Service Canada
People serving people
Common menu bar links
What if I apply for my CPP Retirement pension due to health issues/disability?
If you apply for your retirement pension and have significant health issues or a disability, you may be entitled to receive a CPP disability benefit instead.
To be eligible, you must:
- have stopped working because of your medical condition,
- be under the age of 65, and
- have made sufficient contributions to the CPP.
Under Canada Pension Plan legislation, your disability must be a “severe and prolonged” mental or physical disability. “Severe” means your condition prevents you from working regularly at any job, and “prolonged” means your condition is long term and may result in death.
However, there are some things you need to be aware of when you apply for both a retirement pension and a disability benefit:
- although you can apply for both retirement and disability benefits you cannot receive both;
- a retirement pension may be processed and payment received more quickly than a disability benefit (when your retirement pension begins, it does not mean your disability benefit has been denied);
- to be deemed disabled, you must meet the criteria noted above, and the date of onset of your disability must be before the effective date of your retirement pension;
- if you are deemed disabled, your retirement pension can be cancelled in favour of the disability benefit. The request must be made in writing (a waiver form may be signed when filling your applications); and
- any retirement benefits you received must be paid back if you receive disability benefits.
