Frequently asked questions
Supplemental pension
Traditional plans
Traditional plans
What happens when a member leaves the plan?

When a person's active plan membership ends, the pension committee must, within 60 days following the date on which it is notified, send the member a statement of benefits and information concerning his or her entitlement to a refund or a benefit. The statement must indicate the value of the accrued benefits, the nature of the benefits to which he or she may be entitled, the conditions that must be met as well as any other pertinent information. If the member does not immediately transfer his or her benefits to another plan, he or she can request an update, when necessary.

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What happens in the case of death?
If a member dies before he or she retires, a lump-sum death benefit is paid to the surviving spouse. Some plans, however, provide that the benefit be paid in the form of a pension. If there is no surviving spouse, the death benefit is paid to the designated beneficiary or the heirs, in a single payment.
 
If the member was an active plan member before his or her death, the person entitled to the death benefit will receive, within 60 days following the date on which the pension committee was notified of the death, a statement that shows the nature and amount of the benefit to which he or she is entitled. If the member was not an active member, the Act does not require the committee to send a statement.
 
If a member dies during retirement, the plan must pay a pension to the member's spouse, unless the spouse had renounced it in writing and the pension committee had been informed. Such a pension is called a "joint and survivor pension". The amount of the pension cannot be less than 60% of the retirement pension that the deceased member was receiving, unless the surviving spouse agrees to accept a lesser amount. The spouse who can receive the joint and survivor pension is usually the member's spouse at the time the member retired. If there was a divorce, separation from bed and board or civil annulment of marriage during the member's retirement or if the conjugal relationship between de facto (common law) spouses ended, the surviving spouse usually loses entitlement to the pension.
 
If the retired member did not have a spouse, the amounts depend on the normal pension provided for under the plan and the options that had been chosen by the deceased member.
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What happens if the plan is terminated?
For various reasons, an employer can decide to terminate a pension plan.
 
An employer who decides to terminate a plan must notify the members or their union, the pension committee and the Régie des rentes du Québec. Subsequently, the pension committee must prepare a termination report and send the plan members a statement showing their benefits, the value of the benefits, payment methods allowed, the options available, and the portion of the surplus assets to which they are entitled, if any. The members then have the opportunity to make their views known in writing to the pension committee.
 
Then, the pension committee sends the termination report to the Régie des rentes du Québec. The pension committee can begin to pay member benefits 30 days after the Régie receives the termination report.
 
Because of this process and the specific nature of each case, several months may go by between the date of plan termination and the payment of benefits.
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What happens when legal spouses divorce or separate?

The benefits accumulated in a supplemental pension plan can be partitioned if a couple divorces, legally separates or obtains a civil annulment of marriage.

If you are subject to the rules concerning family patrimony, the portion of the benefits that were accumulated during the marriage are considered to be part of the family patrimony.

Note that...

The partition of family patrimony cannot deprive a member of more than half of the total value of the benefits accumulated in his or her pension plans.


If proceedings have begun for divorce, legal separation or civil annulment of marriage

The member or the member's spouse can ask the administrator of the plan for a statement of the total value of the member's benefits and the value of the portion that was accumulated during the marriage.

Note that...

The application must be accompanied with a proof of the date on which proceeding for divorce, legal separation or civil annulment began, as well as the names and addresses of both spouses.

The administrator of the plan must produce a statement of benefits within 60 days. Once proceedings have begun, the member's spouse also has the right to consult the plan text and any other pertinent documents.
 

If you are using in family mediation services

The member, or his or her spouse, can obtain a statement before proceedings have begun if there is mediation.

The statement application must be accompanied with the names and addresses of both spouses, proof of the date of marriage, an attestation from both spouses indicating the date on which they stopped living together and an attestation from the mediator confirming the mediation.

After obtaining the judgment

In order for partition to be carried out, the member or his or her former spouse must file a written application, accompanied with the required documents.

Note that...

The former spouse who benefits from partition does not receive the amounts in cash, other than in certain exceptional situations. He or she can, however, transfer amounts to an locked-in retirement account (LIRA) or an life income fund (LIF) to obtain a retirement income.

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What happens when de facto spouses separate?

The Supplemental Pension Plans Act does not require partition in the case of de facto spouses. In order for partition to be carried out, the spouses must have reached an agreement to do so. If there is no agreement, the administrator of the plan cannot carry out partition.

Unlike married spouses, de facto spouses have no document proving that they lived together in a conjugal relationship. Their application for a statement of benefits must therefore include their names and addresses and an attestation from the spouses indicating the beginning and end of their relationship. If the union lasted more than 1 year but less than 3, they must also provide proof that they had a child together. The member must also provide an attestation indicating that he or she did not have a married spouse on the date the de facto spouses stopped living together.

Once the former spouses have agreed on the amounts that will be partitioned, the member or the member's former spouse must send the administrator of the plan an application for partition accompanied with the agreement. The administrator will then respect the agreement to the extent that the amounts being granted to the member's former spouse do not exceed 50% of the member's total benefits.

 

To be entitled to partition

The member must not have a married spouse and the de facto spouses must have lived together for at least 3 years, or at least one year if they had a child.

Note that...
The agreement must be reached within 12 months following the end of the conjugal relationship and the administrator of the plan must follow the same procedure and respect the same deadlines as with partition between married spouses.

When partition is carried out, a former de facto spouse who receives a portion of the benefits under a pension plan has the same options as a married spouse who obtains partition has.


Important...
Your pension plan can be seized for support payments

Up to 50% of the value of the amounts you have in your pension plan can be seized to pay support. The amounts seized are paid in a single payment and are not locked in.

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