Should you take CPP or QPP at age 60?
Many people are eager to receive payments from their Canada Pension Plan or Quebec Pension Plan. Does it make more sense to take it as early as you can or wait? Georgia Swan, a Tax and Estate Planner with TD Wealth, shares a few ideas.
retirement
BY MONEYTALK STAFF
December 2025
Most Canadians contribute to the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) or the Quebec Pension Plan (QPP) throughout their working lives and become eligible to receive retirement benefits at the age of 60. But is 60 the best age to begin receiving those government cheques?
IMAGE: veronica park
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Alyson Schafer: Yes, absolutely. While you might have another "labourer" — I don't mean to be so base with that — but in terms of household tasks, doing the dishes, daycare drop-offs and helping with bedtime routines, partners are showing up more these days, which is wonderful. But mothers often remain the CEOs of parenting. They manage the countless details, like knowing when pizza lunch forms are due, tracking immunization schedules and making sure the right gear is packed for hockey practice.
Even when tasks are shared, moms tend to delegate rather than fully offload responsibility — meaning they still carry the mental load of ensuring everything gets done. This can be exhausting and stressful.
To put the question in context, it's important to understand that while Canadians can begin receiving CPP or QPP at age 60, they may also delay until as late as age 70 for CPP and 72 for QPP.
We asked Georgia Swan, Tax and Estate Planner with TD Wealth, what people should think about when making decisions about their CPP or QPP. Swan says the first thing you should ask yourself is: "Does the pension represent a real contribution to my income, such that I absolutely need it?" As she points out, the longer you delay taking your pension, the larger it will be. (A full breakdown of the exact numbers is below.)
Questions around when to take your pension start with what your personal situation is and how the decision could enhance your financial condition, she says. If you believe, for example, that you may not live long enough to fully enjoy the benefit, it may be advisable to start collecting earlier.
Swan also says you could take the funds early and invest the money, especially if you haven't maximized your Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA).
While most people may not receive the full amount of the pension if taken before 65, investing the funds could compensate for this and also mitigate other tax implications.
However, depending on your situation, Swan says there's also a strong case for delaying your pension:
If CPP is taken at age 60 which is five years before the standard retirement age of 65, total income is reduced by 36%. If CPP is taken at age 70, five years after the standard retirement age of 65, total income increases by 42%. For illustrative purposes, Maximum Monthly Payment figures do not reflect any increase to your CPP benefit due to indexing. For the purposes of calculating Total Collected at Age 90, we assume CPP is indexed by 2%. The actual rate is adjusted annually. The calculation of the cumulative pension amount assumes no reinvestment. All figures are rounded and represent the maximum allowed CPP income but do not reflect the average benefit received. To find out what your payments could be, Click CPP retirement pension: How much you could receive.
Source: Canada.ca. "Canada Pension Plan retirement pension," Government of Canada, August 13, 2025, accessed August 25, 2025, www.canada.ca/en/services/benefits/publicpensions/cpp.html
$466K
$639K
$767K
TOTAL COLLECTED AT AGE 90
$917
$1,433
$2,035
MAXIMUM MONTHLY PAYMENT
60
65
70
What happens when you delay CPP?
What happens when you delay QPP?
If QPP is taken at age 60 which is five years before the standard retirement age of 65, total income is reduced by 36%. If QPP is taken at age 72, seven years after the standard retirement age of 65, total income increases by 58.8%. For illustrative purposes, Maximum Monthly Payment figures do not reflect any increase to your QPP benefit due to indexing. For the purposes of calculating Total Collected at Age 90, we assume QPP is indexed by 2%, based on full annual payment up to and including age 90. The actual rate is adjusted annually. The calculation of the cumulative pension amount assumes no reinvestment. All figures are rounded and represent the maximum allowed QPP income but do not reflect the average benefit received. To find out what your payments could be, click Calculation of your retirement pension under the Québec Pension Plan.
Source: The Quebec Pension Plan, URL accessed September 19, 2025. https://www.rrq.gouv.qc.ca/en/programmes/regime_rentes/Pages/regime_rentes.aspx
$873
$1,365
$2,915
MAXIMUM MONTHLY PAYMENT
$482K
$667K
$838K
TOTAL COLLECTED AT AGE 90
60
65
72
Before age 65, CPP/QPP is reduced: If you take it at age 60, the total benefit received could be decreased by as much as 36%.
After age 65, the total pension is increased: If you wait until the age 70 for CPP, it could increase by as much as 42%. For QPP, if you wait until 72, the increase is as much as 58.8%.
And to put it in perspective, for CPP, these funds will have increased over the five years from age 65 to age 70, guaranteed. Compared to the risks and returns on the stock market, this should be seriously considered.
Swan says the tax implications involving the pension can be nuanced. Since CPP and QPP are regarded as income for tax purposes, taxable income will rise along with the risk of moving to a higher tax bracket. However, the timing of CPP and QPP may give you some flexibility (to a certain extent) on when and how much to withdraw from retirement savings.
To see your personal CPP estimate, visit CPP retirement pension: How much you could receive. For QPP, visit Calculation of your retirement pension under the Québec Pension Plan.
But Swan wants to emphasize that, despite all the pros and cons, the options can't be debated in a vacuum and must be made with your ultimate financial and life goals in mind. She says it's a personal decision that should be made in consultation with a financial advisor as part of your larger financial and retirement plan.
What happens when you delay QPP?
TOTAL COLLECTED AT AGE 90
MAXIMUM MONTHLY PAYMENT
$466K
$639K
$767K
$917
$1,433
$2,035
60
65
70
If CPP is taken at age 60 which is five years before the standard retirement age of 65, total income is reduced by 36%. If CPP is taken at age 70, five years after the standard retirement age of 65, total income increases by 42%. For illustrative purposes, Maximum Monthly Payment figures do not reflect any increase to your CPP benefit due to indexing. For the purposes of calculating Total Collected at Age 90, we assume CPP is indexed by 2%. The actual rate is adjusted annually. The calculation of the cumulative pension amount assumes no reinvestment. All figures are rounded and represent the maximum allowed CPP income but do not reflect the average benefit received. To find out what your payments could be, Click CPP retirement pension: How much you could receive.
Source: Canada.ca. "Canada Pension Plan retirement pension," Government of Canada, August 13, 2025, accessed August 25, 2025, www.canada.ca/en/services/benefits/publicpensions/cpp.html
Questions around when to take your pension start with what your personal situation is and how the decision could enhance your financial condition, she says. If you believe, for example, that you may not live long enough to fully enjoy the benefit, it may be advisable to start collecting earlier.
Swan also says you could take the funds early and invest the money, especially if you haven't maximized your Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA).
While most people may not receive the full amount of the pension if taken before 65, investing the funds could compensate for this and also mitigate other tax implications.
However, depending on your situation, Swan says there's also a strong case for delaying your pension: