The statistics tell us that more than half of all marriages will end in divorce. And these figures do not include de facto unions that break down. Thousands of Quebeckers go through a divorce or separation each year. This raises several questions.

This issue of Liaison RRQ looks at some of these questions:

• What becomes of the amounts recorded under your name for the Québec Pension Plan?
• What happens to the benefits accumulated in your respective supplemental pension plans?
• If you have children, what happens to the child assistance payment?

We met with Ms. Pierrette Brisson, president of the Comité des organismes accréditeurs en médiation familiale (COAMF). She spoke to us about family mediation, carried out in an atmosphere of mutual participation and respect, for everyone's benefit, especially the children's.

In addition, an article on statistics from 2003 related to marriage and divorce sets the record straight: the divorce rate has been basically stable since 1980. However, the number of marriages has plummeted during the same period.

Finally, we take a brief look at retirees' income in our Focus on feature. A study carried out by the Régie entitled Income of the Retired Population in Québec has just been published and we highlight its findings for you.

Enjoy your reading!

Suzanne Naud
Editor-in-Chief