CPP survivor benefit calculator
Enter the deceased contributor's calculated pension and the survivor's age. Under 65 the pension is a flat amount plus 37.5% of it; from 65 it is 60%, with no flat portion. Both are capped.
Worked example — Survivor pension at $1,100/mo deceased pension, aged 68: $660. 60.0% of the deceased pension, the 65-and-over formula
Calculate your CPP survivor pension
The deceased contributor's pension is the amount CPP calculated for them at 65, whether or not they started it then. The survivor's own age, not the deceased's, decides which formula applies.
Survivor at 68, $1,100 deceased pension: Over 65, so the 60% rate applies, plus a $700 own retirement pension to see the naive sum against the cap.
Survivor's own CPP retirement pension 1
Uses the deceased contributor's pension as calculated at 65, not necessarily the amount they were receiving if they started CPP early or late. The CPP death benefit, a separate one-time lump sum to the estate, is not calculated here.
The amount is flat within each age band and steps once, at 65. It is not a curve: no age within a band changes the formula, so nothing between the two flat segments was computed.
How much is the CPP survivor pension in 2026?
At a $1,100/mo deceased contributor's pension and a survivor aged 68, the survivor pension is $660 a month: 60.0% of the deceased's calculated pension, because the survivor is 65 or over.
Under 65 the formula is different, not just a different rate. It is a flat, CPI-indexed amount plus 37.5% of the deceased's pension, and the flat portion disappears entirely once the survivor turns 65. Neither version can exceed the published maximum for its age band: $804 under 65, $905 at 65 and over.
Survivor pension plus your own CPP: not a sum
A survivor aged 70 with a $1,300/mo deceased pension and a $730/mo pension of their own does not receive both added together. Adding them gives $1,510, but CPP Regulations s.46 caps the combination with its own worksheet: a larger share of one pension plus a smaller share of the other, summed, then capped at $1,508, the current maximum retirement pension at 65.
| Amount | Value |
|---|---|
| Standalone survivor pension | $780 |
| Own retirement pension | $730 |
| Naive sum of the two | $1,510 |
| Verified ceiling on the real combined amount | $1,508 |
The naive sum here already clears that ceiling by $2, so the real combined benefit is lower than simply adding the two, whatever the exact worksheet result turns out to be. This site has not cleared the s.46 worksheet itself to its two-source verification bar, so it states the one number it can stand behind, the ceiling, rather than a guessed blend. Service Canada calculates the exact combined figure on request.
CPP survivor benefit by deceased pension and age
Every age within a band pays the same amount: age 60 stands in for under 65, age 70 for 65 and over. Where a maximum applies, the amount stops rising with the deceased pension.
| Deceased pension | Survivor under 65 | Survivor 65 and over |
|---|---|---|
| $400 | $388 | $240 |
| $700 | $501 | $420 |
| $925 | $585 | $555 |
| $1,100 | $651 | $660 |
| $1,300 | $726 | $780 |
| $1,508 | $804 | $905 |
What the CPP death benefit pays
The CPP death benefit is a separate, one-time lump sum paid to the deceased contributor's estate, not a monthly amount and not part of the survivor pension above. It is set in legislation as a flat figure rather than a formula tied to the contributor's earnings.
This calculator does not state a dollar figure for it: the amount was not in the set of numbers this site cleared to its two-source verification bar in this pass, so publishing one from memory would be the exact failure this page exists to avoid. Check the current amount on Service Canada's CPP death benefit page directly.
This does not model partial CPP survivor eligibility rules, the children's benefit, CPP disability, or Quebec's QPP, which runs its own survivor rules entirely separate from CPP. Next: see what the same deceased pension would have paid the contributor directly with the CPP timing calculator.
Where these numbers come from
Every figure on this page is published by Employment and Social Development Canada. Each was checked against a second independent source on 2026-08-08. CPP retirement and survivor maximums move each January; re-check anything you are acting on against the source directly.
- ESDC - CPP and OAS maximum benefit amounts, 2026 the maximum retirement pension at 65 and both survivor-pension maximums
This is general publishing, not tax or benefits advice, and it does not know your circumstances. Your own survivor pension is set by Service Canada from your late spouse or partner's actual contribution record, which is the number that governs.
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