CPP Disability: All About Post-Retirement Disability Benefits
A significant disability affects every part of your life–including your ability to support yourself. That’s why it’s vital that you get all the benefits you are entitled to. We’ve talked about the various types of disability benefits available to Ontarians before, and in today’s post we’re going to go in-depth on the CPP Post-Retirement Disability Benefit.
Most people are aware of the CPP retirement pension, and may even be aware of CPP Disability. But there’s an additional category of CPP Disability benefits that’s less well-known.
Introduced in 2019, the CPP Post-Retirement Disability Benefit is a benefit for people aged 60 to 65 who have already started to receive their CPP retirement pension.
Eligibility
To be eligible for the CPP Post-Retirement Disability Benefit, you’ll need to meet 4 main criteria:
- Be between the ages of 60 and 65
- Have been receiving the CPP retirement pension for more than 15 months OR have become disabled after starting to receive the retirement pension
- Have a severe and prolonged disability
- Have contributed enough to CPP: you have made valid CPP contributions in 4 of the last 6 years, OR you have contributed to CPP for 25 or more years, and during 3 of the last 6 years.There are also other contribution provisions that may help you qualify. Those could apply if you didn’t apply when you first became disabled or because you were incapacitated, if you have credits from a former spouse, if you took time away from work or worked less to care for a child, or if you have out-of-country work history that falls under a Canadian international social security agreement.
As you can see, the first two criteria are fairly straightforward; the second two may be more complicated to determine.
Payment Amounts
In 2021, the flat-rate payment for the Post-Retirement Disability Benefit is $510.85 per month. You receive this in addition to your regular CPP retirement pension.
If you have children who are under the age of 18, OR who are between 18 and 25 and attending school full-time at a recognized educational institution), they may be eligible for the CPP Children’s Benefit. In 2021, the children’s benefit is $257.58 per month.
Both CPP Disability and CPP Post-Retirement Disability benefits are taxable.
What happens when I turn 65?
The month that you turn 65, your CPP Disability benefits or CPP Post-Retirement Disability benefits will be automatically changed over to a CPP retirement pension.
Your CPP Post-Retirement Disability benefits will also end if you’re no longer deemed to be disabled.
How do I apply?
The application process is the part of the basic CPP Disability application.
Don’t be discouraged if your application is initially rejected. As we’ve discussed before, about half of CPP Disability applications are initially denied. See our posts “My CPP Disability Application Was Denied–What Next?” Part 1 and Part 2 to understand some of the reasons that happens.
At Van Dyke Law, we are here to help you get the benefits you’re entitled to, and we’d be happy to assist you. Please contact us to get the process started.