The information below outlines the Plan benefits payable upon death of a plan member – both before and after retirement.
Pre-Retirement Survivor Benefits
If you have a spouse at your time of death, your spouse will have the choice of receiving:
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the commuted value of your pension benefits; or
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an equivalent monthly pension, payable immediately or commencing at a later date
If you do not have a spouse at your time of death, your designated beneficiary or estate will receive a lump sum payment equal to the commuted value of your pension benefits.
Note: a commuted value represents the value, as a lump-sum, of the lifetime benefit payable to a member upon retirement calculated based on a prescribed set of assumptions.
Post-Retirement Survivor Benefits
If you have a spouse at retirement¸ you will receive a pension payable for your lifetime. When you become deceased, your surviving spouse will receive a survivor pension equal to 66⅔% of your pension for their lifetime.
If both you and your spouse pass away before you have received pension payments totaling your contributions with interest at your time of retirement, your designated beneficiary or estate will receive a lump sum payment equal to any remaining unpaid amount.
If you do not have a spouse at retirement, you will receive a pension payable for your lifetime. If you die before receiving 120 monthly payments, your designated beneficiary or estate will receive a lump sum payment equal to the value of the remaining guaranteed payments.
Importantly, for post-retirement survivor benefits, your spousal beneficiary is the person who was your spouse at your time of retirement.
A Note on Spouses and Beneficiaries
Provincial pension legislation prescribes that your spouse will automatically receive any death benefits payable from the pension plan, regardless of any beneficiary you have named. In the event you do not have a spouse at your date of death, benefits will be paid to your beneficiary or to your estate. For more information on spousal and beneficiary designation, please visit the Beneficiary Designation section of our website.