The date you receive your retirement income payment depends on which retirement income option you chose: 

• VB payments - payable the 15th of each month (or the next business day, if this date lands on a weekend) 

• Monthly pension payments - payable the 26th of each month (or the next business day, if this date lands on a weekend)

Variable Benefit (VB) payments 

You can change the amount of your VB payments once per calendar year at no charge. Any subsequent changes within the same calendar year will be subject to a fee. To change the amount of your VB payment, please complete the Variable Benefit Payment Change form for your jurisdiction. 

You can also take lump-sum withdrawals. You are entitled to one free lump-sum withdrawal per calendar year from your VB payment account. Fees apply to any subsequent lump-sum withdrawals within the same calendar year. To take a lump-sum withdrawal, please complete the Lump Sum Withdrawal form for your jurisdiction. 

Minimum and maximum amounts for VB payments

Please keep in mind that the amount of your VB payment or withdrawal depends on any annual minimums and maximums set out by pension legislation: 

Annual minimums 

• The annual minimum requirement starts in the year you turn 72 and applies to all your money in your VB payment account. Before then, the annual minimum VB payment is zero. For more information on annual minimum requirements, please review the Ready to Retire booklet relevant to your jurisdiction. 

Annual maximums 

• All pension jurisdictions in Canada have annual maximums that you can withdraw each year (for locked-in funds only), except for Saskatchewan. If your pension benefits are subject to Saskatchewan pension legislation, there is no annual maximum. 

• The annual maximum applies to all withdrawals and payments. You can also take lump-sum withdrawals, as long as the total combined withdrawals in any one year from the locked-in funds do not exceed the maximum annual limit for that year.

• The annual maximum restrictions were immediately applied to the locked-in funds held in your VB account when you set up your VB payment account. The annual maximum restrictions do not apply to your non-locked-in funds.

To learn more about these limits, please visit read "Minimum and maximum annual withdrawal limits for Variable Benefit payment accounts."

Monthly pension 

Once you have applied for a CSS monthly pension, and the payments have started, you cannot change your pension or stop the payments. 

To change the bank account that you’d like your Variable Benefit or monthly pension payment deposited to, complete the Direct Deposit of Variable Benefits/Monthly Pension form and return it back to us.

In the year you turn 65, you will become eligible for the pension income amount and may also be eligible for all or part of the age exemption, depending on your yearly income. 
 
The exemption amounts are used to calculate the amount of tax withheld from your CSS Variable Benefit (VB) payments or monthly pension. 
 
If you would like to claim these amounts, please complete the TD1 forms that apply to you and your province of residence and return the completed forms to our office. You will find the TD1 forms on the Canada Revenue Agency's website. 

• To claim the pension income amount: Complete line 4 of the Federal TD1 and line 3 on the provincial form 

• To claim the age exemption amount: See line 3 on the Federal TD1 and line 2 on the provincial form

Unless our office receives updated TD1 forms from you, the amount of tax withheld from your CSS VB payments or monthly pension will continue as before.

You and your spouse or common-law partner may be able to split your eligible pension income if you meet all of the requirements. 

• Monthly pension - If you receive monthly pension payments from the CSS Pension Plan, these payments qualify for the pension income splitting provision.
  

• VB payments - If you are receiving VB payments, they do not qualify for the pension income splitting provision until you are age 65. 

For more information on the pension income splitting provision, visit the Canada Revenue Agency website. 

Monthly pensioners and VB recipients who receive retirement income from the CSS Pension Plan will receive a T4A or NR4 slip at the end of February each year. This slip provides the pension information you will need to report on your income tax return.  

Accessing your T4A/NR4 

• Your T4A/NR4 slip is available online in your myCSSPEN account in the My Documents area of your profile.  

• If you are currently not signed up for online statement delivery, your T4A will be mailed to you by default.  

• You can update your document delivery preference at any time by selecting Account Menu > Communications Preferences in myCSSPEN. 

If you move to a new province, territory or out of Canada, please update your information as soon as possible.  

If you have moved to a new province or territory, you may want to complete new TD1 forms so that your taxes better align with your new province of residence.  

