Balancing work and retirement

During the last phase of your working life, the Québec Pension Plan (QPP) provides measures to guide you progressively toward retirement.

Early retirement

If you are 60 years of age and have contributed sufficiently to the Québec Pension Plan, you can receive your retirement pension while continuing to work on a part-time or full-time basis. However, you must have contributed to the Plan for at least 1 year.

Since you continue to contribute to the Plan, you will receive a retirement pension supplement as of the following year.

Retirement pension supplement

Are you already receiving your retirement pension under the Québec Pension Plan (QPP)? You can work and continue to receive it. In that case, you will receive a retirement pension supplement.

Agreement on contributions to the Québec Pension Plan during phased retirement

If you are an employee 55 years of age or over (but under age 72), you can work less while contributing just as much.

You cannot receive a retirement pension under the Plan before age 60. However, at age 55, you can reduce your work hours while continuing to contribute to the Plan as if your pay had not been reduced. That means that your future retirement pension would not be reduced because you had decided to work fewer hours. To take advantage of phased retirement, your employer must be willing to make an agreement with you for that purpose.

It may be that your conditions of employment or the provisions of your company pension plan do not allow you to make an agreement on contributions during phased retirement. Ask you employer whether an agreement is possible in your case.

Note that phased retirement is not available to self-employed workers. However, the owner of an incorporated business who contributes to the Québec Pension Plan as an employee can take phased retirement.

If you are eligible and phased retirement interests, we offer on request a service that simulates the effects of an agreement on contributions during phased retirement.