QPP Deferral to Age 72: What Changed and How It Works

What Changed on January 1, 2024

Before 2024, the QPP retirement pension worked on the same age band as CPP: you could start any time from age 60 to age 70. Starting before 65 permanently reduced the pension, and starting after 65 permanently increased it, with no further increase once you passed 70.

The 2024 reform extended the top of that band by two years. You can now defer the QPP retirement pension to age 72. The increase for waiting keeps accruing at the same monthly rate through those two extra years, which is why the maximum premium jumped from +42% at age 70 to +58.8% at age 72. The pension stops growing after 72, so applying at 73 or later gives you no additional actuarial increase.

This is a QPP-only change. CPP still stops at age 70 with a maximum increase of 42%. If you contributed to both plans during your career, the plan that pays you is the one for the province where you live when you apply, so a Quebec resident applies under QPP rules and can use the age-72 option.

Why Waiting Increases the Pension: 0.7% per Month, 58.8% Maximum

The QPP retirement pension is calculated as an amount payable at age 65, then adjusted up or down based on the month you actually start. After 65, the adjustment is +0.7% for every month you wait. Over a full year that is 8.4%, and it compounds simply, month by month, until age 72.

From 65 to 72 is 84 months. At 0.7% per month, that is 84 × 0.7% = 58.8%. So a person who would receive $1,000 per month at 65 and instead waits to 72 receives $1,588 per month, before indexation, for the rest of their life. The premium is permanent: it is locked in the month you start and never reverts.

Here is the deferral premium at each age, on top of the age-65 amount:

The Early-Start Reduction Still Applies

The bottom of the age band did not change. You can still start as early as age 60, but starting before 65 permanently reduces the pension. The reduction is between 0.5% and 0.6% per month, depending on the size of your pension. Lower pensions use a rate closer to 0.5% per month, and the maximum pension uses 0.6% per month.

At age 60, that works out to a reduction of 30% to 36%. Someone entitled to the maximum pension who starts at 60 gives up 36% permanently, while someone with a smaller pension gives up closer to 30%. As with the deferral premium, the reduction is locked in for life once you start.

2026 QPP Monthly Amounts by Start Age

Retraite Québec publishes reference amounts each year. The table below shows the monthly QPP retirement pension for a pension starting in 2026, at each age from 60 to 72. The average column assumes a career with earnings around half the maximum pensionable earnings; the maximum column assumes contributions at the maximum pensionable earnings every year. Most people land somewhere between the two.

2026 amounts, for pensions starting in 2026. Source: Retraite Québec. For the full monthly and annual charts, see our companion article, QPP Pension Amounts by Age: 2026 Charts and Tables.

Who Benefits From Waiting, and Who May Not

Deferring is powerful, but it is not automatically the right move. The premium rewards a long life, so the decision turns on health, family longevity, and whether you have other income to live on while you wait.

Waiting tends to help if you

are in good health with a family history of longevity, have other income to bridge the gap (an RRSP or RRIF, an employer pension, rental income, or a working spouse), want the largest possible inflation-indexed and guaranteed income later in life, or are still working after 65 and prefer not to trigger the pension yet. A larger QPP is essentially cheap longevity insurance: it pays more the longer you live, exactly when other savings may be running low.

Waiting tends to hurt if you

have health concerns or a shorter life expectancy, need the cash flow now and have no other income to draw on, or would be forced to deplete registered savings faster than makes sense just to delay. If you do not expect to reach your breakeven age, starting earlier can leave more total dollars in your hands. Our QPP Benefit Calculator shows the breakeven age between starting early and starting late so you can see where the crossover falls for your own numbers.

After 65, Low Earnings No Longer Drag Down Your Average

QPP is based on your average earnings over your contributory period, which runs from age 18 to the month before your pension starts (or the month of your 72nd birthday, whichever comes first). A helpful rule protects people who keep working at a reduced pace after 65: months after age 65 cannot lower the average used in your calculation. In other words, cutting back your hours or stopping work between 65 and 72 will not pull your pension down. If you keep earning, those contributions can instead fund the retirement pension supplement, which adds to your pension automatically.

The calculation also drops out your lowest-earning months. Up to 15% of your lowest months are excluded, and additional months are excluded for periods you received a QPP or CPP disability pension, an unreduced CNESST income replacement indemnity for 24 consecutive months or more, or family benefits while caring for a child under age 7. Only earnings above $3,500 per year count, up to the maximum pensionable earnings.

You Have to Apply: QPP Is Not Automatic

The QPP retirement pension does not start on its own. You must apply, and you choose the month it begins. If you apply after 65, you can also request a retroactive pension going back a limited number of months, which can put a lump sum in your hands if you delayed your application past the date you wanted payments to begin.

There is a safety valve if you change your mind. You can cancel your retirement pension application within 6 months of your first payment, provided you repay the amounts you received. After that 6-month window, the decision is final and the start age is locked in for life. Because the choice is close to irreversible, it is worth modelling before you file.

The Pension Is Taxable and Indexed

Your QPP retirement pension is taxable income in the year you receive it, the same as employment income or a RRIF withdrawal. It is also indexed to the cost of living every January, starting the year after your first payment, so it keeps pace with inflation over a long retirement. That indexation is part of what makes deferral attractive: you are locking in a larger base that then grows with inflation for the rest of your life.

QPP vs CPP: The Key Difference in 2026

The two plans still share the same per-month adjustments, but the ceilings now differ. This is the one number to remember:

If you split your career between Quebec and other provinces, your contribution years combine and you receive one pension from the plan of the province where you live when you apply. A Quebec resident can therefore use the age-72 option even for years contributed to CPP. For the contribution side of the story and how QPP compares with CPP and CPP2, see CPP and CPP2 Explained for 2026.

FAQ

Can I really start my QPP at 72 now?

Yes. Since January 1, 2024, the latest start age for the QPP retirement pension is 72. Waiting from 65 to 72 increases the pension by 58.8%. The pension stops increasing after 72, so there is no benefit to applying later than that.

How much more do I get by waiting from 65 to 72?

58.8% more, permanently, plus annual indexation. At the 2026 maximum, that is the difference between about $1,508 per month at 65 and $2,394 per month at 72.

Does this apply to CPP too?

No. CPP still stops at age 70 with a maximum increase of 42%. The age-72 option is specific to the Quebec Pension Plan. If you live in Quebec when you apply, you use QPP rules.

Is deferring always the best choice?

No. Deferral rewards a long life and assumes you have other income to live on while you wait. If your health or family longevity is a concern, or you need the money now, starting earlier can be the better call. Check your breakeven age with the QPP Benefit Calculator.

Can I change my mind after I start?

Only within 6 months of your first payment, and only if you repay what you received. After that window the start age is permanent.

Is the QPP pension taxable?

Yes. It is taxable income and is indexed to inflation each January starting the year after your first payment.

What if I keep working after 65?

Earnings after 65 cannot reduce the average used to calculate your pension, and if you keep contributing, those contributions fund the retirement pension supplement, which is added automatically. You can also contribute to QPP up to age 72.

Sources. Retraite Québec, Retirement pension under the Quebec Pension Plan and At what age should you apply for your retirement pension. Amounts are 2026 figures for pensions starting in 2026. This article is general information, not financial advice.