Death of a Member After Retirement

The benefit payable upon your death depends on the form of pension you elected at retirement. Please refer to the Pension Benefits: Options at Retirement section for further information.

If you elected a Joint and Survivor pension option and the spouse/common-law partner you named as your beneficiary at retirement is still alive at the time of your death, the monthly pension will be paid to them for their lifetime. The monthly pension payable to your spouse/common-law partner may be reduced, depending on the form of pension you elected at retirement and the termination of other Plan benefits such as the supplementary benefit.

If you elected a Joint and Survivor pension option and both you and your spouse/common-law partner die after your retirement and before the end of the guarantee period, the estate of the last survivor receives the lump sum value of the remaining guaranteed monthly payments. 

If you elected a Single Life option and the guarantee period has not expired upon your death, your spouse/common-law partner will continue to receive the full monthly pension for the remainder of the guarantee period, if they are named as your beneficiary. If you die before the guarantee period ends and your beneficiary is not a spouse/common-law partner, the beneficiary will receive the lump sum value of the remaining guaranteed monthly pension payments.

If you elected a Single Life option and the guarantee period has expired, no further pension benefit is payable.