When death occurs—Retired member—Canadian Armed Forces pensions

If you have a legal spouse or common-law partner, she/he will be eligible for a survivor pension, which is a monthly allowance payable for life, should they meet the eligibility criteria. Each child under the age of 18 is entitled to a child pension that is paid to the guardian of the child on their behalf until the child turns 18 years of age.

Eligible children between the ages of 18 and 25 can continue to receive the child pension as long as they remain enrolled in full-time attendance at a school, college or university. Under these circumstances, the allowance is payable directly to the child until age 25 when the entitlement ends.

If your spouse or common-law partner is eligible for a survivor pension, he or she will also be eligible for benefits under the Public Service Health Care Plan (PSHCP) and the Pensioners' Dental Services Plan (PDSP).

With no survivor and/or children, should certain criteria be met, your designated beneficiary or estate receives a lump-sum payment equal to the greater of:

• your contributions with interest and
• 5 times the annual amount of your lifetime and bridge benefit accumulated at your death

Benefits are also payable under the Supplementary Death Benefit (SDB) plan to your designated beneficiary if you are a participant in the SDB plan at the time of your death.

Your survivor is the person of the same or opposite sex, who:

• was married to you at the time of your death or when you reached age 60, whichever is earlier or
• had been living with you in a conjugal relationship for at least one year at the date of your death and, if you are age 60 or over, has cohabited continuously with you since before you reached age 60

No. If you have a survivor and/or children, they have an automatic, legal entitlement to pension benefits at your death. If you have no survivor or children at your death, the minimum death benefit will be paid to the beneficiary designated on your Naming or Substitution of a Beneficiary (CF-FC 2196) form. If no beneficiary is designated on that form or the beneficiary has died, or you are not a participant under the Supplementary Death Benefit (SDB) plan, the death benefit goes to your estate.

Please be sure to forward a copy of your marriage certificate and children's birth certificate(s) to the Government of Canada Pension Centre.

If you are divorced at the time of your death, your ex-spouse is no longer entitled to a survivor pension. If you are separated but not divorced, your separated spouse may still be entitled to a pension. Your ex-common-law partner would not be eligible for a survivor pension if he or she does not meet the definition of survivor. If, at your death, you have a common-law partner and a separated spouse, the pension will be divided between the two survivors.

Please be sure to forward proof of change in your marital status to the Government of Canada Pension Centre if your marital status changes.

For a legal spouse, a copy of the marriage certificate is required.

If you wish to provide information about your common-law relationship, the Statutory Declaration-Common Law (CF-FC 2016) may be sent to the Government of Canada Pension Centre along with other evidence that demonstrates the conjugal nature and the period of the relationship. Refer to the Survivor Benefits page for examples of other evidence.

Yes. Your survivor can irrevocably waive the right to receive his or her portion of your pension, but only after you die, and only if it would increase the pension paid to a child or if it results in the payment of a minimum death benefit.

If you are married, your spouse might not qualify for a survivor pension if you and your spouse had been married for less than one year at the time of your death and, at the time of your marriage, you were expected to live less than one year. To qualify for the pension, your spouse may have to provide a certification from your doctor stating that when you got married you were expected to live at least one year.

The other instances where your survivor might not receive pension benefits are if:

• your survivor waives the right to a survivor pension to increase a child's benefit or if it results in the payment of a minimum death benefit
• your survivor cannot be found within a year of your death or
• your survivor is found criminally responsible for your death

For more information on survivor benefits, refer to the Survivor/child(ren) life events section.

If you were a member of the Regular Force Pension Plan and released with two or more years of pensionable service, your survivor's pension is calculated as

1% x your pensionable service x your average earnings

This is equal to exactly half of what your benefit would have been had you become entitled to an annuity or annual allowance immediately before your death.

If you were a member of the Reserve Force Pension Plan and released with two or more years of pensionable service, and

• Die while receiving an unreduced pension, the survivor's pension is calculated as:

  1% x total pensionable earnings (updated for wage growth to your release)

• Die while receiving a reduced pension, the survivor's pension is calculated as:

  1% x total pensionable earnings (updated for wage growth to your release) x percentage of your full pension

If you were a member of the Regular Force Pension Plan and released with two or more years of pensionable service

Each of your eligible children, to a maximum of four, receives a pension equal to 20% of the pension payable to your survivor. For children under age 18, this pension is paid to the survivor or legal guardian on behalf of the children. Children who are age 18 or older have the benefit paid directly to them if they are attending school on a full time basis until age 25. Your children receive a pension as long as they meet the definition of "child".

If there is no survivor pension payable at your death, or when your survivor dies, the children's pension is increased from 20% to 40% of the survivor amount.

If you have more than four eligible children when you die, the amount of the pensions for four children would be divided equally among all the children.

If you were a member of the Reserve Force Pension Plan and released with two or more years of pensionable service

Each of your eligible children, to a maximum of two, receives a pension equal to 25% of the pension payable to your survivor. For children under the age of 18, this pension is paid to the survivor or legal guardian on behalf of the children. Children age 18 or older have the pension paid directly to them if they are attending school on a full-time basis until the age of 25. Your children receive a pension as long as they meet the definition of "child". If you have more than two children when you die, the pensions for two children would be divided equally among all the children.

If there is no survivor pension payable at your death, or when your survivor dies, the children's pension is increased from 25% to 50% of the survivor amount. If you have more than three children when you die, the value of the benefits for three children would be divided equally among all the children.

If you were a member of the Regular Force Pension Plan and are in receipt of a pension, you could provide an Optional Survivor Benefit (OSB) for your new spouse if you get married after age 60 only if:

• you marry and apply for OSB within one year of your marriage and
• you agree to reduce your current level of pension in exchange for providing a survivor pension to your new spouse at your death

If you choose to provide this survivor pension, you choose between providing a survivor pension of 30%, 40% or 50% of your own pension. Your pension would then be reduced depending on the survivor pension you choose: the greater the survivor pension, the greater the reduction to your pension. This option is only revocable upon the death of the spouse or divorce. For more information about this option, please contact the Government of Canada Pension Centre.

The Canadian Forces Superannuation Act (CFSA) was amended so that a member living in a common-law relationship can provide a survivor pension if the relationship begins after age 60. However, the regulations must be amended to specify the details. Consequently, the OSB is not yet available for common-law relationships.

At present, there are no provisions for Optional Survivor Benefits (OSB) under the Reserve Force Pension Plan and consequently, there are no survivor benefits for the spouses or common-law partners of annuitants if the marriage occurs or the common-law relationship is established on or after you reach age 60.

If you wish for another person to manage some of your pension affairs, an original, notarized, or a certified true copy of the general Power of Attorney (POA) document bearing the original signature of the lawyer, notary, commissioner of oaths or justice of the peace must be sent to the Government of Canada Pension Centre. The person you name can then request address changes, direct deposit and choose a benefit on your behalf. However, a POA does not provide that person with the authority to change the recipient of a pension benefit or to change a beneficiary under the Supplementary Death Benefit (SDB) plan.

In order to protect plan members, the Government of Canada Pension Centre cannot accept photocopies, faxes or scans of legal documents. Original POA documents will be returned to you by mail.

If you simply wish to allow someone to make enquiries and receive information about your pension matters, but not make decisions on your behalf, you can provide the Government of Canada Pension Centre with a written consent to that effect.