Agreement on Social Security between Canada and the Republic of Macedonia

Qualifying for Canadian and Macedonian benefits

NOTE: Help on accessing alternative formats, such as Portable Document Format (PDF) files, can be obtained in the alternate format help section.

Agreement on Social Security between Canada and the Republic of Macedonia (PDF version, 37 kb)

The Agreement

The Agreement on Social Security between Canada and the Republic of Macedonia came into force on November 1, 2011.

The Agreement may help you qualify for Canadian and Macedonian old age, disability or survivor benefits.

Social security legislation and agreements are complex. This sheet contains only general information and may not describe all the provisions that apply to your situation.

Qualifying for a Canadian benefit

The Canadian pension programs included in the Agreement are the Canada Pension Plan and the Old Age Security program.

Under the Canada Pension Plan, you can receive a benefit when you retire or if you become disabled. The Plan may also pay benefits to your survivors after you die.

To qualify for a benefit, you normally must have contributed to the Plan, which came into force on January 1, 1966, for a minimum period.

If you do not qualify for a Canada Pension Plan benefit, Canada will consider periods of insurance and equivalent periods under the pension program of the Republic of Macedonia as periods of contribution to the Canada Pension Plan.

The Old Age Security program covers most persons who live or have lived in Canada. The Old Age Security pension is payable at the age of 65 to persons who meet certain residence conditions. To qualify for this pension in Canada, you normally must have lived in this country for at least 10 years after the age of 18. You normally need 20 years of residence after the same age to receive an Old Age Security pension outside Canada.

What happens if you do not qualify for a Canadian Old Age Security pension because you have not lived in Canada for the minimum number of years? Under the Agreement, Canada will consider periods of insurance and equivalent periods under the pension program of the Republic of Macedonia after the age of 18 as periods of residence in Canada.

The Agreements cover residents of Quebec with respect to the Old Age Security program. However, the province of Quebec negotiates its own "understandings" with respect to the Quebec Pension Plan.

Qualifying for a Macedonian benefit

The Macedonian pension program is similar to the Canada Pension Plan and covers most employed and self-employed persons in the Republic of Macedonia.

To qualify for a benefit under the pension program of the Republic of Macedonia, you normally must have contributed to the program for a minimum number of years. For example, to qualify for a Macedonian old age pension at the age of 64 for men and 62 for women, you normally must have contributed to the pension program for at least 15 years.

If you have not contributed to the program for the minimum period you may not qualify for a Macedonian benefit. However, to determine eligibility for a Macedonian old age benefit under the Agreement, the Republic of Macedonia will consider periods of contribution to the Canada Pension Plan and periods of residence in Canada after the age of 18 as periods of insurance under the pension program of the Republic of Macedonia.

Payment of your benefits

You may qualify for a Canadian or Macedonian benefit, or both; however, under the Agreement, each country pays your benefit based solely on your creditable periods of contribution, under that country's pension program. In other words, Canada would pay the benefit amount for the portion of creditable periods to the Canadian pension program and the Republic of Macedonia would pay the benefit amount for the portion of creditable periods to the Macedonian pension program.

Applying for benefits or finding out more about the Agreement

If you want to apply for a benefit from Canada or the Republic of Macedonia under the Agreement, or if you need more information about the Agreement, please contact us:

On the Internet:

servicecanada.gc.ca

By phone:

From Canada or the United States

1‑800‑454‑8731
1‑800‑255‑4786 (TTY)

From other countries

+1‑613‑957‑1954

By mail:

International Operations
Service Canada
Ottawa, ON  K1A 0L4
CANADA

By fax:

+1‑613‑952‑8901