How to Receive CPP & Then Return to Part-Time Work
The CPP, or Canada Pension Plan, and its Quebecois counterpart, the Quebec Pension Plan, are government entitlement programs that provide cash benefits to qualified retirees, disabled individuals who cannot work regularly at any job, and to widows and surviving children. The application for disability benefits can take a long time, which makes returning to work potentially tricky for those who are receiving disability benefits. Fortunately, the Canadian government has created a program to automatically reinstate CPP benefits for disabled individuals seeking to return to work.
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Instructions
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Qualify for benefits. When you apply for CPP benefits, CPP officials check to see if you have worked enough to qualify for benefits. Some part-time jobs will not help you qualify. If you have not met the minimum qualifications, you will not receive CPP benefits, no matter how severe your disability.
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Find a job. Simply receiving CPP benefits does not disqualify you from finding a job. However, if you earn above a certain amount, you must report your earnings to the Canadian Pension Plan. As of 2010, that threshold was CA$4,700 per year.
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Report earnings in excess of $4,700 to CPP officials. CPP may reduce or eliminate your benefits based on what you earn in your part-time work. However, if you were collecting disability benefits prior to returning to part-time work, you may qualify for automatic reinstatement.
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Cease working for two months. Until the year 2012, if you want to receive CPP retirement benefits, you must cease working or reduce your earnings below the threshold for two months -- a procedure called the "work cessation test." After 2012, however, you can begin receiving retirement benefits without any cessation in your income from work, as long as you are age 60 or older.
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Wait until 2012. Beginning in that year, the CPP will no longer penalize those who have begun receiving benefits and want to return to work. If you have retired, and want to return to part-time work, the CPP will no longer penalize you for earning more than the threshold, as of 2012. If you are under 65 and work, you and your employer must continue to make CPP contributions. If you are between ages 65 and 70, you may continue to make contributions or elect not to.
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If you are disabled, apply for automatic reinstatement of benefits. If the CPP stops your benefits because of your part-time employment, it will send you two forms: one for you and one for your doctor. Have your doctor fill out his form, you fill out yours, and return them to CPP officials. If you do so within two years of having benefits cease, you will not have to go through the full application process again. If you are reinstated, CPP will restore your benefits to the appropriate amount, including any cost of living increases, as well as adjustments based on your family situation.
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