Your Public Service Pension and Benefits - Retired Member - Getting Married or Reaching Common-law Status


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Home > Retired Member - Life Events > Getting Married or Reaching Common-law Status
Retired Member - Getting Married or Reaching Common-law Status
Printable Version Now that you are married or have reached common-law status, your new partner may be eligible for coverage under your plans. The following information is intended to outline the plans under which your spouse may be covered.
You may want to know...
	You were married prior to your retirement. Will your spouse be entitled to a survivor benefit upon your death? You married after your retirement. Will your new spouse be entitled to a survivor benefit upon your death? If you are receiving a survivor benefit under the Public Service Pension Plan (PSPP), does that benefit cease if you remarry? How does your marriage or common-law status affect the Supplementary Death Benefit (SDB) Plan? Is your new spouse or common-law partner covered under your insurance benefits plans?
You were married prior to your retirement. Will your spouse be entitled to a survivor benefit upon your death? Your spouse will normally be entitled to a survivor benefit if you were married before you retired from the Public Service. If you lived in a relationship of a conjugal nature before retirement and for at least one year before your death, your common-law partner may be entitled to a survivor benefit.
You married after your retirement. Will your new spouse be entitled to a survivor benefit upon your death? If you marry after retirement, your surviving spouse is not normally entitled to a pension. However, you may elect to provide your spouse with a benefit by taking a reduction in your own pension. This option must be elected for within one year of marriage or one year from the commencement of your pension, whichever is later.

If you are receiving a survivor benefit under the Public Service Pension Plan (PSPP), does that benefit cease if you remarry? No. A survivor pension is payable for life and is not affected by remarriage.
How does your marriage or common-law status affect the Supplementary Death Benefit (SDB) Plan? The SDB Plan provides a form of decreasing term life insurance protection, which is designed to cover members of the PSPP. Coverage begins when you become a member of the PSPP. If you wish to name your spouse or common-law partner as a beneficiary, you must complete the Naming or Substitution of a Beneficiary form (PDF 654 KB).
Is your new spouse or common-law partner covered under your insurance benefits plans? Yes. Your new spouse or common-law partner may be covered under your insurance benefit plans. For a summary of the types of coverage that are available, the time limits for enrolling new dependants and any steps that you must follow, refer to the following: The Public Service Health Care Plan (PSHCP) provides optional health care coverage for members and their eligible dependants. You may apply for coverage for the person to whom you are legally married, for the person with whom you have lived for a continuous period of at least one year, or for whom you have publicly represented as your spouse and with whom you continue to live as if that person were your spouse. The Pensioners' Dental Services Plan (PDSP) is a voluntary dental services plan that provides eligible pensioners and their eligible family members (including survivors) with specific dental services and supplies that are not covered under a provincial or territorial health or dental care plan.