If you move out of Canada, it is important to know that many countries have tax agreements with Canada. You can learn about these agreements on the Government of Canada’s Benefits for Canadians living abroad page. 

Whether you have a picture in your mind of what you want your retirement to look like or not, CSS can help. We offer many tools and resources to provide you with information about the factors to consider during retirement and give you the flexibility to customize your retirement plan. 

Retirement and Pension Advisors 

• Book a time to meet (virtually, via phone or in-person) with a CSS Retirement and Pension Advisor. 

Our Advisors offer personalized, non-commissioned advice to help you review or create a customized retirement plan that considers all your sources of income, including your funds in the CSS Pension Plan, RRSPs, TFSAs, CPP and OAS, along with your spouse’s sources of retirement income. 

They can also provide guidance concerning how your funds should be invested in retirement (if you have chosen the Variable Benefit payment option). Contact us to arrange an appointment. 

CSS retirement planning tools 

• Utilize your CSS retirement planning tools, including the myCSSPEN Compass Retirement Planner. 

Government planning tools 

• Use the Canadian Retirement Income Calculator to provide you with retirement income information including information on CPP and OAS. 

• Check out the financial planning tools from the Financial Consumer Association of Canada. 

Events and workshops 

• As part of your continued membership in CSS during retirement, you have options when it comes to learning more about your pension plan. One of those options is to attend a CSS information session. We offer sessions specifically geared toward retired members of CSS. During these sessions, you will learn information about managing your budget during retirement, investing during retirement and other retiree-specific discussions. 

When to begin your Canada Pension Plan (CPP) payments is a very important and sometimes very difficult decision. CPP is a pension that both you and your employer have been contributing to. It is designed to pay you a monthly indexed pension for life. 

There is a lot to consider when making your decision. One of the most important things to remember is that your retirement situation is unique and that your decision should be based on your own situation rather than what others you know have done. Some of the most important things that you will need to think about will be: 

• How important is secure, lifetime monthly income to you? 

• How long do think you might be collecting CPP? How long do you think you might live? 

• What other sources of income do you have? 

• Will your income needs change over time? 

• What is your tax situation now? In the future? 

When to start CPP 

• Normal retirement age for CPP is age 65. However, you can start receiving CPP payments as early as age 60.  

• If you choose to begin CPP at 65, you won't face any reductions and you won't get any increases from waiting to start monthly payments.  

• If you choose to take your CPP before age 65, you will give up 0.6% for each month that you take CPP before 65 – that's 36% less for life, if you begin your payments at age 60.  

• If you wait beyond age 65, your payment will increase by 0.7% for each month you wait. That means your monthly lifetime payment may be up to 42% higher than had you started at age 65. CPP is also indexed, which is like a bit of a raise each year.

CPP and your CSS retirement income 

Choosing to delay CPP payments will mean higher monthly income and can add financial security to your retirement and peace of mind to the later years of your journey.  

Most CSS members will have their CSS retirement income to draw from and may have other resources such as TFSAs, RRSPs and working in retirement. This may allow you to hold off on beginning CPP to take advantage of the increase you receive. If you don't have other sources of retirement income, you may need to begin your CPP earlier to meet your monthly expenses. 

Making the decision 

The first thing to do when making this very important decision is to contact Service Canada to find out the amount of CPP you will qualify to receive if you started payments at 65, at 60 or other ages that you are considering.  

Remember, Service Canada started calculating your CPP amount at age 18 so what you may receive will be different from other people that you know, and you need to make your decision based on your own numbers. 

Next, spend some time thinking about what you expect your retirement to look like. Will you be able to draw an income from other sources if you hold off on starting CPP? Do you expect to live a long life? Is it valuable to you to have more secure, indexed monthly income? 

Still having trouble? Contact one of CSS' Retirement and Pension Advisors to help you to understand how CPP fits into your overall retirement situation. 

Life changes don’t stop after you retire. It is important to keep your CSS account up-to-date should your relationships, health or other circumstances change. 

For information on how life events can impact you in retirement, see our Life Events page.