CPP sharing calculator
Spouses who are both 60 or older can ask Service Canada to share the CPP earned while they lived together. The couple's total does not change; who reports it does. Enter both pensions and this page shows the new amounts, and the income tax and OAS clawback the household saves, using the same verified 2026 brackets as our couples planner.
Rules from Service Canada, brackets from canada.ca and CRA · verified October 22, 2026
| Before sharing | After sharing | |
|---|---|---|
| Spouse A, CPP per month | — | — |
| Spouse B, CPP per month | — | — |
| Couple, CPP per month | — | — |
| Income tax, both spouses (a year) | — | — |
| OAS recovery tax, both spouses (a year) | — | — |
| Tax plus recovery tax (a year) | — | — |
—
—
Quebec residents: the Quebec Pension Plan (QPP) replaces CPP with similar but not identical rules and amounts; see Retraite Québec. Provincial tax here uses Quebec's 2026 brackets and the federal abatement.
How the shareable portion is worked out
Service Canada looks at your joint contributory period, the span of years during which either of you could have contributed to the CPP (or QPP), and counts the months you lived together inside it. That fraction of each pension is pooled and divided equally; the rest stays with the spouse who earned it. The post-retirement benefit (CPP earned by working after you started your pension) cannot be shared.
| Example (monthly) | Spouse A | Spouse B | Couple |
|---|---|---|---|
| Before sharing | $1,200 | $400 | $1,600 |
| Together for 100% of the period | $800 | $800 | $1,600 |
| Together for 75% of the period | $900 | $700 | $1,600 |
At 75%, three-quarters of each pension ($900 and $300) is pooled and split ($600 each); A keeps the unshared $300 and B keeps $100.
Why it can lower your tax
CPP is taxed in the hands of whoever receives it. Moving part of a pension from a spouse in a higher bracket to one in a lower bracket cuts the couple's income tax, and because the OAS recovery tax is assessed on each person's net income (15% of the amount over $93,454 of 2025 income for the July 2026 to June 2027 payment year), it can also pull the higher earner back under the line. With the default inputs above, an Ontario couple keeps about $1,025 more a year. If you are both in the same bracket and both under the clawback line, sharing changes little, and a lower-income spouse who receives the Guaranteed Income Supplement could see it reduced because GIS is tested on income other than OAS.
Sharing is not splitting
CPP sharing is a Service Canada application that changes who is paid. Pension income splitting is a CRA election (form T1032) that moves up to 50% of eligible private pension income on paper; CPP and OAS are never eligible for it. The two stack: share CPP with Service Canada, then split a workplace pension or RRIF income with the CRA. Our couples retirement planner applies both every year and shows the survivor's income too.
Frequently asked questions
What is CPP pension sharing?
A Service Canada arrangement that lets spouses or common-law partners who are both at least 60 share the CPP retirement pension earned while they lived together. Each of you receives part of the other's pension; the couple's total does not change. Because the pension is then reported by a different person, it can lower the couple's income tax and OAS recovery tax. It is not the same as the CRA's pension income splitting.
Who qualifies for CPP pension sharing?
You must be living with your legal spouse or common-law partner (a common-law partner is someone you have lived with in a conjugal relationship for at least one year), and at least one of you must be receiving or have applied for a CPP retirement pension. Both of you must be at least 60, the earliest age a CPP retirement pension can start. Couples who are voluntarily separated at the time of application cannot be approved.
How much of our CPP can be shared?
Only the portion earned during your joint contributory period, in proportion to the months you lived together during that period. If you lived together for all of it, the whole of both pensions is pooled and divided equally. If you lived together for three-quarters of it, three-quarters of each pension is pooled and the rest stays with the person who earned it. The CPP post-retirement benefit cannot be shared.
Does sharing change how much CPP we receive in total?
No. Service Canada's rule is that the combined total of the two pensions stays the same whether you share or not. What changes is who is paid, and therefore who reports the income.
How much tax does CPP sharing save?
It depends on the gap between your tax brackets and whether the higher earner is over the OAS clawback line ($93,454 of 2025 net income for the July 2026 to June 2027 payment year). With the default numbers on this page the couple saves about $1,025 a year in Ontario. If you are both in the same bracket and under the clawback line, the saving can be zero.
Can we share CPP if only one of us ever contributed?
Yes. Service Canada says that if only one of you contributed to the CPP or QPP, you can share that one pension. The spouse who never contributed receives part of it.
How do we apply, and when does it start?
Either spouse applies, online through My Service Canada Account or with the paper form ISP1002, Application for CPP Pension Sharing of Retirement Pension(s). Sharing starts as soon as Service Canada approves the application; it cannot be backdated.
When does CPP sharing end?
In the month one of you dies, the month you divorce, the month a cancellation request signed by both of you is approved (form ISP1014), the month a spouse who never contributed starts contributing, or the 12th month after you begin living separate and apart. When it ends, each pension goes back to the amount the person earned.
Is CPP sharing the same as pension income splitting?
No. Pension income splitting is a CRA election on your tax return (form T1032) that moves up to 50% of eligible private pension income on paper; CPP and OAS are never eligible for it. CPP sharing is a Service Canada application that changes who is actually paid. Many couples use both. Our couples retirement planner applies the two together, year by year.
Sources and assumptions
- Service Canada, Canada Pension Plan: pension sharing (eligibility, the joint contributory period, how to apply, when sharing ends).
- Service Canada, CPP payment amounts 2026 (maximum retirement pension $1,507.65 a month at 65).
- Service Canada, OAS recovery tax (threshold $93,454 of 2025 net income, 15% rate) and OAS payment amounts (October to December 2026).
- Income tax uses the 2026 federal and provincial brackets, basic personal amounts, the age amount and the pension income amount from our verified tax engine; employment income carries CPP and EI contributions. Other taxable income is treated as ordinary income. GIS, the Allowance and provincial benefits are not modelled. Educational, not tax advice.
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The live government figures behind this calculator
Read every morning from Service Canada, Statistics Canada, the Bank of Canada and the CRA, and again at 11 a.m. ET on weekdays. Published figures only, no estimates.
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