As soon as you are employed in Quebec, you are entitled, with some exceptions, to a retirement pension from the Quebec Pension Plan (QPP) when you leave the labor market. But for many people, this fully indexed life annuity remains nebulous. Retraite Québec is therefore offering companies an information session on preparing for retirement. Overview.
Posted yesterday at 11:00 a.m.
This training has the great advantage of debunking the many myths conveyed by relatives, including the eternal brother-in-law. “We’ve actually come to set the record straight,” explains Sandra Pelletier, information dissemination technician at Retraite Québec.
The most tenacious myth, according to her: you absolutely have to apply for your QPP retirement pension at age 60, otherwise this money will be lost forever. Obviously, this is not necessarily true, specifies the trainer. At least not for everyone
“Every case is different,” she says. A retiree will have to take into account, among other things, the money he has put aside or if he is entitled to a pension from his employer. A person receives the full amount of the QPP pension to which he is entitled at age 65. But if she asks for it at age 60, she can lose up to 30% or even 35% of the amount. Conversely, she can increase the amount if she waits until age 70. »
The topics covered in this training (offered at a fixed price of $375 for groups of 5 to 100 people) are numerous. They range from income security at retirement to the enhancement of the Quebec Pension Plan, including survivors’ benefits, the statement of participation and other work income sharing.
The federal government’s Old Age Security (OAS) pension and the government employees’ pension fund (RREGOP) are also discussed.
Usually able to make savers dizzy, these themes find their full meaning at the end of the meeting lasting about two and a half hours, says Sandra Pelletier, who has more than 450 presentations to her credit.
At the beginning, we feel that the participants are afraid of all the information that we are going to give them, because it seems complicated. But we are here to popularize the information.
Sandra Pelletier, information dissemination technician at Retraite Québec
“Yes, there are rules, but by explaining how it works, it reassures people. Many of them say thank you, because they know that their choices will have an impact. They also understand that there are resources and it reassures them to know that they are not alone. »
Due to the pandemic, Retraite Québec’s retirement preparation information session is currently only offered in virtual mode, in French or in English. However, face-to-face meetings are about to be offered again, we are told.
Surprisingly, it is mainly large companies or organizations (municipal administrations, in particular) that call on Retraite Québec to provide training to their employees. When we know that more than half of SMEs in Quebec have fewer than 10 employees and that, very often, their resources are limited, such training comes at the right time.