Is it smart to take early CPP benefits?

If it's offered, take it. The crossover point where full cpp at 65 catches up to cpp taken at 60 is in late 70's. Meanwhile you get to enjoy it. Want to stick it to the taxman? Don't drink alcohol, don't smoke, reduce driving by consolidating trips, never pay retail, live below your means, and most important...block out advertising in all its forms. Mess with the heads at Stats Can by not buying new stuff every year. It is these fear mongers that keep the mice chasing the cheese. After all, it is the Gov of Can that gleefully informs us that tax-freedom day is halfway through the year. Why not make it all year? Exercise, keep healthy, and have fun. (Hmmm...that sounds like a tv ad). OMG!

Ford, I think you have the right information but a VERY poor grasp of how to interpret it.

Indeed the working population is growing, but the key statistic is that the number of people working PER retired person is dropping. That means each working person is being asked to support a greater number of retired people. By 2025 it is expected to drop from about 4 working people per retiree to 2 working people per retiree.

The pension plan doesn't have a big surplus. They use current CPP payments from workers to pay retirees. If you cannot see how this is a problem you are not really educated enough to comment on this topic.

Be smart and collect early. The way things are going, all the new immigrants coming to our country can work for a few years and then retire with the money that you have paid in the CPP and the old age pension since it;s start. We have paid this money and everybody else is going to get it.
Let the newcomers pay the same amount we have into these plans and then they can start collecting after they are elligible.

I don't understand this. I have paid into cpp for 40 years. I had no choice & was told I could get a liveable retirement. Now the government says after they take my money we can't pay. Why wasn't I given a choice & had to be subjected to lies. Were is the trust in a government that makes you pay for retirement & then says mister old guy sorry we got no money. What did they do with my money.

Chazz... FYI Dated May 29, 2021
"Harper told MPs the Canada Pension Plan, worth about $100 billion at the end of the fiscal year, is "actuarially sound," will benefit Canadians for many decades to come and doesn't need politicians sticking their noses into the operation." Clearly contributions to the plan do not go directly to those receiving benifits.

Sick and tired of the entire Canadian BS system

To clarify, the government is indeed increasing the amount of the penalty for taking CPP early. But the new rules will result in a person's benefit being reduced by 36% in the future, not the current 30%, but also not the 42% that is mentioned in the article above. This is clearly mentioned in the link, on page 9, that includes the "exhaustive breakdown of the new rules".

Where the 42% comes in is if a person chooses to post-pone receiving their retirement benefit. Right now if you post-pone until age 70, you will receive a benefit that is enhanced by 30%. In the future, if you post-pone, the benefit enhancement is 42%.

Based on the large number of people retiring in the next few years (estimates are that the equivalent of 1000 people will retire PER DAY in Canada in 2011. This will put a definite strain on the CPP coffers. As a result, the government needs to do what they can to encourage people to leave their benefits in the program, so that the added earnings will help to pay the eventual benefits.

Don't be surprised if we follow suit with other countries and see the normal benefit, which we can receive now at 65, changed to 67.

It's a shame that with all the money we pay in this country between taxes and everything else and on top of that we work very hard in our lives to make a living that the goverment makes it hard for us to get what we deserve when we retire,today we just survive because most of the people in Canada just have a life,nevermind saving money,,those who do save money is because they make a lot of it,,medium class citizens cannot save money for the future anymore,we just work to survive and pay the bills,a lot of people cannot even afford to go on holidays,not only that they don't even take the time off to rest because they can't afford to stay at home and relax,we don't even get enough time for holidays like in Europe or other countries around the world,WHERE IS OUR MONEY?? and why is it that our goverment makes it harder for us to even enjoy the last few years of our lives in peace in which we wait all our lives to do so? but then again our politicians get to work just a fraction of the time and get paid forever even if they retire at a very early age,that tells me that our goverment doesn't care about us canadian citizens.

the penalty is 36 percent not 42

Yes, I agree with the commentor who said that many victims of a lower pension are indeed immigrants who never got uninterrupted job history, due to discrimination and lack of nepotism to get them into public service career and their more unionized protected positions. Ironic too, when you consider many immigrants were invited to emigrate due to their professional history, only to have Canadian tell them their qualifications were useless and have to settle for lower paying jobs.
Also for the rest, with everyone in the same boat (no pun intended), those who became victims of restructuring during the market crashes, we didn't ask to be unemployed. Yet, we are penalized for not working.
Yes, once again, if you want to penalized us for being lazy when we are not, why don't you penalize the real lazy people who traditionally stay home to collect welfare?
The system really encourages welfare recipient and ignore the contribution of many hard working people who lost their jobs . Many do not get retraining because they are told to first end up collecting welfare in order to qualify for subsidized retraining. Many hard working people do not wish to collect welfare.
They instead fall through the cracks and become the uncounted , as they do not collect unemployment as well, so the number of real unemployed is in turn misleading, being far lower than really is. And where do you find these people? You find them working in deadend jobs earning a fraction of what they used to earn decades ago. Their gap in employment history prevented them from recovering from the layoff.
Government offices do not employ people with gaps of employment, without considering why the gap is there. And many are overqualified , and more qualified than the bosses in the government offices who deny them the opportunity to be employed.

