Skip to main content

Pension questions

Canada pension questions

These are the questions people search about a pension left in Canada. Each page answers its question in the first two sentences, and we show those two sentences below, read from the official source with the date we read it. We identify where a pension is likely held and the route to it. We do not give advice.

English

  • Can I get CPP if I live outside Canada?

    Service Canada says you can receive CPP from age 60 with at least one valid contribution; there is no minimum number of years. CPP does not arrive by itself: Service Canada says you must apply for the retirement pension.

    • Source: canada.ca, CPP contributions, CPP eligibility, CPP amount and CRA contribution rates table, read 3 October 2026
    • Source: canada.ca, CPP apply, CPP statement of contributions, My Service Canada Account registration and CPP contact, read 3 October 2026

  • Can I get Old Age Security if I live abroad?

    OAS can be received while living abroad only if you lived in Canada at least 20 years after turning 18, or lived and worked in a social security agreement country with combined time of at least 20 years. Otherwise OAS (and GIS) may stop after more than 6 months away; you must call Service Canada before leaving for more than 6 months and on return to restart payments.

    • Source: canada.ca, read 1 September 2026

  • How far back can CPP be backdated?

    A CPP retirement pension applied for after age 65 can only be backdated 11 months before the month of application, and never earlier than the month after the 65th birthday. If a CPP contributor dies in the month of, or before, their 70th birthday without ever having applied for their retirement pension, that pension is paid to nobody.

    • Source: canada.ca, read 1 September 2026
    • Source: canada.ca, read 1 September 2026

  • How do I get my CPP Statement of Contributions from abroad?

    My Service Canada Account (MSCA), CPP and OAS: Check CPP and OAS entitlements via My Service Canada Account. My Service Canada Account's published sign-in and identity routes rest on Canadian credentials or a code posted by Service Canada, which a person who left Canada decades ago may not have.

    • Source: canada.ca, read 6 September 2026
    • Source: canada.ca, CPP apply, CPP statement of contributions, My Service Canada Account registration and CPP contact, read 3 October 2026

  • Can I unlock a locked-in pension after leaving Canada?

    OSFI's guidance on unlocking funds from a federally regulated pension plan or locked-in retirement savings plan states that a person can unlock on non-residency grounds once they have ceased to be a resident of Canada for at least two calendar years. FSRA (Ontario's pension and financial services regulator) states that the owner of an Ontario locked-in account may apply to unlock and withdraw all the money two years after departing Canada, provided they also obtain a CRA determination of non-residency and complete FSRA's Form 5.

    • Source: osfi-bsif.gc.ca, read 1 September 2026
    • Source: fsrao.ca, read 1 September 2026

  • How much CPP will I get?

    The published maximum of C$1,507.65 a month at 65 and average of C$858.34 reflect full working lifetimes, not a few years. Your Statement of Contributions carries Service Canada's own estimate, the only figure worth quoting for your record.

    • Source: canada.ca, CPP contributions, CPP eligibility, CPP amount and CRA contribution rates table, read 3 October 2026

Check your own working life for free

Tell us where you worked. The free check shows which countries may hold a pension for you, and which can be ruled out and why. No sign in, no charge.

Run the free check