Canada Pension Plan credits are sharable family property.  CPP credits accrue based on your salary, and contributions you make to the Canada Pension Plan over the course of your employment.  Credits are used to determine if you qualify for a CPP pension, and to calculate the amount of the pension you will receive.

The legislation permits for the equalization of CPP credits with your spouse, married or common law.  The number of credits you and your spouse earned during the period of time you lived together are equalized, meaning that you will both have the same amount of credits for that period of time at the end of the division.

The equalization of credits is started with an application.  The application form and instructions can be found here:

https://catalogue.servicecanada.gc.ca/content/EForms/en/Detail.html?Form=ISP1901

There are limitation periods for this application, depending if you are married or if you are common law, so it is better to make the application sooner rather than later.

Here is what you will need for the application:

  1. Your Social Insurance Number,
  2. Your spouse’s SIN,
  3. Both spouse’s date of birth, mailing addresses,
  4. Date of the start of your cohabitation,
  5. Date of marriage,
  6. Date of separation,
  7. An original copy of your marriage certificate, if applicable,
  8. An original copy of your Divorce Judgment, if applicable,
  9. If you do not have the above, then you can send certified photocopies or provide Statutory Declarations – see the above webpage.

Need help with your CPP application?  Contact us today.