By Joel Goldenberg
The Suburban
Retraite Quebec told The Suburban Friday that Quebec Pension Plan cheques are being sent out through Canada Post much earlier than previously announced, July 4 instead of July 23.
We made the inquiry Wednesday July 2 after a reader told us that her QPP cheque for June had not yet arrived — it normally arrives in late June.
“When I called to follow up thinking it was lost or taken from my mailbox I was told that due to the possible impending postal strike — none here so far — that the mailing of these cheques would only be on July 23,” the reader, who asked that her name not be used, told us.
On the other hand, “the Canada pension cheque arrived by courier last week.There was no warning about this. I asked them how will I pay my rent on time. No answer other than they know it is a difficult situation. Just imagine a poor elderly person needing to pay their bills — food, medication, rent….now they have to wait over three weeks for their cheque to arrive. The QPP is not charity but something that we have paid for over the years. I do not know how they can get away with this!”
The Suburban checked some of the latest news from Retraite Québec and found that the date for the cheque delivery had changed. Just as we discovered this information, we received confirmation from Rétraite Québec spokesperson Frédéric Lizotte in response to our inquiry.
“Due to the postal dispute, Retraite Québec initially decided to ensure the delivery of QPP cheques using Canada Post’s essential services (July 23),” Lizotte said. “This decision was intended to ensure the safe delivery of cheques to customers and thus prevent them from being held up in the mail in the event of a complete postal service interruption.”
Lizotte added that “in light of the evolving situation, Retraite Québec has revised its decision, and the cheques were delivered to Canada Post today (July 4) for delivery in the coming days.”
Lizotte also strongly encouraged QPP cheque recipients to sign up for direct deposit “to avoid any payment delays in the future.
“Nearly 98 percent (over two million customers) are already signed up for direct deposit. Two percent — more than 42,000 customers — still receive their payments by cheque.” n