Moving out of Canada generally allows you to keep your Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and Old Age Security (OAS), but payments may be subject to a 25% non-resident tax, unless reduced by a tax treaty. CPP is paid regardless of location, while OAS requires 20 years of residency in Canada after age 18 to be paid abroad, or special social security agreements must apply.
Yes, you can receive your Canada Pension Plan (CPP) payments while living outside Canada, as long as you meet the eligibility requirements. The CPP is a contributory plan, meaning you must have made sufficient contributions during your working years in Canada to qualify for benefits.
Leaving or returning to Canada
Your Old Age Security (and Guaranteed Income Supplement) may stop if you're away for more than 6 months and don't qualify for receiving your payments while outside Canada.
If you have lived or worked in Canada and in another country, or you are the survivor of someone who has lived or worked in Canada and in another country, you may be eligible for pensions and benefits from Canada and/or from the other country because of a social security agreement.
If you have Social Security credits in both the United States and Canada, you may be eligible for benefits from one or both countries. If you meet all the basic requirements under one country's system, you will get a regular benefit from that country.
In actual fact, you can be absent from Canada as long as you want. The Canadian government recognizes that citizens may travel extensively, work or study abroad. You will always maintain your Canadian citizenship. What absentia may affect is your Canadian health care coverage and income tax.
Under the income tax treaty between the U.S. and Canada, benefits paid under the Canada Pension Plan (CPP), Quebec Pension Plan (QPP), and Old Age Security (OAS) program to a US resident are treated as US social security benefits for US tax purposes.
If I quit my job, what happens to my pension plan or fund with my former employer? You have several options: Transfer the accumulated funds to a Locked-In Retirement Account (LIRA). When you retire, the funds can be transferred to a Life Income Fund (LIF) so you can make withdrawals.
You may be able to get Age Pension for the whole time you're outside Australia, even if you're leaving to live in another country. If you leave within 2 years of returning to Australia to live, your payment may stop if you: came back to Australia to live. started getting Age Pension after you returned.
What happens to my State Pension if I move abroad? You'll still be able to claim and receive your UK State Pension if you move abroad, as long as you've paid enough National Insurance contributions. It can be paid into a UK bank or building society account, or into an overseas account in the local currency.
If you do not meet the 10 or 20 year residence requirement, you may still be eligible for the OAS pension if you have lived or worked in a country with which Canada has a social security agreement. For more information about Canada's social security agreements, visit canada.ca/pension-international.
Various factors can affect your pension benefits even after they've vested. Economic downturns, company bankruptcies, plan terminations, and even personal circumstances like divorce settlements can impact what you ultimately receive.
For Canadians retiring overseas, knowing how to access their Canada Pension Plan payments while living abroad is crucial. The CPP allows eligible retirees to receive payments in foreign countries, but you still need to ensure proper arrangements are made before leaving Canada.
Age Pension can generally be paid even if you live in another country, what changes is the amount you receive. That amount is determined by how long you plan to be abroad and any International Social Security Agreements, which may apply.
From 20 September 2025, the full pension is available, under the assets test, for homeowner singles whose assessable assets are under $321,500 – for homeowner couples the number is $481,500. The numbers for non-homeowners are $579,500 and $739,500 respectively.
No, you generally don't lose your vested pension if you quit, but what you keep depends on your plan's rules, vesting period, and your choices; you can often roll it over, leave it, or cash it out (with potential taxes/penalties), but if you leave before meeting the plan's vesting requirements, you might forfeit some or all of the employer's contributions. The key is being vested, meaning you've worked long enough to earn the benefit, and then deciding whether to leave it in the plan, roll it into an IRA, or take a payout.
The Pension Benefits Act sets out four categories of financial hardship under which you can unlock your pension funds held in a locked-in retirement account (LIRA) or life income fund (LIF). You can unlock for any of these reasons and you can unlock for a combination of reasons.
Because CPP is a "member-contributed plan" it will always be yours, regardless of where you live in the world. If you paid in at least 1 CPP contribution, you are entitled to a benefit.
There is no specific age. It depends on how much income you have earned in a tax year (January 1 – December 31). If you earn more than the amount of the personal exemption allowed by the Canada Revenue Agency within one tax year, you will need to report that income on an annual tax return and you may have to pay taxes.