Bill S-223 explained in plain English
An Act to amend the Canada Pension Plan (retroactivity of retirement and survivor's pensions)
Federal Parliament bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.
At a glance
Official Parliament of Canada snapshot for 40th Parliament, 3rd Session. MP vote breakdowns appear when the House of Commons publishes a recorded division export for that bill. Senate and House stage details include official debate/sitting links when LEGISinfo publishes them.
Our plain-language take, written for civic education.
Source: By PoliticalData.ca
Bill S-223 would allow people who apply late for Canada Pension Plan retirement or survivor pensions to receive retroactive payments for up to 5 years instead of the current 12 months.
Bill S-223 proposes to change how far back the Canada Pension Plan will pay retroactive benefits when someone applies late for retirement or survivor pensions. Currently, if you apply for a retirement pension after age 70, the plan will pay you back up to 12 months. If you apply for a survivor's pension, the plan also pays back up to 12 months. This bill would extend the retroactive period to 5 years (60 months) in most cases. The bill makes specific changes: - For people who apply for a retirement pension between ages 65 and 70, retroactive payments would go back up to 11 months (current rule). - For people who apply for a retirement pension after age 70, retroactive payments would go back up to 60 months (5 years), but not earlier than when they turned 70. - For people who apply for a retirement pension after age 75, retroactive payments would go back up to 60 months (5 years). - For survivor pensions, retroactive payments would go back up to 59 months (nearly 5 years). This would allow people who delayed applying for pensions to receive more back pay than they currently can under the rules.
- Extends the retroactive payment period for retirement pensions from 12 months to 60 months (5 years) for applicants over age 70, with the restriction that payments cannot go back before the month they turned 70
- Extends the retroactive payment period for retirement pensions from 12 months to 60 months (5 years) for applicants over age 75
- Extends the retroactive payment period for survivor pensions from 12 months to 59 months (nearly 5 years)
- Maintains the current 11-month retroactive period for retirement pension applicants between ages 65 and 70
- Specifies that these changes do not apply to section 114 of the Canada Pension Plan
- People aged 65 and over who apply for Canada Pension Plan retirement pensions
- People who apply for Canada Pension Plan survivor pensions
- Specifically, applicants over age 70 seeking retirement pensions (would receive up to 5 years back pay instead of 1 year)
- Applicants over age 75 seeking retirement pensions (would receive up to 5 years back pay)
- Applicants seeking survivor pensions (would receive up to nearly 5 years back pay instead of 1 year)
- Eligible applicants would have the right to receive retroactive pension payments going back up to 5 years instead of 12 months in specified circumstances
- The retroactive payment period for applicants over age 70 cannot go back earlier than the month they turned age 70
- The changes do not apply to section 114 of the Canada Pension Plan (which deals with how the Plan applies to certain situations)
- Bill received First Reading on October 5, 2010
- Section 3 of the bill is stated to come into force on the later of when the bill comes into force and when section 38 of the Economic Recovery Act (stimulus) (2009) comes into force
- Other sections would come into force when the bill is given Royal Assent (the specific date is not specified in the bill text)
- Note: The bill status indicates 'Bill not proceeded with,' meaning it did not advance to become law
- The bill would increase Canada Pension Plan benefit payments to eligible applicants by extending the retroactive period they can claim, resulting in higher payouts for people who delayed applying for pensions
- The total financial impact is not quantified in the bill text
- The bill does not specify new penalties or enforcement mechanisms; it only changes the rules for how far back benefits can be paid
- The bill does not specify the exact date the bill would come into force, only that section 3 would come into force on the later of the bill's commencement and section 38 of the Economic Recovery Act
- The bill text does not explain the rationale or justification for extending the retroactive period from 1 year to 5 years
- The bill is in Senate form (S-223) and received First Reading in 2010 but the status indicates it 'was not proceeded with,' meaning it did not become law
- The bill does not specify whether these changes would apply retroactively to people who already received pension payments under the old rules
Changes the maximum retroactive period for retirement and survivor pension payments from 12 months to up to 5 years in specified circumstances
Source: Sections 1, 2, 3, and 4 amend paragraphs 63.1(3)(b), 67(2)(e), 67(3.1), and 72(1) of the Canada Pension Plan respectively
Generated using AI from official bill text. Not legal advice. It is written by PoliticalData.ca for civic education, automatically checked and spot-reviewed before publishing.
Official textParliamentary Process
We don't have a plain-language summary for First reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Introduction and first reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Second reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Debate at second reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Sponsor’s speech yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Debate at second reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Debate at second reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Third reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for First reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Second reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Consideration in committee yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Report stage yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Third reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
Debate and sitting links point to official parliamentary sources when LEGISinfo publishes them. Any plain-language discussion summaries should be generated from those official texts and reviewed before public display.
Vote Summary
This bill is still active. We only show vote counts after the legislature publishes a recorded division.
No published representative vote breakdown
This bill is still moving through the process. When a recorded division is published, representative positions can be listed here.
Official sources
Status, sponsor, votes, and timeline on this page are drawn from these official legislative sources and public records. Each summary above is attributed to its own source.
How this data is sourced