Benefits for Retired Members
June 2011 - Section 12

Survivor and Child Benefits

This is a general explanation of survivor and children benefits. When these benefits become payable, we will provide more specific information to your survivor or executor.

To ensure that there is no delay in the payment of benefits to your dependants, they and the representatives of your estate should know the contents of this section.

When Death Occurs

In the event of your death, the Pension Centre should be notified immediately and the death certificate or the certificate issued by the funeral director showing the date of death should be submitted. Other departments issuing payments should also be notified since a separate notice is required for each plan. If the documents mentioned in Section 2 were sent previously, the death certificate and confirmation of your address is usually all that is required, unless there has been a change in your marital status.

Since public service pensions are payable only to the end of the month of death, any cheques or direct deposits that cover a period after the month of death must be returned to the Public Service Pension Centre.

Where a plan member has disappeared and is thought to be dead, survivor benefits may be payable. In such a situation, the Pension Centre (see Section 1) should be contacted.

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Supplementary Death Benefit (SDB)

For SDB participants, once evidence of death is received and a claim form (if applicable) is completed, the SDB will be paid to the validly named beneficiary or, if no beneficiary is named or the beneficiary had died previously, to the pensioner's estate. However, as explained in Section 11, this benefit will be paid to your widow if you were a male participant in the public service pension plan prior to December 20, 1975, were married prior to that date and did not name a beneficiary.

Survivor's Pension

A survivor's pension is ordinarily one-half of the plan member's unreduced pension (in other words, one-half of the member's pension before any applicable adjustment related to early retirement or to the loss of the bridge benefit). The formula for calculating a monthly survivor pension is one percent for each year of pensionable service (maximum 35 years) multiplied by the plan member's average salary over the best five consecutive years, divided by 12. The average salary is calculated over a six-year period if the plan member retired prior to June 17, 1999.

For example, the survivor pension where the plan member had 25 years of pensionable service and an average salary of $36,000 would be:

(1% × 25 yrs × $36,000) ÷ 12 months = $750 per month

Benefits payable for periods of part-time service are adjusted based on the plan member's assigned hours of work as compared to the full-time hours of the position. In addition, if your survivor received a lump sum transfer of funds under the Pension Benefits Division Act and also qualifies for survivor benefits, no benefits will be payable for the period covered by the division of pension benefits.

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Conditions Affecting Payment

Your spouse will normally be entitled to survivor benefits if you were married before you retired from the public service.

If you marry after retirement, an optional form of survivor benefit coverage for your spouse is available, with three levels of coverage to choose from. To obtain coverage, you must submit a formal option within one year from the date of your marriage or from the date your pension commences, whichever is later. Your future pension payments will be reduced commencing the second month following your option and a survivor benefit will be payable after your death if you predecease your spouse. You can request estimates of the three levels of spousal benefits available and the adjustment to your monthly pension that corresponds to each level of coverage. Contact the Pension Centre (see Section 1) for more details. Note: If the marriage was preceded by a common-law relationship starting prior to retirement, regular survivor benefits may be available (see "Common-Law Relationships" below).

As a female plan member, your husband will not be eligible for a surviving spouse's allowance if you ceased to be employed in the public service and a contributor under the Public Service Superannuation Act before December 20, 1975. Prior to that date, female plan members contributed to the plan at a lower rate. However, a survivor benefit would be payable if you opted to receive a reduced pension, as described in the preceding paragraph, before February 18, 1995. For more information on this subject, please contact the Pension Centre (see Section 1).

If the plan member's death occurs within one year of marriage, the surviving spouse is not entitled to a pension unless it can be shown that at the time of marriage the plan member could have reasonably been expected to live for at least one year. If the plan member could not have been expected to live at least one year but the couple had a prior common-law relationship, survivor benefits may be payable on that basis (see "Common-Law Relationships" below).

Common-Law Relationships

A survivor's pension may be paid to a person who was a common-law partner of the plan member. In order to be considered the plan member's survivor, the person must have lived with the plan member in a conjugal relationship for at least one year immediately prior to his death. In addition, the relationship had to have started prior to the plan member's retirement and continued without interruption until the plan member's death.

