off in person at any Service Canada location.
Submit Medical Form
Working with a doctor or nurse practitioner, complete one of two forms that best fits your situation. You then have three options to submit your document: you can upload your medical form to your MSCA, mail it, or drop it off in person at a Service Canada location. You mustn’t wait for your doctor or nurse practitioner to complete your medical form before submitting your completed application.
Receive a Response
Once you have submitted your application, it could take up to 120 days to decide once all documentation is received. It will be 7-14 days for an online application. Once your application has been reviewed, you will receive a call either relaying a decision or requesting more information. If your application is approved, you will also receive a letter informing you of your payment start date.
You can review the status of your application at any time by logging onto your MSCA or Contacting Service Canada
Other CPP Benefits
In addition to disability, post-retirement disability and children’s benefits, there are other CPP benefits that you may qualify for, such as:
- Post Retirement Benefit: if you are under 70 years of age and continue to work while receiving your CPP retirement pension, you can continue to contribute to CPP. Those contributions will go towards your post-retirement benefits, increasing your retirement income.
- Survivors Pension: available to surviving legal spouses and common-law partners of deceased CPP contributors.
- Death Benefit: a one-time payment is made to the estate or eligible individuals of a deceased CPP contributor.
