Canada Pension Plan disability benefits

The Canada Pension Plan (CPP) is a benefits plan for employees and people who are self‑employed. If you make over $3,500 in a year, you must pay into the CPP.

If you have an employer, they take the CPP payment from your paycheque. If you’re self‑employed, you must pay it with your income tax.

If you pay into the CPP, you might get CPP disability benefits if you can no longer work because of a disability. Your children may also be able to get benefits.

How do I qualify?

You can qualify for CPP disability benefits if:

• you’re 64 years old or younger,
• you have a severe and prolonged disability, and
• you made enough pension contributions.

Severe means that your disability usually or always stops you from working or lets you earn only a small amount.

Your disability can be physical, mental, or both. It does not have to be caused by your job.

Prolonged means that your disability is likely to:

• last for a long time and you do not know how long, or
• cause your death some time in the future.

Pension contributions are what you and any of your employers paid into the CPP. The government keeps a record of all these contributions.

Rules about pension contributions

Not all CPP contributions count as contributions for CPP disability benefits. Every year, you must earn more than a minimum amount for your contributions to count.

For 2025, the minimum amount you must earn is $7,100.

To qualify for CPP disability benefits, you must have made more than the minimum amount and have contributed for:

• 4 of the last 6 years, or
• 3 of the last 6 years if you contributed for at least 25 years.

If you waited too long to apply and do not fit within the contribution years listed above, you may still be able to get benefits. You may qualify if:

• you would have qualified for CPP disability benefits when you first got your disability, and
• your disability has been prolonged and severe from then until now.

Special rules

There are some special rules that may help you get CPP disability benefits if you’ve not made enough pension contributions.

For example, there are special rules if you:

• are divorced or separated,
• worked in another country, or
• made fewer CPP contributions because you were taking care of your children when they were 6 years old or younger.

How do I apply?

You must fill out and send in an application kit. You can do this online using your My Service Canada Account. If you do not have an account, you can register for one at canada.ca/msca.

You can also fill out an application kit and mail it to the address on the form. Or take it to your nearest Service Canada office.

Find the forms online at canada.ca/esdc-forms. Or call Service Canada at 1-800-277-9914. For TTY call 1-800-255-4786.

Filling out the application kit

The kit has an application form and a medical form. You must fill out the application form and sections 1 and 2 of the medical form.

A friend or family member can help you fill out the forms. Or a community legal clinic or a lawyer might be able to help you.

Medical information

Send as much medical information as you can to prove your disability is both severe and prolonged. If you apply online, you can upload documents to your My Service Canada Account.

You must explain in a very clear way how your disability stops you from working. Give as many details as you can.

Your doctor or nurse practitioner must fill out sections 3 to 9 of the medical form. They often charge a fee to do this. CPP pays up to $85 of the fee. You must pay anything more than that.

Your doctor or nurse practitioner may send the form back to you or to Service Canada. If they send it to you, you must send it to Service Canada.

You do not have to wait for your doctor or nurse practitioner to send their part. Send your application as soon as you can. You can send in sections of your application as you finish them.

Keep copies and proof

Keep a copy of what you send and proof of when you sent it. For example, save notes, screenshots of what you upload to your My Service Canada Account, or receipts from the post office.

If you have a terminal illness

If you have an illness that you will likely die from within 6 months, fill out the terminal illness application. If you qualify, you can get benefits faster.

Service Canada takes only 5 days to decide if you can get benefits when you use this form. It usually takes 120 days to let people know or 30 days if the person has a very serious illness.

To find out how to get and send in this form, go to the top of this page.

How much can I get?

The amount you get each month in CPP disability benefits is set by adding:

• a base amount that’s $598.49 as of January 2025, and
• an extra amount that depends on your contributions.

The government reviews the base amount every January. And raises it based on how much the cost of living has gone up.

Each month, the government also raises the highest amount but only by about one dollar.

What can my children get?

If you get CPP disability benefits, your children may also be able to get monthly payments from the CPP. To qualify for these benefits, a child must be:

• 17 years old or younger, or
• 24 years old or younger and a full- or part-time student.

Are there other benefits I can apply for?

Based on what’s happening in your life, you may be able to get other benefits, such as:

• Ontario Disability Support Program benefits
• Ontario Works benefits
• Employment Insurance sickness benefits
• Veterans Affairs disability benefits
• disability tax credit
• benefits from workers’ compensation or a workplace insurance plan

Ontario Disability Support Program

The Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) is for people who:

• have a disability, and
• have less than a certain amount of income and assets.

You might want to apply to ODSP even if you apply for CPP disability benefits. ODSP may:

• add to what you get in CPP disability benefits if it’s less than what you would get on ODSP
• help pay for health costs, like drugs or dental bills

If you get ODSP while waiting for CPP disability benefits, you may have to pay some or all of it back when those benefits start.

Ontario Works

It can take months to get ODSP or CPP benefits.

Apply for Ontario Works (OW) if you need money now to pay for food and a place to live.

Applying for ODSP or OW

CLEO has resources about applying for ODSP and OW. Read them online or order them for free at cleo.on.ca/inc-assist.

Steps to Justice also has information at:

• stepstojustice.ca/apply-OW
• stepstojustice.ca/apply-ODSP

What if I get a CPP retirement pension?

CPP disability benefits are usually more than a CPP retirement pension.

You might be able to get CPP disability benefits to replace or add to your CPP retirement pension if you’re between 60 and 64 years old.

The rules about this are complicated. And there are time limits.

Try to get legal advice if this applies to you. Your community legal clinic may be able to help you.

Can I appeal a decision about benefits?

Service Canada may decide that:

• you do not qualify for benefits, or
• you should get less than what you expected.

If you do not agree, the first step is to ask Service Canada to review their decision. This review is called a reconsideration.You must do this within 90 days of getting the letter from Service Canada that gives you their decision.

If you disagree with what Service Canada decides, you may be able to appeal to the Social Security Tribunal.

Getting legal help

A community legal clinic may be able to help you apply for CPP disability benefits and make an appeal.

To find your local clinic, visit legalaid.on.ca/legal-clinics. Or call Legal Aid Ontario at 1-800-668-8258. For TTY, call 711.

---

February 2025