Pensions in Alberta - Overview

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There are several types of pensions for people in the province of Alberta.  Most pension plans fall into one of four categories: 

Are you a member of one of the public sector pension plans?

See more information, or visit the Alberta Pensions Services Corporation (APS) website.

Are you a member of the Teachers' Pension Plan or Private School Teachers' Plan?

See more information, or visit the Alberta Teachers' Retirement Fund Board (ARTF) website.
  • Retirement income programs administered by the federal government for Canadians - these include the Canada Pension Plan (CPP), Old Age Security (OAS) and the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS).  The provinces are joint stewards of the Canada Pension Plan along with the federal government and help establish policy for the Canada Pension Plan; and

  • Alberta Seniors Benefit Program – provides support in addition to the federal benefits received under Old Age Security, Guaranteed Income Supplement, Federal Allowance and the GST credit.  It is based on income and provides monthly benefits to eligible seniors.

For more information on benefits and programs for seniors, see:

Quick Facts - Programs and Services for Seniors (pdf) - from the Alberta Seniors website.

Note that pension plans established by companies in federally regulated industries such as banks, airlines, and telecommunications companies  are governed by the federal pension standards legislation, the Pension Benefits Standards Act, (1985) (Canada).  The federal government's Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions is the primary regulator and supervisor of federally regulated private sector pension plans.  The federal government also manages the pension plans for federal public service employees.

For general information on pensions, click here for the “Time to Start a Pension” guide.

For information on accessing pension funds, click here for the “Accessing Pension Funds guide.

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Pensions News and E-Update Service

E-Update Service

May 8, 2013 - Pooled Registered Pension Plans:

The Government of Alberta has given third reading to new legislation that allows Pooled Registered Pension Plans (PRPPs) to be available in Alberta.

May 1, 2013 - Website Update:

February 15, 2013 – Website Updates:

December 17, 2012 - Website Updates:

The Employment Pensions website has been updated in all relevant areas to reflect changes for 2013.  This includes changes to the CANSIM Series V122487 interest rate (used to determine withdrawals from LIFs and DC RIAs) and Year’s Maximum Pensionable Earnings.  Documents updated to reflect 2013 figures include:

Policy Bulletins:

Other Documents/Tables:

Please note the Table of Withdrawals from LIFs and DC RIAs remain unchanged for 2013 as the CANSIM Series V122487 remained below 6.00% for November 2012.

November 27, 2012 – Bill 10 passes with Third Reading
On November 20, 2012, Bill 10: Employment Pension Plans Act passed Third Reading in the legislature. Although the new Act has passed, it will not come into force until proclamation of the legislation, which will follow the drafting, approval and release of a new Employment Pension Plans Regulation (the new Regulation) which is presently under development.

We have prepared EPPA Update 12-02: Key Differences – Employment Pension Plans Act Pension Plans Act, 2012, which is designed to provide stakeholders with a summary of key differences that exist between the new Act, and the previous Employment Pension Plans Act (Chapter E-8, RSA 2000).  In addition to new provisions and policy changes, which are detailed in this Update, many sections of the legislation have been rewritten to make the new Act more readable and to clarify legislative requirements.

October 25, 2012 - Bill 10 improves pension legislation for private sector:

September 24, 2012 (Updated October 26, 2012)
EPPA Update 12-01: Defined Benefit Funding Relief Provisions - 2012
The Employment Pension Plans Regulation has been amended to provide temporary funding relief to certain defined benefit plans, in response to declining and historically low solvency discount rates. EPPA Update 12-01 has been developed to assist plan sponsors and service providers in understanding the requirements of the Superintendent’s office to obtain funding relief.  This document was clarified on October 26, 2012 by deleting the last part of the final sentence in the paragraph at the top of page 3 and by adding a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section.

Subscription Service: Subscribe to our Employment Pensions E-Update
The purpose of our electronic update is to keep subscribers up-to-date and informed about major changes to the Employment Pensions website and the documents residing on that site (including changes to legislation and policies). More information about this subscription service.

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Page last updated:  May 15, 2013