[Spring GPS 2025] CPP Sharing

The CPP/QPP pension sharing program is a tool that families can use to reduce the amount of total taxes they owe. This program is not as well-known among Canadian retirees as traditional pension income splitting because pension income splitting is done automatically by tax software, and no money changes hands. Conversely, CPP sharing requires a specific application, and money does change hands. The objective of CPP sharing is to minimize the overall taxes paid by the family by moving income from the spouse with a higher income to the spouse with a lower income.

Both spouses must meet the following criteria to be eligible for CPP/QPP retirement pension income sharing:

• Be 60 years of age or older;
• Living together and must have lived together while contributing to CPP/QPP, and;
• Receiving or having applied for their CPP/QPP retirement pension. If only one person contributed to CPP/QPP, this requirement must be met by the spouse who contributed to CPP/QPP.

Sharing of the CPP and QPP pension does not affect the overall amount of CPP and QPP that a couple is eligible to receive. Since it typically alters the amount that each individual gets, it frequently results in tax savings for the family.

The part of CPP/QPP that can be shared is based on the number of months you’ve lived together during the “joint contributory period.” The joint contributory period begins when the older spouse reaches 18 and ends when both spouses start to receive CPP/QPP pensions.