If you’re either of retirement age or approaching it, then you’re probably wondering about the CPP (Canada Pension Plan) program. The Canada Pension Plan is a benefits program designed for retired citizens. It’s maintained by the Canadian government.
The funds from CPP allow retired people to partially replace their income when they retire. It’s likely that you’ve noticed a contribution to CPP on your pay cheque. Once you’ve retired, CPP payments will be critical because they’ll be your main source of income.
| CPP Payment Dates | At a Glance | For 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| January 27, 2023 | May 26, 2023 | September 27, 2023 |
| February 24, 2023 | June 28, 2023 | October 27, 2023 |
| March 29, 2023 | July 27, 2023 | November 28, 2023 |
| April 27, 2023 | August 29, 2023 | December 21, 2023 |
These payments come in the form of a cheque or a direct deposit to your bank account. In this article, we’ll tell you everything you need to know about CPP Payment Dates.
If you’re already receiving CPP payments, it’s likely that you’re wondering when your next payment is scheduled, and if you’re not receiving payments yet then you’re probably curious about the payment schedule.
It’s not uncommon to find questions on Google like “When is the next CPP payment date?” or “When are the CPP payment dates?”.
The Canadian government issues CPP payments on a monthly basis and they have a schedule for CPP payment dates, however the CPP payment dates aren’t the same from month to month.
So, if you were issued a CPP payment on the third of one month, you can’t expect to be issued your next payment on the third of the next month. CPP payment dates are different each month, but they’re typically scheduled three days before the last business day of the month.
If you choose to receive a cheque rather than a direct deposit payment to your bank account, then the cheque will be mailed out each month on the third business day, rather than the third-to-last business day.
This means you’ll receive your check a few days later than you would a direct deposit payment, which is to be expected.
But if you’re interested in learning about the precise CPP payment dates, here’s the list for 2022 and 2023:
As you can see, CPP payment dates are altered a bit to account for government holiday closures in December each year.
You can also look up CPP payment dates on the Canadian government website if you forget them or just to make sure they haven’t changed for some reason. You can find them here along with other benefit payment schedules.
Anyone who has yet to receive a CPP payment is likely curious not only about CPP payment dates, but also about how much the payments are. While CPP payment dates are predetermined, the amount of your CPP payment is dependent on a number of factors.
Some things have a bigger impact on your payment amount. Your initial CPP payment dates impact your payment amount, for instance.
Of course, the amount you’ve contributed to the CPP also effects your CPP payment amounts. The length of time you’ve contributed to the CPP is a factor, as well. The Canadian government factors your lifetime earnings in this instance.
Check out your My Services Canada account for more information about your eligibility. There’s an option there to receive an estimate based on your work history.
You can also use this simple CPP Benefit Calculator. It’s important to note that before you use this calculator that you’ll need some information, like your CPP Statement of Contributions.
There are some additional factors that affect your CPP payment amount. You can continue to contribute to the CPP after you reach the age of 65, for instance.
You may have encountered years of low-to-no income during the years you worked. And you can continue to work while drawing CPP. All of these factors impact your CPP payments.
One of the things you’ll want to know along with the CPP payment dates is how much your CPP payments will be. Many people believe that the easiest way to calculate your CPP payment amount is to figure out how much you contributed to the CPP.
The Canadian government calculates a figure known as the Yearly Maximum Pensionable Earnings (YMPE), which of course refers to the maximum pensionable earnings for CPP payments.
Because everyone makes a different salary, there’s no uniform CPP payment for everyone. But don’t worry, we’ve included a handy chart to help you figure out approximately what your CPP payment will be.
Bear in mind that this chart makes the assumption that you’ve worked and paid into the CPP for 39 years, but if you’ve worked for 39 years or less then you simply divide the number of years you’ve actually paid into the CPP by 39 and then multiply that total by the amount in the 2nd column.
| CPP Contribution Years Salary | Estimated CPP Monthly Payments 2022 on Average |
| $20,000 or less | $417 or less |
| $20,000- $30,000 | $522 |
| $30,000- $40,000 | $731 |
| $40,000-$50,000 | $941 |
| $50,000- $60,000 | $1149 |
| $60,000 or more | $1253.59 |
If you’re here to learn about CPP payment dates then its probably good for you to know about recent increases in CPP benefits, as well. Effective January 2022, the Canadian government increased CPP benefits a total of 2.7%.
The Canadian government arrived at this percentage decision by studying the Consumer Price Index for the prior year. The Consumer Price Index figures are expected to rise even further in 2023 due to rising inflation.
Another factor that contributed to the increase is an increase in the funds being contributed to the CPP. In 2021, the average salary was $61, 600. In 2022, it’s now $64, 900. This isn’t a new idea, as the government made the decision to increase CPP rates for both employees and employers.
You can expect that CPP rates will increase in the future along with the increased CPP contributions.
The Canadian government’s website has said that a higher earnings limit system will be introduced in 2024, which is good news for anyone who is learning about CPP payment dates now. What this means is that employees will be able to contribute more of their earnings to the CPP.
The new metric used to facilitate this increase is the Yearly Maximum Pensionable Earnings (YMPE).
This metric doesn’t count against 2023’s increase amounts, which is great. Instead this second metric allows for a second earnings limit, which means your salary is now run through two different earnings limit qualifiers.
The first earnings limit in 2025 is projected to be around $69,700. The new second earnings limit will kick in after that, and in 2025 it’s projected to be around $79,400, which is a 14% increase.
