T4 Box 52 - Pension Adjustment

If you have a registered pension plan (RPP) or a deferred profit-sharing plan (DPSP), enter only the dollar amount of the employee’s PA for the year. If you have to prepare more than one T4 slip for the employee because the employee worked for you in more than one work location, report the PA proportionately on each T4 slip. If you cannot apportion the PA, report it on one slip.

If an employee participates in different pension plans that you sponsored (such as an RPP and a DPSP), you have to calculate his or her PA using the total amount of all pension credits accumulated by the employee under all these pension plans for the year.

If an employee is on a leave of absence and is still accruing pensionable service or credits under the plan, you must report the PA on a T4 slip. This is true even if the employee has no employment income in the tax year. Administrators of multiple employee plans (MEPs) would report the PA for the employee on leave on a T4A slip.

Leave box 52 blank if the employee participated in your RPP or DPSP and one of the following applies:

the calculated PA is a negative amount or zero;
the employee died during the year; or
the employee, even if he or she is still a member of the plan, no longer accrues new pension credits in the year (for example, the employee has accrued the maximum number of years of service in respect of the plan).

Special rules concerning the PA

Special calculation rules apply, in some circumstances, to employees who:

left your employment during the year;
are on, or return from, a leave of absence;
participate in a salary deferral arrangement; or
work for you part-time.

For more information on how to calculate the PA, see the Pension Adjustment Guide (T4084). If you need more help calculating a PA, see your pension plan administrator or call our Registered Plans Directorate at 1-800-267-3100 or 613-954-0419 (in Ottawa).

Unregistered retirement plans or arrangements

Measures ensure that the uniform limits on tax-deferred retirement savings take into consideration savings under three types of unregistered retirement plans or arrangements:

a specified retirement arrangement (SRA)
a government-sponsored retirement arrangement (GSRA)
a foreign pension plan (FPP)

If you have any questions about the PA for these types of plans or arrangements, call 1-800-267-3100 or 613-954-0419 (in Ottawa).