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Canada Pension Plan (CPP) Calculator

WOWA® Simply Know Your Options

Inputs

General Information

Birth Year

CPP Start Year

You Can't start receiving CPP before turning 60

Salary Information

Please enter your income for each year since you turned 18 until you want to start receiving your pension. We are using each year's maximum pensionable earnings as default.

Year | Income

Year | Income

Year | Income

Year | Income

Results

You Can't start receiving CPP before turning 60

Future CPP earnings limits after 2026 are estimated and may differ from actual future CPP limits. This calculator provides an estimate. Your actual CPP amount may differ because CPP calculations include monthly contribution records, drop-out provisions, child-rearing provisions, disability periods, and other adjustments.

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WOWA’s Canada Pension Plan calculator estimates the monthly CPP retirement pension you may receive based on your earnings history, birth year, and the year you plan to start CPP.

To use the calculator, enter your birth year and the year you plan to start receiving CPP. You can then enter your employment or self-employment income for each year from age 18 until your CPP start year. By default, the calculator uses each year’s maximum CPP pensionable earnings as the assumed income. This means the default result represents someone who earned at or above the annual CPP maximum for every included year.

For years before 2024, CPP pensionable earnings are capped at the Year’s Maximum Pensionable Earnings, or YMPE. Starting in 2024, CPP introduced a second earnings ceiling called the Year’s Additional Maximum Pensionable Earnings, or YAMPE. Earnings between the YMPE and YAMPE are subject to additional CPP2 contributions and increase your future CPP benefit.

If your income is above the YMPE in 2024 or later, you should still enter your actual income. The calculator will account for earnings up to the YAMPE where CPP2 applies. Earnings above the YAMPE do not increase your CPP retirement pension.

This calculator estimates CPP for workers outside Quebec. Quebec workers contribute to the Quebec Pension Plan (QPP), which follows similar but separate rules.

The Canada Pension Plan, or CPP, is a public, contribution-based pension program that provides retirement, disability, survivor, and death benefits to eligible contributors. CPP is one of the main pillars of Canada’s retirement income system, along with Old Age Security, or OAS.

Most workers in Canada outside Quebec are required to contribute to CPP if they are over age 18 and earn more than the annual basic exemption. Quebec operates a separate but similar program called the Quebec Pension Plan, or QPP.

CPP retirement benefits are based mainly on how much you contributed and how long you contributed. Historically, CPP was designed to replace up to 25% of a worker’s average pensionable earnings. However, CPP enhancement began in 2019 and is gradually increasing the replacement rate for enhanced earnings toward one-third of average work earnings.

The enhancement has two parts. The first increases the benefit earned on income up to the YMPE. The second, introduced in 2024, adds CPP2 contributions on earnings between the YMPE and YAMPE. As a result, workers who contribute after 2019 — especially those with earnings above the YMPE from 2024 onward — will receive higher CPP benefits than they would have under the old CPP rules.

Your CPP retirement pension is based on your pensionable earnings and contributions over your working life. In general, CPP looks at your earnings from age 18 until the year you start receiving CPP, while also applying certain drop-out provisions for low-earning years.

Pensionable earnings include employment and self-employment income on which CPP contributions are made. For the first CPP earnings tier, contributions apply to earnings above the annual basic exemption and up to the Year’s Maximum Pensionable Earnings, or YMPE. The basic exemption has remained at $3,500 for many years, while the YMPE is updated annually based on wage growth.

CPP enhancement began in 2019. Under the enhanced CPP, workers contribute more to CPP, but they also receive a higher retirement pension in the future. The first part of the enhancement increased contributions and future benefits on earnings up to the YMPE. The second part, known as CPP2, began in 2024 and applies to higher earnings between the YMPE and a second ceiling called the Year’s Additional Maximum Pensionable Earnings, or YAMPE.

For 2026, the YMPE is $74,600 and the YAMPE is $85,000. Regular CPP contributions apply to pensionable earnings up to the YMPE, while CPP2 contributions apply only to earnings between $74,600 and $85,000. Earnings above the YAMPE do not increase CPP contributions or CPP retirement benefits. Employees and employers each contribute 5.95% on regular CPP pensionable earnings in 2026. Self-employed workers pay both the employee and employer portions, for a total rate of 11.90%. For CPP2, employees and employers each contribute 4.00% on earnings between the YMPE and YAMPE, while self-employed workers contribute 8.00%.