If you’re looking for CPP payment dates because you’re learning about CPP benefits before signing up, then you’re likely also interested in the maximum payout amounts for CPP benefits. Here’s a look at some of the most commonly quoted maximum CPP payouts in 2022:
Here’s a look at average payouts in 2021 vs. maximum payouts in 2022:
| Benefit | Average in 2021 for new beneficiaries | 2022 Maximum monthly payment amount |
| Retirement pension (age 65) | $779.32 | $1253.59 |
| Post-retirement benefit (age 65) | $9.56 | $36.26 |
| Disability benefit | $1064.80 | $1457.45 |
| Post-retirement disability benefit | $524.64 | $524.64 |
| Survivor’s pension (under age 65) | $463.40 | $674.69 |
| Survivor’s pension (65 and older) | $315.48 | $752.15 |
| Children of disabled CPP contributors | $264.53 | $264.53 |
| Children of deceased CPP contributors | $264.53 | $264.53 |
| Death benefit (one time payment) | $2496.06 | $2,500 |
| Combined survivor’s and retirement pension (age 65) | $949.52 | $1257.13 |
| Combined survivor’s pension and disability benefit | $1,152.44 | $1,467.04 |
Of course while you’re learning about CPP payment dates you’ll want to know how to maximize your CPP benefits. It’s worth knowing that not everyone receives the maximum CPP benefit payment. So how do you go about receiving the maximum CPP payment?
First of all, you need to know about the Yearly Maximum Pensionable Earnings (YMPE). This figure is set by the Canadian government and it changes every year. The YMPE is a limit on how much you can contribute to the CPP.
2020’s YMPE was $58,700. What this means is that in 2020, when you reached $58,700 in earnings, you stopped contributing to the CPP. Any beginners who are here learning about CPP payment dates are probably reading this figure and immediately thinking “well, that’s not good!
I don’t want to stop contributing because the more I contribute, the higher my payments will be!”, and you’d be right. But the good news is that this limit is increasing in 2024 and 2025.
To receive the maximum CPP benefit, you’ll need to contribute the maximum amount for 39 years.
But you don’t just automatically receive these CPP benefits. You’ll need to apply!
If you’re here learning about CPP payment dates, another thing you may need to know is how to apply for CPP coverage.
It’s quite easy to apply for CPP benefits online on the Canadian government’s website. But we’re going to clue you into an important bit of information.
The sooner you apply for CPP benefits before your retirement date, the better. The Canadian government recommends registering as much as 120 days prior.
So, sign up for a My Service Canada account. You’ll then be given a personal access code which you’ll need to finish the registration process.
You can also sign up by mail, but online registration is a lot easier and faster.
When you register online you’ll be able to access your historical CPP contributions immediately after you’ve completed the registration process. It also gives you a way to access your benefits information, as well as helpful resources.
There are a couple of exceptions where you’ll be required to register by mail. For instance if you’ve ever received CPP benefits in the past, turned them down previously, or you’ve granted someone financial power of attorney to control your CPP benefits.
If you’re here learning about CPP payment dates and haven’t signed up yet, then it’s a good time to learn about different payout strategies and plan for when to apply for the CPP.
Of course, everyone knows you can apply for CPP benefits at age 65, but you can apply for reduced benefits at 60.
You can enjoy increased CPP benefits if you wait until you’re 70 to apply, which can be a nice incentive to consider.
Here are some of the figures so that you can plan your application in a way that works for you.
If you wait to apply until after the age of 65, before age 70, you’ll get a payment increase of 0.7% monthly, which can accumulate to 8.4% per year.
If you wait to apply until after age 70, you’ll get a payment increase of up to 42%.
If you decide to apply for CPP benefits before the age of 65, you’ll get a decrease of .6 % monthly.
So if you decide to retire in a hurry, you could be facing a reduction in benefits of as much as 36% annually.
It can be tricky to remember CPP payment dates when you’re first learning about them. However, once you’ve been signed up to them for a bit it will get easier to understand the process and the scheduling.
In general, CPP payments are issued three days before the last business day of the month for users who are receiving direct deposit payments to their bank accounts, and on the third business day of the month for those who are receiving payments in cheque form.
But until you get the hang of the payment schedule, it’s a good idea to check out the Canadian government’s website to find the up-to-date payment schedule.
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The CPP payment dates for 2021 are as follows:
Here are all of the CPP payment dates for 2022:
The Canadian government does have a schedule for CPP payment dates, but they’re not on the same date each month. In general, you can expect them to fall 3 days from the last business day of the month, except for in December. In December CPP payments are issued early to account for government and bank closures over the holidays. If you’d like a complete list of CPP payment dates, or you’d like a handy website to keep around in case you forget the payment dates, click here.
CPP payment dates vary each month. However, they’re almost always issued at the end of the month for direct deposit payments (around 3 days before the last business day of the month) and around the third business day of the month if you receive CPP payments in cheque form. If you’d like a complete list of CPP payment dates, click here.
At the time of this writing, November 2022, the next CPP payment will be November 28th for people who receive direct deposit payments.
CPP payment dates change each month, so payments aren’t issued on the same date each month. At the time of this writing in November 2022, CPP payments will be issued on November 28th. CPP payments are generally issued three days before the last business day of the month, except for in December when the payments are issued a few days early to account for the closure of banks and government offices over the holidays.
The CPP payment dates for 2021 were as follows:
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