Locked-In

Your pension benefits are generally "locked-in" and can't be withdrawn as cash. They must provide retirement income instead. There are some exceptions for small pensions, which depend on provincial rules. For example:

• In some provinces, if your annual pension benefit is less than 4% of the Year’s Maximum Pensionable Earnings (YMPE) when you retire or leave your job, you may qualify for a withdrawal.
• Other provinces allow you to “unlock” if the commuted value of the pension benefit is less than 20% of the YMPE. If unlocked, this amount can be transferred to an RRSP or paid as a taxable lump sum.