Survivor Benefits
The Pension Plan offers you more than just
a retirement income. It also provides a number of important benefits designed to
protect the financial interests of your survivors when you die. Survivor benefits
depend on a number of factors, including whether you:
If you die before you retire, the survivor benefits payable depend on whether you are an active or deferred Pension Plan member prior to your death.
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Active Employee
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With a Spouse or Common-law Partner and/or Dependent Children
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Your Spouse* or Common-law Partner will receive a lifetime survivor pension equal to 50% of your lifetime pension earned to the date of your death.
- If you also have one or more Dependent Children at the time of your death, your survivors will receive an additional pension equal to:
- 10% while there is one Dependent Child,
- 20% while there are two Dependent Children, or
- 25% while there are three or more Dependent Children.
*NOTE: If you and your Spouse are married for less than one year at the time of your death, then your Spouse will receive a lifetime pension Actuarially Calculated and without additional pension for Dependent Children, unless your Spouse can provide medical evidence of your good health satisfactory to The Winnipeg Civic Employees' Benefits Program. If you want to ensure your Spouse is eligible for full survivor benefits during your first year of marriage, you should obtain medical evidence of your good health from a medical doctor. Evidence must be submitted to, and found satisfactory by The Winnipeg Civic Employees’ Benefits Program.
If you do not have an eligible Spouse or Common-law Partner when you die, your Dependent Children will share a survivor pension equal to 50% of your lifetime pension.
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No Spouse or Common-law Partner or Dependent Children
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If you do not have a Spouse Common-law Partner or Dependent Children, your beneficiary or estate will receive:
- the Commuted Value of your pension benefit for all Credited Service, plus
- any excess contributions, plus interest (these are contributions you made to the Pension Plan after 1984 that exceed 50% of the amount required to fund your pension).
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Deferred Member
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With a Spouse or Common-law Partner
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An individual who is your Spouse or Common-law Partner at
your date of termination will receive a lifetime survivor pension based on the Commuted Value of the deferred pension. If your relationship began after your
date of termination, the lifetime survivor pension will be reduced by the
actuarial cost of the survivor benefit.
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No Spouse or Common-law Partner
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If you do not have a Spouse or Common-law Partner, your beneficiary or estate will receive a taxable lump-sum payment equal to the Commuted Value of your deferred pension.
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Spousal waiver of pre-retirement benefits—A surviving Spouse or Common-law Partner can waive his/her entitlement to a pre-retirement death benefit before or after the member’s death but prior to the date the pension commences. This waiver may be revoked with the agreement of the member and the Spouse or Common-law Partner any time before the member’s death. This allows death benefits to be assigned to a beneficiary other than a Spouse or Common-law Partner, for example, to Dependent Children from a prior relationship.
At retirement, you will be required to choose the form of pension you would like to receive. If you die after you retire, the survivor benefits payable depend on the form of pension you choose.
You cannot change your form of pension once your first pension payment has been made.
If your Spouse or Common-law Partner dies before you do and you subsequently enter into a new relationship, your new Spouse or Common-law Partner is not entitled to survivor benefits.
Joint and 662⁄3% Survivor (Normal form)— The default or Normal Form of pension under the terms of the Pension Plan entitles a person who is your Spouse or Common-law Partner at the time of your retirement to a survivor pension equal to at least 662⁄3% of the lifetime pension you receive in retirement. You cannot select a form of pension that is less than the required 662⁄3% survivor pension without the consent of your Spouse or Common-law Partner at the time of your retirement. This person remains entitled to benefits, even if there is a breakdown in the relationship.
To help offset the cost of providing a survivor pension to a Spouse or Common-law Partner, your pension earned for service before September 1, 2011 will be reduced by 2%. For service on/after September 1, 2011, the amount of the reduction in your pension will be based on the age difference between you and your Spouse or Common-law Partner:
- If you and your Spouse or Common-law Partner are the same age, your pension will be reduced by 6%
- If your Spouse or Common-law Partner is younger than you, the 6% reduction will increase 0.5% for each year of difference in your ages (prorated for partial years)
- If your Spouse or Common-law Partner is older than you, the 6% reduction will decrease 0.5% for each year of difference in your ages (prorated for partial years)
These reductions are permanent. In other words, the reduction is not reversed if your Spouse or Common-law Partner dies first.
If you are also survived by two or more Dependent Children, an additional pension for Credited Service prior to September 1, 2011 will be paid as follows:
- 3 1/3% while there are two Dependent Children, for a total of 70% of the lifetime pension, and
- 8 1/3% while there are three or more Dependent Children, for a total of 75% of the lifetime pension.
Life Only Pension— is the default or Normal Form of pension if you do not have an eligible Spouse or Common-law Partner at retirement. A pension of 50% of the portion, if any, of the member’s lifetime pension for Credited Service prior to September 1, 2011, will be paid to your Dependent Children. When the last Dependent Child ceases to be dependent, the residual benefit, if any, will be paid in equal amounts to the children who were Dependent Children at the date of death.
Optional forms of pension— Before your pension payments begin, you—and your Spouse or Common-law Partner, if applicable—may choose an optional form of pension. The optional forms of pension include:
Fifty Percent Surviving Spouse’s or Common-law Partner’s Pension—50% of your lifetime pension will continue to your Spouse or Common-law Partner for his/her life. To do this, you and your Spouse or Common-law Partner must sign a Waiver of Joint and Survivor Pension before your pension starts. The waiver is required only if your Spouse or Common-law Partner is agreeing to accept a pension that is less than the Normal Form 662⁄3% survivor pension.
To help offset the cost of providing your Spouse or Common-law Partner's survivor pension, your pension earned for service on/after September 1, 2011 is reduced by 4%, plus or minus 0.5% for each year of difference in age between you and your eligible Spouse or Common-law Partner. Service earned before September 1, 2011 is not reduced. Reductions are permanent. In other words, the reduction is not reversed if your Spouse or Common-law Partner dies first.
If you are also survived by one or more Dependent Children, an additional pension for Credited Service prior to September 1, 2011 will be paid as follows:
- 10% while there is one Dependent Child,
- 20% while there are two Dependent Children, and
- 25% while there are three or more Dependent Children.
Joint and 100% Survivor—only available to members with a Spouse or Common-law Partner; 100% of your lifetime pension will continue to your Spouse or Common-law Partner for his/her life. To cover the cost of this option, your pension will be actuarially reduced, based on an actuarial cost.
Life and Guaranteed 5, 10, or 15 Years—provides a lifetime pension with regular biweekly payments guaranteed for either 5, 10 or 15 years. If you die before receiving all of the guaranteed payments under the optional form you select, the remaining installments of your lifetime pension will be paid to your named beneficiary or estate. To cover the cost of this option, your pension will be actuarially reduced.
Residual Benefit—A residual benefit equals your total Pension Plan contributions (plus interest), less the total pension benefits paid to you and your survivors. Residual benefits (if any) are paid to your named beneficiary or estate.