Surviving spouse's pension

• Eligibility 
• Conditions of payment 
• Other aid programs available 

Eligibility

This pension is ensures a basic income to the surviving spouse of a person who has sufficiently contributed to the Plan.

A person is eligible for a surviving spouse's pension if:

• the Régie recognizes him or her as the surviving spouse of the deceased contributor
  
  and
• the deceased contributed sufficiently to the Québec Pension Plan.

Married, in a civil union or the de facto (common law) spouse of the deceased?

• If the deceased was married or in a civil union, the surviving spouse's pension will be paid to the spouse unless there had been a legal separation.
• If the death occurs in the year of marriage or civil union, certain rules apply.
• If the deceased person was not married or was legally separated, the pension will be paid to the person who qualifies as the de facto (common law) spouse.
• If, when the person died, nobody had been living in a de facto union with that person for at least 3 years, the surviving spouse's pension will be paid to the legally separated spouse, if the separation took place before 1 July 1989 .
• If, at the time of separation, there was a renunciation of partition of the earnings recorded under the Québec Pension Plan and no de facto spouse qualifies, the surviving spouse's pension will be paid to the spouse who is legally separated if the separation took place between 1 July 1989 and 31 December 1993, provided no other judgment of separation took effect after 31 December 1993.
• A person continues to be entitled to a surviving spouse's pension even if he or she remarries or enters into a civil union.

Recognition of de facto (common law) spouses

The de facto spouse may qualify as a surviving spouse if he or she lived with the deceased person for at least 3 years preceding the death.

• If a child was born or is to be born of their union or if they adopted a child, only one year of cohabitation is required.
• For deaths occurring on or after 4 April 1985, same-sex spouses can also apply for survivors' benefits.

Conditions of payment

The amount of a surviving spouse's pension varies according to the following factors:

• the contributions that the deceased made to the Plan;
• the surviving spouse's age;
• whether the surviving spouse supports dependent children of the deceased person;
• whether the surviving spouse is disabled;
• whether the surviving spouse is already receiving a retirement or a disability pension.

For deaths on or after 1 January 2013, the amount of the surviving spouse's pension can be increased where the deceased spouse was entitled to a retirement pension supplement. The supplement will be taken into account in calculating the surviving spouse's pension. 

The amounts shown below are valid until 31 December 2013. They represent monthly payments.

When do pension payments begin?

The surviving spouse's pension will be paid to you as of the month after your spouse's death. Retroactive payment of a surviving spouse's pension is limited to 12 months.

How often will it be paid?

Your pension may be paid either by cheque or by Direct Deposit on the last working day of the month.

Also see...

• Other aid programs available