I took my CPP at 60,as I retired at 59 years and 9 months.I had done the math and could see that people waiting until the age of 65 before they took it,caught up to me and passed me at age 72,but I would be getting it for 12 years at the lesser amount before they over took me.Four months after I started my CPP,I found out that I had Prostate cancer,so I am glad I started it early,as I am cancer free now,but who knows if it will show up some where else at anytime.Think about your long term health here when you are making the decision,it is unfortunate that some of us will never collect it,as we procrastinate on whether we should take it early or not,we only live once!

'Was forced to retire' has given practical scenario and lot of people are suffering in the age group of 60 to 65 (majority of brown people) as they don't get job and if they opt for CPP pension
they are screwed by 30% less whole life as compared to those who claim at 65.
On humanitarian grounds, Canadian government accepts refugees' claim and allows them to stay here and get welfare, free school, medical, dental, legal aid etc plus allow them to sponsor one relative to support him. The refugees come as tourist with malafide intention of not going back and lawyers help them in making false stories. Lawyers make money by injecting refugees and increase burden on govt. Lawyers make money, so govt makes taxes on their income.
It is vicious circle. Why people should wait to get their own money in meagre monthly instalments. What about heftic salaries of CEOs at crown companies, public sector etc.
The hard working Canadians are penalized for asking its pension at 60 or earlier because Canadian govt shows false promises to attract immigrants and then says sorry your skills don't match. What a pity?

I am 29 years old and even though I may be far away from receiving my pension, it does scare me to think of when it is time to finally receive it, what the conditions will be or the penalties imposed. It is definitely harder to live in Canada today then it was 15 years ago. Food, gas, electricity, etc has all gone up and as one person said here about people not being able to afford going on vacation, I agree with that. Work, work and more work to pay the taxes on top of taxes. It never ends. Well see what the future holds, but in my opinion, it doesn't look good.

I'm 39 years old. I won't see either pension.

all military members and RCMP collect their CCP at age 60 because at age 65 they have it all clawed back and will receive no CCP because they have a government pension. their government pension has been paid into all of their working years and is their entitlement. this does not happen in other forms of federal government employees and should not happen to someone who has served their country for 37 years.

Some of us on these blogs understand what CPP is all about. Unfortunately, many others miss the premise. My Mother In Law, who I love dearly, has worked since the age of 16 raising a child on her own. She worked extremely hard at a job she loved. Her salary was always average. My job is not as demanding (not a blue collar by choice) but I pay maximum CPP (double) since I am sel-employed. She now gets CPP benefits but they are about 75% of max because of lower premiums she paid into CPP. For all of you out there who disagree with this system, do you feel she is entitled to a maximum payout because she worked hard all of her life or should it be based on how much is contributed? This is really the gist of it, isn't it?

@ Almost There who stated: " When there are two people (a couple) both collecting CPP, and one of them dies, the surviving partner will only receive the maximum amount for ONE person"

I only just awoke to that fact and will be applying for CPP ASAP. The increasing discount is another good reason to jump on board before 2011 is over. BTW, Almost There, you have a good understanding of the CPP issue as far as I can see from your postings. Some others here are out-to-lunch with their sense of entitlement.

@Lizabeth: who asked "does this exclude those that have already taken earlier retirement? do they readjusted in 2012?"
No effect if you are collecting before Yea 2011 is over, you are grandfathered in, or in your case, grandmothered in.

@ Adam Parker who asked :"Add up how much you have contributed since you started working, and how much you are able to collect monthly"

I contributed $21,300 and am entitled to $680/month starting next month. In just under 32 months, I will have collected all that I contributed. Easy to tell already that's a real good dea.

You're forgetting the $$ earned over decades on your contributions .. that's where a lot of the money you'll receive is actually coming from

Every day our Gov't claws away at our pension plans, soon there will be none left to share! Talk about discrimination, those of us fortunate to be born before Jan 1, 2011, will receive there 60th birthday pension should they wish to draw it early with a minor penality. So why in the world should the rest of us born Canadian pay for those Gov't mistakes!! Hey I've paid into the plan since I was 18 years old and am currently still paying into the plan, where is there justice I say, give me back my contribution into CPP and I sure could live a hell of alot better of what I would receive. Regretfully our political representives are only concerned about one thing getting elected to spend our money on foolishness!!! They should try saridines and bread! LOL
Without Prejudice!

A Bitter "CANUCK" and still living Canadian