How each one pays
- Defined benefit: your employer promises a regular income after you retire, usually calculated from your salary and the number of years you were in the plan. The amount does not depend on how the investments perform.
- Defined contribution: you know what goes in, not what comes out. The money is invested, often with some choice of funds, and at retirement it typically moves into an annuity, a locked-in RRSP or a locked-in Registered Retirement Income Fund (RRIF), or a mix.
How a DB pension works with CPP
- Bridge benefit: some DB plans pay a temporary top-up from retirement until 65, when the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) normally starts. The bridge stops at 65 whether or not you have started CPP.
- Integrated plans: some plans are designed so the pension and CPP together deliver the intended income, so the pension steps down at 65. Your annual pension statement shows whether your plan works this way.
- Indexing: some pensions rise with inflation, fully or partly. Others are fixed, which means their buying power falls every year.
Survivor pensions
A DB pension paid to someone with a spouse or common-law partner usually continues, at a reduced amount, to the survivor. For federally regulated plans, the law sets that reduced amount at no less than 60% of the pension. Provinces set their own rules for the plans they regulate.
Choosing a higher survivor share usually lowers the monthly amount while both of you are alive, which is a trade-off worth seeing on paper.
Tax rules that matter
- RRSP room: a pension adjustment from your workplace plan reduces your RRSP deduction limit for the following year, for DB and DC members alike.
- Pension income amount: lifetime pension payments from a workplace plan qualify for the pension income amount, up to $2,000 a year, at any age.
- Pension income splitting: up to 50% of eligible pension income can be allocated to a spouse or common-law partner. Lifetime pension payments count before 65; RRIF income generally counts from 65.
A worked example
Carol, 62, has a DB pension of $2,400 a month plus a $600 bridge benefit until 65. From retirement to 65 she receives $3,000 a month from the plan. At 65 the bridge ends and CPP begins, so the plan pays $2,400 from then on and her total depends on her CPP amount. Seeing the step at 65 is what shows whether the years before CPP are covered.
Illustrative amounts. Bridge and integration rules differ from plan to plan.
How TruePath fits in
TruePath models a DB pension with its monthly amount, whether it is indexed and at what rate, a bridge benefit that ends at 65 and the share that continues to a surviving spouse. Locked-in accounts such as a Locked-In Retirement Account (LIRA) or Life Income Fund (LIF) are tracked as accounts, so a DC balance can be planned alongside your other savings.
Related questions people ask
Is a defined benefit or defined contribution pension better?
Neither is better for everyone. A DB pension removes investment and longevity risk from you. A DC plan gives you a balance and some control, but leaves those risks with you.
Does my workplace pension reduce my CPP?
No. CPP is calculated separately from your contributions to it. Some DB plans are integrated with CPP, so the pension itself steps down at 65, but your CPP amount does not change.
Can I split my DB pension with my spouse before 65?
Yes. Lifetime pension payments from a workplace plan are eligible pension income at any age, and up to 50% can be allocated to a spouse or common-law partner.
Why is my RRSP room so low?
Membership in a workplace pension creates a pension adjustment, which reduces your RRSP deduction limit for the next year.
Sources
- Canada.ca: Employer pension plans (Financial Consumer Agency of Canada)
- Canada.ca: Pension adjustment
- Canada.ca: Line 31400, Pension income amount
- Canada.ca: Pension income splitting
- Canada.ca: Reaching age 65, public service pension plan (bridge benefit)
- Justice Laws: Pension Benefits Standards Act, section 22 (joint and survivor pension)
This page is general education about Canadian retirement rules, not personalised financial advice. Figures are for the 2026 tax year and change with government updates.