Because CPP enhancement is being phased into retirement benefits over time, people who contributed after 2019 receive higher CPP payments than they would have under the old CPP rules. The effect is larger for younger workers and for those who earn near or above the annual CPP earnings limits for many years.

You can start receiving your Canada Pension Plan (CPP) retirement pension as early as age 60, or delay it until as late as age 70. The standard CPP start age is 65. If you start before 65, your monthly payment is permanently reduced. If you start after 65, your monthly payment is permanently increased. There is no financial benefit to delaying CPP after age 70.

If you start CPP before age 65, your pension is reduced by 0.6% for each month before your 65th birthday. This equals a reduction of 7.2% per year, or up to 36% if you start CPP at age 60. If you delay CPP after age 65, your pension increases by 0.7% for each month after age 65. This equals an increase of 8.4% per year, or up to 42% if you start CPP at age 70.

The table below compares CPP starting ages using your estimated CPP pension at age 65. The monthly amounts are adjusted based on the official early and delayed CPP adjustment factors.

There is no single best age to start CPP. The right decision depends on your health, life expectancy, income needs, tax situation, and whether you plan to keep working.

If you expect to live longer, delaying CPP can be beneficial because you receive a larger monthly payment for life. Recent Canadian life tables show that life expectancy at age 65 is about 21 years on average, though it varies by sex, province, health, and personal circumstances. If you expect a short retirement period or need income sooner, starting CPP earlier may make more sense. CPP payments are adjusted permanently based on your start age, so this decision affects your income for the rest of your life.

A breakeven age can help compare different start dates. For example, starting CPP at 60 gives you payments sooner, but at a lower monthly amount. Starting at 65 or 70 means you receive fewer payments at first, but each payment is larger. The breakeven age is the age at which the total amount received from delaying catches up to the total amount received from starting earlier.

Your CPP pension is based partly on your pensionable earnings over your contributory period. If you stop working before starting CPP, some years with little or no earnings may be included in your CPP calculation. The general drop-out provision can reduce the impact by excluding some low-earning months, but retiring several years before starting CPP can still affect your estimate.

This is why the calculator asks for your annual earnings history. Entering actual income for each year gives a better estimate than relying on the default maximum pensionable earnings.

CPP enhancement began in 2019 and increases the CPP benefits earned on post-2019 contributions. Starting in 2024, CPP2 also applies to earnings between the Year’s Maximum Pensionable Earnings (YMPE) and the Year’s Additional Maximum Pensionable Earnings (YAMPE). Workers with earnings above the YMPE in 2024 or later may earn additional CPP entitlement through CPP2 contributions.

The early or delayed CPP adjustment still applies after CPP enhancement. In other words, the calculator first estimates the CPP pension you have earned, including applicable enhancements and CPP2 amounts, and then adjusts the monthly pension based on the CPP start age.

You can work while receiving CPP. If you are under age 70 and continue working while receiving CPP, your CPP contributions may create a Post-Retirement Benefit, or PRB, which can increase your retirement income. If you are under 65, CPP contributions while working are generally mandatory. From age 65 to 70, you may be able to choose whether to continue contributing to CPP.

This can make starting CPP earlier more attractive for some people who continue working, because they may receive CPP payments while also earning additional PRB amounts. However, those payments are taxable and may increase your taxable income while you are still working.

CPP retirement pension payments are taxable income. If you start CPP while you are still working, your CPP payments are added to your employment or self-employment income. This may push more of your income into a higher tax bracket.

For some people, delaying CPP until after retirement can result in smoother taxable income across years. For others, starting CPP earlier may be useful if they need the cash flow, expect lower lifetime income, or want to preserve personal savings.

Other factors can also affect the best CPP start age, including:

• your current savings and retirement income sources;
• whether you have a workplace pension;
• your expected investment returns;
• your debt level;
• your spouse’s or partner’s income;
• your eligibility for Old Age Security (OAS) or Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS);
• your risk of outliving your savings;
• your personal preference for income now versus higher income later.

CPP timing is a financial planning decision, not just a math problem. The calculator can estimate the monthly and lifetime differences between starting CPP at different ages, but your personal circumstances should guide the final decision.