Program directory · Employment and Social Development Canada
Canada Pension Plan
- Department
- Employment and Social Development Canada
- Program code
- BGN03 (HRSD)
- Core responsibility
- Pensions and Benefits
- In Departmental Plans
- 2018-19 – 2026-27 · New since an earlier plan
What it does
The Canada Pension Plan (CPP) is the second pillar of Canada’s Retirement Income System. The CPP provides eligible contributors and their families with partial income replacement in the event of retirement, disability or death. It is funded by contributions from employees, employers, self-employed individuals, and revenue from investments. Responsibility for the CPP is shared between federal and provincial governments, with the exception of Québec, where the Québec Pension Plan offers comparable benefits.
The CPP’s primary benefit is the retirement pension, however, it also provides pensions to disabled contributors and to the survivors of deceased contributors, as well as flat-rate benefits to the dependant children of disabled and deceased contributors and a one-time lump-sum death benefit.
Source: the department's Program Inventory, via GC InfoBase.
History and lineage
First appears in GC InfoBase's actual spending by program in 2018-19. The data does not record when a program was created; it may be older than its first appearance here, which is limited by the sources (program spending starts in 2010-11, Departmental Plans in 2018-19).
| Program | Relation | Years with data | Actual spending over those years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canada Pension Plan | This program | 2018-19 – 2028-29 | $283M |
No earlier or later program in the same department has a similar name.
Significant changes in scope and budget
Detected from the data: renames between plans, programs it appears to replace, merge with or split into (matched by name), year-over-year changes in spending of at least 25% and $5M, or in employees of at least 20% and 25 FTEs, linked budget measures, and results indicators added or dropped.
| Year | What changed | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | Indicators added: % of household income from CPP for CPPD recipients | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
| 2019-20 | Indicators dropped: Percentage of Canada Pension Plan contributors aged 70+ receiving retirement benefits; Percentage of Canada Pension Plan contributors who have contributory eligibility for Canada Pension Plan Disability benefits and therefore have access to financial support in the event of a severe and prolonged disability; The percentage of household income from the Canada Pension Plan for Canada Pension Plan Disability recipients | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
| 2020-21 | Indicators added: Percentage of in-pay clients who are satisfied with the CPP service experience of applying for the program. | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
| 2020-21 | Indicators dropped: % of household income from CPP for CPPD recipients; Average household incomes of seniors age 65+ and age 75+, compared to the average incomes of the total population | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
| 2020-21 | Spending $41.6M, against $28.2M in 2019-20 (+47%). | Actual spending (GC InfoBase) |
| 2022-23 | Indicators added: Percentage of CPP contributors aged 70+ receiving retirement pensions. | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
| 2022-23 | Indicators dropped: Percentage of in-pay clients who are satisfied with the CPP service experience of applying for the program. | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
Success criteria
The program's indicators from its department's Departmental Results Framework: the target set in each year's plan, and the result reported the following year. Source: GC InfoBase.
