Post-retirement marriage

IF YOU HAVE A NEW SPOUSE AFTER RETIREMENT

When a pensioner marries or starts a common-law relationship after retirement (after the pension starts) the new spouse is not automatically eligible for survivor benefits in the event of your death. Under the OPSEU Pension Plan, for a spouse to be eligible to receive survivor benefits, the person must have been your spouse when you terminated from the Plan and when your pension began. However, if you do marry or acquire a common-law spouse after retirement, you may request that a survivor pension be established for your new spouse. To fund the survivor benefit, your pension is actuarially reduced.

To set up a survivor pension for a new spouse, the following conditions must be met:

If you already have an eligible spouse who is currently entitled to a survivor pension, you cannot set up a survivor pension for a post-retirement spouse. (see definition of eligible spouse)

• Your application to set up a survivor pension must be delivered to OPTrust within 90 days of whichever occurs first, either:
• the date of your marriage, or
• the date on which your common-law criteria are satisfied.
• If there is an eligible child, the child will receive a survivor pension until the child no longer meets the definition of ”eligible,” for example he or she no longer attends school. To set up your new spouse, you must deliver the application to OPTrust within 90 days from the date that the child is no longer eligible to receive a survivor pension.
• If your application is received after the time limits noted in the points above, you must prove you are in good health

When we receive your spousal documentation, we will send you an election form showing the cost for providing a 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70% or 75% survivor pension.

Your new spouse may be eligible for coverage under your insured benefits (if you are receiving them) and if you do not have a former spouse who is covered by your insured benefits. To start the coverage, please send a written request to OPTrust.

As an alternative to “buying” a survivor pension to provide a benefit for a new post-retirement spouse, you may wish to investigate options such as life insurance as a means of providing for your spouse in the event of your death.

WHO GETS A SURVIVOR BENEFIT WHEN A RETIREE DIES?

When a retiree dies after starting to receive a pension, benefits normally flow as follows:

ELIGIBLE SPOUSE GETS:
60% of pension*
• if no eligible spouse

ELIGIBLE CHILDREN GET:
60% of pension*
• if no eligible children

PAYMENT RECIPIENT GETS:
residual balance (if any)
• if no payment recipient

ESTATE GETS:
residual balance (if any)

For eligible spouse

If your spouse (see definition) was not living separate and apart from you when you ended your membership in the Plan and when your pension began, he or she is entitled to 60% of your pension at no additional cost to you.

If you started receiving an OPTrust pension and you die before age 65, your spouse will receive 60%* of your pension until the date you would have reached age 65. At that time, your pension would have been integrated for CPP, so your spouse's pension is reduced to 60% of your CPP-integrated pension.

For eligible children

If your children are eligible (see definition), and are the recipients of the survivor benefit they will each receive an equal share of 60%* of your pension.

Survivor benefits are payable to your eligible children only if there is no eligible spouse or if your spouse has waived the survivor benefit.

Residual balance and payment recipient

If you die after your pension payments have started, a residual balance may be payable. Your adult children, friends, other family members or an organization can be named as payment recipients, in case there is a residual balance payment. We only calculate the residual balance when there are no more survivors, i.e. eligible spouse or eligible children.

To determine if there is any residual balance OPTrust calculates the difference between your contributions made while you were a contributor, plus interest at retirement, minus all the pension payments made to you and your survivors. If your contributions and interest exceed the pension payments this is the residual balance and we will refund it to your payment recipient. You can name a payment recipient by using the Identifying Benefit Recipients (Retirement) form. If you have not named a payment recipient, any residual balance is paid to your estate.

REMARRIAGE OF SURVIVING SPOUSE

If your surviving spouse remarries after your death, he or she will continue to receive survivor benefits from OPTrust. However, if your surviving spouse remarries, that new spouse is not eligible for insured benefits or survivor benefits. If your surviving spouse dies, any further benefits go to any of your eligible children. If there are no eligible children, any residual balance is payable to any payment recipient you have designated or to your estate, not to your spouse's estate.

* If you are receiving an OPTrust pension and die before age 65, your spouse or eligible children receive a survivor pension based on 60% of the pension you were receiving at the time of death. The survivor pension is re-calculated to 60% of your CPP-integrated pension on what would have been your 65th birthday.

IF YOUR SPOUSE DIES BEFORE YOU

In cases where your spouse dies before you, there is no change in the pension you are receiving. Please notify OPTrust if this happens so we can adjust our records accordingly. Please note, if you chose to provide an increased survivor pension, you will continue to receive a reduced pension despite the fact that your spouse died before you.

IF YOUR SPOUSAL RELATIONSHIP ENDS

If your spousal relationship ends, your spouse may become entitled to a portion of your pension accrued during your spousal relationship as part of the equalization process under the Family Law Act. If you enter into a domestic contract or are a party to a court order requiring a split of your pension, you must file a certified copy with OPTrust. This document must clearly identify how the pension is to be split.

Pension law will not permit the payment of more than 50% of the pension benefit earned during the period of the spousal relationship, to be paid to your former spouse for the equalization of family property. If you had an eligible spouse at the time you first began to receive your pension, your ex-spouse is entitled to receive a survivor pension after your death (unless he or she waived it). The end of the spousal relationship after retirement does not affect the ex-spouse's eligibility for a survivor pension under the Plan. For additional information on what can happen to your pension in the case of a spousal relationship breakdown, please refer to OPTrust's fact sheet Spousal Relationship Breakdown which is available from OPTrust's Web site, or from your employer.

IF YOU HAVE NO ELIGIBLE SURVIVORS WHEN YOU DIE

When a pensioner does not have any eligible survivors, that is, there is no eligible spouse, children or payment recipient, any residual balance payable from the Plan will be paid to the estate of the pensioner.