The Canada Pension Plan (CPP) is a contributory, earnings‑based public pension that pays you a taxable monthly benefit in retirement, and in 2025–26 payments continue on regular late‑month dates across the year. Quebec is the exception because it chose in the 1960s to run its own, parallel Quebec Pension Plan (QPP) under provincial control, which is why CPP does not apply there.
CPP basics in 2025–26
CPP covers workers in every province and territory except Quebec and replaces part of your employment income when you retire, become disabled, or die. To get a CPP retirement pension you must have made at least one valid contribution and be at least 60; the standard start age is 65, and benefits are paid for life and indexed to inflation each year. The maximum new retirement pension at 65 in 2025 is about 1,433 dollars per month, but the average new benefit is closer to 900 dollars because most people did not contribute at the maximum level for their whole careers.
CPP payment dates for 2025
CPP is paid once a month, usually in the last week. For 2025, official schedules and government‑linked guides list these dates for CPP deposits: January 29, February 26, March 27, April 28, May 28, June 26, July 29, August 27, September 25, October 29, November 26, and December 22. If you use direct deposit, money normally shows up in your bank account on these days, while mailed cheques can arrive a few days later depending on postal delivery.
CPP payment dates for early 2026
Government benefit calendars already show CPP dates into 2026, again clustered near the end of each month. For 2026, listed CPP payment dates include January 28, February 25, March 27, April 28, May 27, June 26, July 29, August 27, September 25, October 29, November 26, and December 22. The idea is to keep a predictable pattern so retirees can plan bills and withdrawals around a regular, once‑a‑month deposit.
CPP payment dates at a glance
| Year | Month | CPP payment date (scheduled) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | January | January 29 |
| 2025 | June | June 26 |
| 2025 | November | November 26 |
| 2025 | December | December 22 |
| 2026 | January | January 28 |
| 2026 | March | March 27 |
| 2026 | June | June 26 |
| 2026 | August | August 27 |
Why Quebec has its own QPP instead of CPP
When the federal government created the CPP in the mid‑1960s, Quebec’s government decided to “opt out” and establish its own nearly identical public pension, the Quebec Pension Plan (Régime de rentes du Québec). This move reflected Quebec’s desire for more control over economic tools during the Quiet Revolution and allowed it to invest pension surpluses through the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, a provincial fund manager with a specific mandate to support Quebec’s economic development.
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How CPP and QPP compare today
CPP and QPP still work in parallel as mandatory, earnings‑related public pensions that replace a portion of workers’ incomes in retirement, with similar eligibility ages and benefit structures. Over time, though, policy choices have diverged: QPP uses its own contribution rates and enhancement design, and Quebec workers and employers now pay somewhat higher contributions than those in CPP provinces to support that separate system. Both plans coordinate so that if you have worked in Quebec and in other provinces, your contributions are combined to calculate a single total public pension, split between CPP and QPP according to where you worked.
