Your spouse dies

Québec Pension Plan

Death benefit 

• A death benefit could be paid to you. This benefit is taxable.

Retirement pension

• Your spouse's retirement pension stops being paid following his or her death.
• If you and your spouse had pension sharing, it will end at the end of the month in which your spouse died. You will then receive the same retirement pension (if any) that you were receiving before pension sharing began.

Surviving spouse's pension

• If your spouse contributed sufficiently to the Plan, you may be entitled to a surviving spouse's pension, which is taxable. If you are already receiving your retirement pension, it will be combined with your surviving spouse's pension and paid in a single monthly amount.
• At age 65, if you are receiving the maximum retirement pension payable according to the age at which you began receiving it, your surviving spouse's pension may be reduced to zero.
• To apply for a surviving spouse's pension, use the online Application for Survivors' Benefits.

Supplemental pension plans

• A pension plan may have specific provisions that apply in the event of your spouse's death or your death:  
  • Defined benefit pension plan
  • Defined contribution pension plan
  • Simplified pension plan (SIPP)
• Following the death of your spouse, the balance in his or her locked-in retirement account (LIRA) or life income fund (LIF) will be paid to you. If you renounce entitlement, it will be paid to his or her heirs.
• The amounts withdrawn are taxable, unless they can be transferred on a tax-free basis, for example, by a direct transfer from your spouse's LIRA to your RRSP.

Other useful links

• See our section about death.
• Consult a notary  to help you settle an estate.
• The section What to Do in the Event of Death  on the Gouvernement du Québec portal provides a list of the steps to take in settling an estate.