Collecting Canadian Old Age Pension

Hello ptalley,

If you have contributed to CPP or QPP for the required number of years then you can collect your retirement pension or disability pension benefits anywhere in the world. Depending on where you live CPP/QPP may or may not have direct deposit agreements with banks in that country. It is always better to keep your Canadian bank account active when leaving the country and have your benefits and income tax refunds deposited directly to that account. You need only withdraw funds from ATMs in your host country.

I'm here in Brazil and receive CPP, unfortunately there is no direct deposit agreement with Brazil and your hair would stand on end knowing the trouble I have cashing CPP checks here, banks do not accept foreign checks here. I am now desparately trying to re-open a Canadian bank account.

By the way, my older brother is a neighbor of yours, he lives in Prince Edward County (Cherry Valley). LOL

  Cheers, 
  William James Woodward, Brazil & Canada Expert - Expat-blog Team

Thank you for your quick and explanatory response. We are thinking of someday moving to the USA which is not a problem when banking since our bank (Royal Bank of Canada) has branches in the USA who deal with this all the time. Hope things get better for you in Brazil, banking-wise.

Cheers.

The temptation to make an old joke has me feeling like an alcoholic with a bottle.

wjwoodward wrote:

Hello ptalley,
If you have contributed to CPP or QPP for the required number of years then you can collect your retirement pension

Hello,
And how many are the required number of years?

Hello Alf007,

Technically, if you have worked and made ONE valid contribution (payment) to qualify for Canada Pension Plan retirement pension you can collect.

That said, your benefit will depend on the number of years that you have contributed and the amount you have paid. Also the benefit you will receive also depends on the age at which you begin collecting your retirement pension. You can begin as early as 60 years of age or at the usual retirement age of 65.

So, the longer you have contributed and the greater each individual contribution has been the greater the benefit payments will be. I will use my own case as an example: I contributed for more years than I care to remember and for the majority of them made the maximum contribution. I began my retirement pension benefits a few months after my 63rd. birthday. My benefits are just a few dollars over $550 (CAD) per month. Certainly not enough to live on if I were still in Canada. Fortunately, here in Brazil when converted to the local currency after the transfer of funds taxes and exchange rate I net around R$1000 (BRL), again not much, but it helps me get by.

Also, if you are presently living and working outside of Canada you may also qualify for a pension from that country or from Canada or from both.

Sorry for not being specific with the first posting.

Cheers,
William James Woodward - Brazil & Canada Expert, Expat-blog Team.