Basic pension (RREGOP)
Here are answers to frequently asked questions by people who are planning their retirement.
Calculation of your basic pension under the RREGOP
How will you calculate my retirement pension?
To determine the amount of your
annual basic pension, we will use the following formula:
During a given year, if you are employed in more than one position under a public-sector pension plan such as the
RREGOP or the
PPMP for the same employer or for different employers, it may have an influence of your average pensionable salary and therefore, on the amount of your retirement pension.
Will the same formula be applied if I work part‑time?
Yes. In that case however, we will consider the annual salary you would have received if you had worked full‑time.
Some time ago, I received a retroactive payment. Will that amount be used in the calculation of my retirement pension?
When you retire, we will use all or part of the retroactive payment to calculate your pension, provided the following 2 conditions are met:
- The retroactive payment was made on the basis of your basic salary (the basic salary is the salary provided for in your collective agreement or your work contract)
- The retroactive payment concerned one of your 5 best-paid years of service.
Note: If you received a retroactive amount after 2006 and ceased to be a plan member after 2009, the payment is spread over each of the years in question.
Unreduced immediate pension
When will I be entitled to an unreduced immediate pension?
You will be entitled to an
unreduced immediate pension when you cease to be a member of your public-sector pension plan, provided you meet one of the following 3 eligibility requirements:
- you are at least age 61 (regardless of your number of years of service)
or - you have at least 35 years of service credited for eligibility purposes (regardless of your age)
or - you are at least age 60 and have reached the 90 factor (age + years of service credited for eligibility purposes).
As a rule, and in compliance with tax rules, you will then be eligible for an
unreduced immediate pension, which means that the pension will be equal to your annual basic pension.
Reduced immediate pension
Can I retire even though I do not meet any of the 3 eligibility requirements for an unreduced immediate pension?
Yes. You can retire provided you are
at least age 55, even if you do not have 35 years of service credited for eligibility purposes. However, you would be entitled to a
reduced immediate pension.
Since you will receive your immediate pension for a longer period than if you had waited until you would have met one of the 3 eligibility requirements to apply for the pension, your annual basic pension will be reduced
permanently by 0.5% per month of early retirement (6% a year).
How can I calculate the amount of my reduced immediate pension?
First, you must determine the percentage of reduction applicable to your annual basic pension. This percentage is obtained by multiplying by 0.5% (6% a year) the number of months between the date of your retirement and the date on which:
- you will be
at least age 61 (regardless of your number of years of service)
or - you will have accrued at least 35 years of service credited for eligibility purposes (regardless of your age)
or - you will be at least age 60 and
have reached the 90 factor (age + years of service credited for eligibility purposes).
You then multiply the amount of your annual basic pension by the percentage of reduction in order to determine the reduction applicable to your pension.
Lastly, you subtract the result from your annual basic pension. In this manner, you can determine the amount of the reduced immediate pension to which you are entitled.
Is it possible to have the reduction reduced or cancelled?
Yes. This is what we call compensation of the reduction due to early payment of a pension. It consists in transferring to the
RREGOP the amount necessary for you to be paid each year under your plan an amount equal to the reduction you wish to have reduced or cancelled. Note that you can compensate all or part of the reduction.
If you pay yourself the compensation of your reduction, a transfer must be made from your Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP), Locked-In Retirement Account (LIRA), Registered Pension Plan (RPP), or the portion of your retirement allowance transferable to one of those vehicles, in compliance with tax rules and within 60 days of the end of your membership. Your employer can also pay the amount necessary to reduce or cancel the reduction of your pension, but no later than the date on which you cease to be a member of your public-sector pension plan.
Indexation of your public-sector retirement pension
When I am retired, will my RREGOP pension be indexed?
Yes. Once you begin receiving your RREGOP pension, it will be indexed on 1 January of each year using the rate of increase of the Pension Index (PI) determined in accordance with the Act respecting the Québec Pension Plan, and applied to take into account the increase in the cost of living as follows:
- The portion of your pension that corresponds to service accrued before 1 July 1982 will be fully indexed using the rate of increase of the PI.
- The portion of your pension that corresponds to service accrued from 1 July 1982 to 31 December 1999 will be indexed using the rate of increase of the PI, minus 3%. If the PI is 3% or less, that portion of the pension will not be indexed.
- The portion of your pension that corresponds to service accrued since 1 January 2000, will be indexed using the more advantageous of the following 2 formulas:
- 50% of the PI; or
- the PI, minus 3%.
If I retire on a date other than 1 January, will my pension be indexed in the same manner?
Yes. However, the first time your pension is indexed, that is, on 1 January following the date of your retirement, the indexation will be calculated on the basis of the number of days for which your pension is payable during the first year of your retirement relative to 365 days (or relative to 366 days, if it's a leap year).
Integration of the public-sector pension plan with the Québec Pension Plan (QPP)
How does integration with the
QPP affect my public-sector retirement pension?
When you turn 65, your public-sector pension plan will take into account the fact that you will also receive a pension under the
QPP. This will reduce the pension you receive under your public-sector pension plan. This process is called integration with the QPP.
Your retirement pension will be reduced as of the month following your 65th birthday.
Note that the portion of the pension that corresponds to years accrued after 35 years of service is not integrated with the
QPP. The introduction of the additional plan under the
QPP as of 1 January 2019 does not change the existing provisions of public-sector pension plans. Therefore, only the pension paid under the Québec Pension Plan's base plan is taken into account to calculate the amount of the reduction resulting from integration.
Like many of the pension plans offered by other employers, your public-sector pension plan is integrated with the
QPP. As a result of integration, the total of the pensions payable to a person under the
QPP and his or her public-sector pension plan is equal to about 80% of the person's average pensionable salary prior to retirement, provided the person had accrued 40 years of service as at 31 December 2018.
Integration with the
QPP has no effect on the amount of the
QPP retirement pension. However, as of age 65, a reduction not linked to integration may apply to your disability or surviving spouse's pensions payable under the QPP.
Is integration mandatory?
Yes. Integration with the
QPP is provided for under the law that governs your public-sector pension plan.
If I apply for my
QPP pension at age 60, will my public-sector retirement pension be reduced at age 60 as well?
No. Your public-sector retirement pension will be reduced only as of the month following your 65th birthday, even if you begin receiving your
QPP pension before you turn 65.
If I die before I turn 65, does integration with the
QPP apply?
Yes. Your pension will be integrated as of the month following your death, even if you die before age 65.
How the partition of benefits accrued under a public-sector pension plan affects your retirement pension
When the benefits accrued under my public-sector pension plan are partitioned upon the breakdown of my union, what impact does that have on the amount of my pension?
Once the amounts allocated to your spouse have been paid, we will calculate a partition‑related reduction and adjust your file accordingly. The reduction to your pension benefit is permanent.
Integration with the Québec Pension Plan at age 65 does not take into account the reduction due to partition of the benefits accrued under a pension plan. The full amount of your pension is integrated, and not the reduced pension amount due to partition.
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