Historical: targets against results
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-23 | ≥ 99% | 2023 | — Proactive enrolment for CPP retirement benefits at age 70 was introduced in 2020 for individuals who have contributed to the Plan but have not yet applied to receive their benefits. As such, the take-up rate is expected to be close to 100%. | No result reported |
| 2023-24 | ≥ 99% | 2024 | 98% Not available | Not met |
| 2024-25 | ≥ 99% | 2025 | 99% 2023 data was used to calculate the result. | Met |
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-21 | ≥ 80% | 2021 | 87% Result from the 2019-2020 Client Experience Survey. To obtain additional information please refer to the 2019-2020 Client Experience Survey published on publications.gc.ca. (https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2020/edsc-esdc/Em4-23-2020-eng.pdf) | Met |
| 2021-22 | ≥ 80% | 2022 | — Results of the 2021 Client Experience Survey will be released in Fall 2022. | No result reported |
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | No target as it is a contextual indicator | 2020 | 33% The percentage of household income from the Canada Pension Plan for Canada Pension Plan Disability recipients was 33% in 2018. The actual result is based on data taken from Statistics Canada's Longitudinal Administrative Databank. There is a three-year lag in the availability of data. | No result reported |
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | 65+: $65,000 75+: $61,000 | 2020 | 65+: $72,000 75+: $66,000 Actual result is based on data for 2018 from the Canadian Income Survey (CIS). Data is available by calendar year. There is a two-year lag in availability of data from the CIS. The average household wealth of seniors aged 65+ is 74% of average household wealth in Canada. Similarly, the average household wealth of seniors aged 75+ is 68% of average household wealth in Canada. | Met |
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | ≥ 99% | 2019 | 99% | Met |
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | ≥ 68% | 2019 | 63% In fiscal year 2017 to 2018 there was a larger inflow of non-permanent residents than in previous years, especially at ages under 30, which were mostly foreign students. There was also a decrease in participation rates among people below the age of 25. | Not met |
Current: the 2026-27 plan's targets
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | ≥ 99% | 2027 | — | Planned |
Future goals: targets due after 2026-27
No targets with a later due date.
Spending and employees: planned against actual
Spending
Show the numbers
| Fiscal year | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | $29.7M | $26.4M |
| 2019-20 | $22.4M | $28.2M |
| 2020-21 | $32.2M | $41.6M |
| 2021-22 | $39.5M | $40.2M |
| 2022-23 | $42.1M | $40M |
| 2023-24 | $38.2M | $49.6M |
| 2024-25 | $43M | $57.2M |
| 2025-26 | $49.1M | — |
| 2026-27 | $44M | — |
| 2027-28 | $43.4M* | — |
| 2028-29 | $43.4M* | — |
Employees (FTEs)
Show the numbers
| Fiscal year | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | 2,761 | 2,627 |
| 2019-20 | 2,005 | 2,787 |
| 2020-21 | 3,039 | 3,165 |
| 2021-22 | 3,533 | 3,583 |
| 2022-23 | 3,664 | 3,550 |
| 2023-24 | 3,286 | 3,700 |
| 2024-25 | 3,671 | 3,919 |
| 2025-26 | 3,685 | — |
| 2026-27 | 3,120 | — |
| 2027-28 | 3,081* | — |
| 2028-29 | 3,082* | — |
Planned spending, plan by plan
Each row is one year's Departmental Plan and its forecast for the next three fiscal years; read a column down to see how the forecast for one year changed. The last row is what was actually spent. Click an amount for its source. Biggest changes in federal spending plans
| Plan | 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | 2024-25 | 2025-26 | 2026-27 | 2027-28 | 2028-29 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 plan | $29,735,268 | $22,257,939 | $20,756,994 | ||||||||
| 2019-20 plan | $22,382,544 | $21,030,849 | $21,030,849 | ||||||||
| 2020-21 plan | $32,172,236 | $22,805,462 | $21,750,857 | ||||||||
| 2021-22 plan | $39,491,961 | $38,168,973 | $33,866,762 | ||||||||
| 2022-23 plan | $42,092,196 | $37,027,851 | $35,526,411 | ||||||||
| 2023-24 plan | $38,219,348 | $36,158,276 | $35,450,150 | ||||||||
| 2024-25 plan | $43,027,638 | $41,894,853 | $35,207,362 | ||||||||
| 2025-26 plan | $49,133,273 | $41,046,779 | $40,543,615 | ||||||||
| 2026-27 plan | $43,993,712 | $43,390,592 | $43,376,431 | ||||||||
| Actual | $26,438,471 | $28,238,500 | $41,595,449 | $40,228,652 | $40,032,913 | $49,614,404 | $57,239,504 |
Actual spending is from Departmental Results Reports and the Public Accounts, as published in GC InfoBase. FTEs are full-time equivalents.
