Statement of benefits for the purposes of partition and required fees for a supplemental pension plan
The statement of benefits indicates the value of benefits that a member has accumulated in a pension plan at the time when a conjugal relationship has broken down. This is the first step for the purposes of partition.
To obtain a statement, the member (or the member's spouse) must file an application with the pension plan administrator.
Importance of the statement of benefits for the purposes of partition
Only a statement of benefits issued by the plan administrator for the purposes of partition can be used to precisely calculate all of a member's plan benefits and the portion of those benefits that was accumulated during the marriage.
Calculating benefits accumulated during marriage is complex.
In the event of a conjugal breakdown, the Regulation respecting supplemental pension plans specifies the method for calculating the value of all of a member's benefits in a plan, as well as the portion that was accumulated during marriage.
Spouses who try to calculate the value of benefits themselves (for example, by using an annual statement or other document) risk making mistakes. The spouse may receive a different amount than the one to which he or she is entitled, or the couple might have to go back before the court to try and have the situation corrected.
Obtaining a statement
Married spouses
Married spouses can obtain a statement if they are in family mediation or if they have instituted an action for divorce, for separation from bed and board (a legal separation confirmed by a court judgment) or for civil annulment of marriage.
If the plan administrator consents, they can also obtain a statement if they have stopped living together, even if they are not in family mediation and they have not yet instituted an action for divorce, for separation from bed and board or for civil annulment of marriage.
De facto (common law) spouses
De facto spouses can obtain a statement after a conjugal breakdown if both of them consent. See the section entitled Recognizing the de facto (common law) status of former spouses.
Civil union spouses
The Supplemental Pension Plans Act entitles civil union spouses to obtain a statement if they have initiated legal proceedings to end their civil union.
However, the method by which that right will be exercised has not yet been determined.
Contents of a statement
If spouses are married, the statement will indicate the value of the benefits accumulated during marriage, which is the value that is part of the family patrimony.
Whether or not spouses are married, the statement will also indicate the total value of the member's plan benefits. That value is the one used to determine if partition respects the limit of 50% of benefits.
The value is estimated on the date of the institution of the action or the date on which the conjugal relationship ended, based on the spouses' situation.
The statement also contains other information, such as the data used to make the calculations, the method by which benefits could be partitioned and the interest to be added.
Maximum fees required by a plan administrator
Some administrators provide a statement of benefits for the purposes of partition free of charge. However, the Supplemental Pension Plans Act allows administrators to charge fees for issuing the document.
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Maximum rate for a defined contribution plan
150 $ divided equally between the former spouses
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Maximum rate for a defined benefit plan
250 $ divided equally between the former spouses
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