A person making a claim for benefits must submit evidence in the form of sworn statements and supporting documentation such as letters, bills, receipts, rental agreements, leases, government records, etc., demonstrating that he lived with the plan member in a conjugal relationship for the required period of time. Any statements or other evidence that the plan member may have submitted is also taken into account. Documentation submitted prior to death establishing the nature of your relationship before you retired can be helpful though a final decision on benefit eligibility cannot be made until after the plan member's death. Further information concerning eligibility and the type of documentation required to establish entitlement to survivor benefits in these circumstances is available from the Pension Centre (see Section 1).

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Marital Separations

Where there has been a marital separation for any length of time immediately before the plan member's death, the surviving spouse will still be entitled to survivor benefits unless the spouse cannot be located or waives entitlement to benefits (see "Waiver of Survivor Entitlement"). In all cases of divorce, the former spouse is not eligible for survivor benefits upon the death of the plan member.

Apportionment of Benefits

The survivor benefit will be apportioned where a valid claim is made by both a legal spouse who was separated from the plan member and a common-law partner. The portion payable to each survivor is determined based on the length of each person's cohabitation with the plan member.

NOTE: Because circumstances in the above situations may change, no decision about the payment of survivor benefits will be made prior to your death. Although you cannot choose who is to receive or not receive survivor benefits, you may wish to provide a statement establishing what your marital situation was at retirement. Contact the Pension Centre to obtain the necessary Statutory Declaration form (PWGSC-TPSGC 2016 - PDF Version 101 KB, Help with Alternative Formats). This form is also available on-line by choosing Retired Member and then Forms under the left navigation bar. Any information submitted is kept in strict confidence.

Waiver of Survivor Entitlement

A survivor may waive his or her entitlement to an allowance if the waiver will result in payment of a minimum benefit or increase the amount of a child's or student's allowance. The waiver must be completed no later than three months from the date the notice of the entitlement is sent to the survivor. The minimum benefit is explained in Section 13.

Children's Allowances

A deceased plan member's children who is less than 18 years old is usually eligible for a monthly child's allowance. Where a child is born, adopted or becomes a stepchild after retirement, the child's allowance is not normally payable.

The allowance is payable to the person who has custody of the children, usually the surviving spouse or partner. The amount is one-fifth of the survivor's pension. Where there is no survivor, or where the survivor dies or is not entitled to an allowance, the child's allowance is paid at twice the rate described above. Where both parents were plan members and both have died, the child may be entitled to a child's allowance in respect of each parent's participation in the plan.

The total allowance payable cannot exceed four-fifths of the survivor's pension or, where there is no eligible survivor, double that amount. Where there are more than four children, the total allowance will be apportioned among all the eligible children.

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Students' Allowances

A student's allowance may be payable to a deceased plan member's child who is between the ages of 18 and 25, and enrolled in an accredited full-time educational program since attaining age 18 or since the date of the plan member's death, whichever is later.

The student must apply annually for the allowance. An application form is mailed out each August to those students under 25 who received a pension the previous year. The application forms are also available from the Pension Centre. A student's allowance is paid directly to the student and is equal to a child's allowance. A break in attendance may disqualify the student from receiving further payment, depending upon the length of the break.

A substantial break in attendance is one which involves a withdrawal from school or delays enrollment. Short periods of illness and regular scholastic vacations do not constitute substantial breaks in attendance.

NOTE: Under no circumstances will entitlement to an allowance be established or reinstated:

1. where a break in attendance commences during an academic year and extends beyond the end of the following academic year; or
2. where a break in attendance commences after the completion of an academic year and extends beyond the end of the two following academic years.

Indexation

Under Part III of the Public Service Superannuation Act, everyone receiving a survivor's pension, a child's allowance, or a student's allowance receives automatic annual increases to help offset increases in the cost of living (please refer to Section 6).

Additional Income

Pension benefits paid to a survivor or children are not affected by employment in the federal public service or elsewhere, or by receipt of a pension under the Canada or Quebec Pension Plan.

Medical Insurance Plans

Coverage under provincial medical insurance plans, the Public Service Health Care Plan and the Pensioners' Dental Services Plan ceases on the death of the plan member.

Written application must be made by the plan member's survivor and/or children if they wish to continue coverage under these plans. Your executor or survivors should contact the Pension Centre (see Section 1) in this regard.