To receive a CPP disability benefit, you must:
These requirements are very specific and each case must be considered on its own. Call your Client Service Officer for help in understanding these requirements and how they relate to your case.
To be eligible for a benefit, you must have made valid contributions for a certain number of years to the Canada Pension Plan. This is also referred to as the Minimum Qualifying Period (MQP).
Currently, the MQP for a disability benefit is four (4) years of valid contributions within the last six (6) years. An example of the calculation of the MQP is shown below:
# Years Valid Earnings & Contributions
Valid
Year
Last 6 Years
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
1
2002
2
2003
3
2004
4
2005
5
***
2006
6
2007
= years of valid contributions *** Minimum Qualifying Period (MQP)
For example, if you have made valid contributions in 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2005, you meet the requirement of contributions in 4 of the last 6 years. Therefore, in this example you would last meet the contributory requirements (MQP) in December 2006.
This date is the latest date you can be found disabled to qualify for a disability benefit. It is important that the additional medical information you send us in support of your appeal proves that you were disabled on that date or prior, and continue to be disabled.
In this example, you are covered up until December 2006. If you have an accident and become disabled in February 2007, your coverage has expired and therefore you are not eligible for a disability benefit.
The Minimum Qualifying Period for a disability benefit has changed over the years. Therefore it is important to know and understand your own MQP. Call your Client Service Officer to get help in understanding the MQP and the CPP legislation as it relates to your case.
People who have contributed to the CPP for 25 years or more have an additional MQP option. A recent update to the Canada Pension Plan legislation says that if you have made valid contributions for twenty-five years or more, you need valid contributions in only three (3) of the last six (6) years to meet the contributory requirement. These new rules apply only to disability benefit applications made on or after March 3, 2008. For more information, see Rules for Long Term Contributors.
Once you have been determined to meet the Minimum Qualifying Period, you must prove that you have a disability which is severe and prolonged, as defined in the CPP.
The legislation states that a disability is severe if a person is incapable regularly of pursuing any substantially gainful occupation as a result of the disability.
A disabling condition may be physical or mental. You must also establish that the disability is prolonged, meaning that it is long-term and indefinite.
Section 42 of the CPP legislation describes the disability requirement:
"(2) When person deemed disabled.-For the purposes of this act,