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What benefits are available when you die after retirement?

Usually survivor benefits are automatically payable to your eligible spouse. But, you may not have a surviving eligible spouse. If you die after you have started receiving a pension and you do not have an eligible spouse or eligible children, no further benefits will be paid from the OPSEU Pension Plan. What may be payable is a residual balance payment.

SURIVIVOR BENEFITS FOR ELIGIBLE SPOUSE OR CHILD

If you die after retirement, the benefits normally flow as follows:

ELIGIBLE SPOUSE GETS:
60% of lifetime pension (if death occurs after age 65)*

if no eligible spouse

ELIGIBLE CHILDREN GET:
60% of lifetime pension (if death occurs after age 65)*

if no eligible children

PAYMENT RECIPIENT GETS:
residual balance (if any)

if no payment recipient

ESTATE GETS:
residual balance (if any)

* If you are receiving an OPTrust pension and die before age 65, your spouse or eligible child receives a survivor pension based on 60% of the pension you were receiving (which includes the OPTrust bridge benefit). The survivor pension is recalculated to 60% of your lifetime pension on what would have been your 65th birthday.

For eligible spouse

If your spouse qualifies as “eligible” and was not living separate and apart from you when you ended your membership in the Plan and when your pension began, he or she may be entitled to 60% of your pension (for your service before 1987).

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. That pension includes the OPTrust bridge benefit. At age 65, your OPTrust would no longer be paid because you would have been eligible to receive a CPP pension. On what would have been your 65th birthday your spouse’s pension is reduced to 60% of your lifetime pension.

For eligible children

If your children are “eligible” (see definition), and are the recipients of the survivor benefit, they will receive 60% of your pension. Your children who do not meet the definition of “eligible” can be named as payment recipients, in case there is a residual balance payment.

Survivor benefits are payable to an eligible child only if there is no eligible spouse or if the eligble spouse has waived the survivor benefits.

REMARRIAGE OF SURVIVING SPOUSE

If your surviving spouse remarries after your death, he or she will continue to receive survivor benefits. However, if your surviving spouse remarries, his or her 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.

PAYMENT RECIPIENT

If you die after your pension payments have started, a residual balance may be payable. We only calculate the residual balance when there are no more survivors. To determine if there is any residual balance OPTrust calculates the difference between your contributions plus interest, minus all the pension payments made to you and your survivors. If your contributions and interest exceed the pension payments, we will refund the residual balance 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.

a – b = c

a = your contributions to Plan, plus interest

minus

b = pension paid to you + survivor benefits paid

c = residual balance

IF NO ELIGIBLE SURVIVORS OR PAYMENT RECIPIENT

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

OPTrust sends an entitlement package to the eligible survivor or administrator of the estate (where there is no survivor). The personalized information provides details of any benefits payable.