Canada Pension Plan Integration at Age 65

Revised: August 2009 Print this page Email the link

The Canada Pension Plan (CPP) was established in 1966 to provide all working Canadians with a source of retirement income. The OPSEU Pension Plan is integrated with the CPP, as are many other public and private sector plans.

Integration means that the OPSEU Pension Plan is designed to take into account CPP contributions and benefits. For instance, during the member’s employment, both the member’s and the employer’s contributions to the OPSEU Pension Plan are reduced to reflect the fact that contributions are also payable to CPP for a portion of the member’s earnings. 

At age 65, the retired member’s OPTrust pension payments are adjusted based on OPTrust’s CPP integration formula, not the amount of CPP pension the pensioner receives. When a member retires before age 65, the OPSEU Pension Plan “tops up” the pension paid prior to age 65, which is when CPP payments typically begin.

A member may choose to take his/her CPP pension as early as 60 at a reduced rate. In this case the CPP benefit will be “stacked” on top of the unintegrated OPTrust benefit until age 65. The member’s OPTrust pension is reduced for CPP integration at age 65, whether or not the member chooses to start receiving CPP benefits early.