Responsibilities | Pension Plans
Division of Pension Entitlement Upon Marriage Breakdown

A project is currently underway to review and recommend improvements to the Division of Pensions provisions of provincial legislation. If you are involved with the administration of employment pension plans, or the division of assets pursuant to a marriage breakdown, you may be interested in reviewing and commenting on the proposed changes.

The review of Part 6 of the Family Relations Act is being coordinated by the British Columbia Law Institute at the request of the BC Ministry of Attorney General. A list of the issues being considered is posted on the Law Institute web site at: www.bcli.org/pendiv.html. The Law Institute invites comment from stakeholders on how well they think Part 6 is working, on what sorts of changes they might like to see, and on the issues and changes proposed so far. Comments or suggestions should be sent directly to the Law Institute though the contact information on their web site.

Provisions governing the division of pension entitlement upon marriage breakdown came into effect on July 1, 1995.

These provisions enable a member's pension entitlement to be divided between separating spouses so that each spouse has a separate pension. This enables each separating spouse to receive a separate pension directly from the plan administrator.

The following is general information only. If you are involved with the division of a pension pursuant to a marriage breakdown you are advised to seek legal advice and/or consult a lawyer.

The division of pension provisions are mainly in the Family Relations Act rather than the Pension Benefits Standards Act. The Family Relations Act comes under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Attorney General rather than the Pensions Department of the Financial Institutions Commission.

The actual legislation containing the division of pension entitlement provisions is Part 6 of the Family Relations Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 128, and the Division of Pensions Regulation, B.C. Reg. 77/95. Part 6 (formerly Part 3.1) was passed as Bill 5 on May 17, 1994, and was to come into force by regulation at a later date. Both Part 3.1 and the Division of Pensions Regulation came into effect on July 1, 1995.

For an excellent explanation of the division of pension entitlement provisions visit the British Columbia Law Institute site which provides the former Law Reform Commission of British Columbia's materials on Pension Division on Marriage Breakdown. The Law Institute materials provide the text of Part 6 of the Family Relations Act, the Division of Pensions Regulation, the 6 prescribed forms, a detailed list of frequently asked questions with answers, a Checklist for Plan Administrators, a Checklist for Lawyers and other explanatory material.

Copies of the Family Relations Act and the Division of Pensions Regulation are available from:

Crown Publications Inc.
521 Fort Street
Victoria, British Columbia V8W 1E7
telephone: 250 386-4636, fax: 250 386-0221

Please note that certain plans are covered by federal, rather than provincial, pension legislation. In their case the relevant legislation is the federal Pension Benefits Standards Act, 1985, R.S.C. 1985 (2nd Supp.), c. 32. That Act covers non federal government, private sector employees working in employment which constitutionally falls under federal jurisdiction, and is therefore covered by federal legislation. That Act is administered by the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (O.S.F.I.). Their address and telephone numbers are:

Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions
Kent Square, 16th Floor
255 Albert Street
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0H2
general inquiries: 613 990-8010, fax: 613 990-7394

The federal Pension Benefits Standards Act, 1985 provides, in many instances, that the division of pensions of members of federally regulated private sector pension plans is governed by the property and family legislation of the relevant provincial jurisdiction. The result is that a federally registered plan may still be considered a local plan for the purposes of a division of pensions under Part 6 of the Family Relations Act. You are advised to consult the Pension Benefits Standards Act, 1985 and/or O.S.F.I. before drawing any final conclusions.

There is also a federal Pension Benefits Division Act which governs the division of pensions for federal employees who are members of the federal public sector statutory pension plans. The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat has provided a Program Overview of the Pension Benefits Division Act and a question and answer brochure on the Pension Benefits Division Act. For further information on this Act contact:

Distribution Centre
Corporate Services Branch
Treasury Board of Canada
300 Laurier Avenue West
Ottawa Ontario K1A 0R5
telephone: (613) 995-2855, fax: (613) 990-7394

Credit Splitting of Canada Pension Plan Benefits is governed by special provisions of the Canada Pension Plan.

Some private sector web sites also provide detailed useful information on pension division, and can easily be found through use of a search engine.

To request a division of a pension you should contact the pension plan administrator. The plan administrator should be able to provide you with the necessary prescribed forms to be completed and returned to the administrator.