The Canada Pension Plan and Your Retirement

Transcript

(Open with the Host walking into frame. Animated red line leads into the text Retirement planning: CPP appears behind the Host.)

Hi, my name is Selena, and I'm a Service Canada employee.

(Cut to a medium shot of the Host. LINE DRAWING: Stick person in a canoe paddles into scene. The words Canada Pension Plan appear behind.)

Retirement… whether it's 40 years from now, or just around the corner, the Canada Pension Plan will be there for you, providing a modest financial base to help make your retirement more secure.

(Cut to a tight shot of the Host. Words “Canada Pension Plan” dissolve into “CPP”)

Better known as the CPP, the plan provides a basic pension to contributors when they retire.

(Cut to a medium shot of the Host. LINE DRAWING: Stick person holds paycheque, dollar signs flow towards acronym “CPP”. The CPP acronym grows as more dollar signs flow into it.)

To get a retirement pension, you must have made at least one CPP contribution, which is a payment that was deducted from your paycheque.

And how much you'll receive is based on how much, and for how long, you contributed and at what age you choose to retire.

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It's important to remember that your CPP retirement pension does not start automatically.

You must apply for it.

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You probably already know that you can start as early as age 60, or any time after.

(Cut to a medium shot of the Host. LINE DRAWING: Stick person points to simple graph that illustrates how a person retiring at 60 will receive less retirement pension income than a person retiring at 70.)

But you'll have to weigh the advantages and disadvantages for yourself, as the earlier you start, the less benefit amount you'll receive.

The later you start, the higher your benefit amount will be, up to age 70.

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When making your decision, and balancing it against any other retirement income and long-term plans you might have, you should first find out how much you have contributed to the CPP, and the amount of retirement pension you can expect to receive.

(Cut to a medium shot of the Host. The Online Services page appears behind. Highlight the Statement of Contributions.)

You can do this by going to the "Online Services and Forms" section of our website.

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There, you'll find your CPP Statement of Contributions.

It shows the total amount of your CPP contributions by year, and the pensionable earnings on which they are based.

(Slide in the Canadian Retirement Income Calculator web page.)

And, with the Canadian Retirement Income Calculator, you can estimate what your pension amount will be at a given age.

(LINE DRAWING: Stick Person observes and is impressed. Slide in the My Service Canada Account page.)

To get started though, you'll first have to register for My Service Canada Account.

It's simple to do and protects your privacy.

(Cut to a medium shot of the Host. LINE DRAWING: Stick Person behind his desk typing. The Online Services page appears behind. Highlight the Online application page.)

When you're ready to apply for your retirement pension, you can do it online.

Again, just go to the "Online Services and Forms" section and follow the easy, step-by-step application instructions.

(Cut to medium shot of Host. LINE DRAWING: Door appears with Service Canada signage overhead. Stick person seen talking on cordless phone.)

You can also get an application kit from a Service Canada Centre or call us to receive one by mail.

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To find out more about the CPP retirement pension, explore our website, call us, or visit a Service Canada Centre near you.

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At Service Canada, we're people serving people.

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