As a member of the Teamsters Canadian Pension Plan, you are among the fortunate Canadians with a workplace pension plan. This plan is designed to work with other sources of income, such as government benefits and personal savings. Together, they form the “three-pillar retirement income system.”

Currently, the CPP or QPP aims to provide a lifetime benefit of about one-quarter of your pre-retirement income. This has been progressively increasing since 2019 with the aim to provide one-third to people retiring as of 2065.

The Old Age Security (OAS) Program’s benefits are determined based on how long you have lived in Canada over the age of 18, with a minimum of 10 years to be eligible. No contributions are needed. Legal residents in Canada with an income below a certain threshold will be eligible for the maximum benefit if they have lived in Canada for over 40 years. Benefits are reduced above a certain income threshold. Regardless of your employment status, you can start to receive OAS as early as age 65, or delay it for up to 5 years and receive an increased monthly payment.

Your estimated pension benefits earned to the date of the statement, assuming you will remain a member until retirement, are indicated on your annual statement. These statements are mailed to plan members. Make sure your contact information with your divisional administrator stays up to date to not miss them.

It is never too late to start saving for retirement, but the earlier you do it, the better. This is because you’ll earn interest on the money you placed in a savings account AND interest on previously earned interest. This means you will not need to set aside as much money in total to reach your goal.