Faxing a pension plan
An application, proof of age, a direct-deposit change: one wrong SIN and the file stalls.
Canada’s public pensions — the Canada Pension Plan and Old Age Security — are delivered by Service Canada; workers in Quebec contribute to the Quebec Pension Plan instead. Workplace and union pension plans are run by their own administrators, often an insurer or a trust. Most CPP and OAS applications can now be made online through My Service Canada Account, but signed forms, proof of age or a requested document sometimes still go by fax when Service Canada or the plan administrator tells you to. Use the number given in that request, and put your social insurance number at the top of the page.
Why a pension plan still takes faxes
Pension files gather documents over decades: employer records, foreign social-security forms, birth and marriage certificates. Administrators receive many of these from other institutions by fax and keep a line open for them.
For applicants, fax helps when a processing office asks for a missing document and sets a deadline. The transmission report shows the date it went out, which matters if payments are delayed while the file is incomplete.
Where to find the right number
- The letter from Service Canada or your plan administrator requesting the document, which says how to send it.
- For CPP and OAS paper forms, the instructions on canada.ca, which tell you where to send them depending on where you live.
- For a workplace pension, your member statement or plan booklet, which gives the administrator’s contact details.
What the cover page should say
- The office or administrator, and the benefit concerned (CPP retirement, OAS, survivor, disability, workplace plan).
- Your social insurance number and, for a workplace plan, your member or certificate number.
- The subject: application, proof of age, banking change, requested document.
- Your current address and phone number, and the total page count.
The record to keep
Keep the transmission report, the PDF and the request letter, then confirm by phone that the document reached your file. Pension offices handle large volumes; a page that arrives but is never linked to your SIN can hold up payment just as much as one that never arrived.
Other channels, sometimes better
My Service Canada Account
Apply for CPP and OAS, update direct deposit and view your contributions online — usually faster than paper.
A Service Canada Centre
In-person offices accept paper applications and can look at your original documents, so you do not have to mail them.
Your plan’s member portal
Most workplace pension administrators offer an online area for forms, beneficiary changes and statements.
Other recipients
- Sick note, certificate, proof of absence: let them know on time without saying too much.
- A review letter, a reassessment, a request for receipts: your SIN and the letter’s reference do the sorting.
- Health data on paper again: the number must come from the plan, not from a search engine.
- For a lost card, call; for paperwork, a clearly referenced fax may still be welcome.
Faxing a public body
In this section
Where to go next
Hand-picked pages to help you prepare, send or prove your fax.