In the event of your death prior to retirement, an amount equal to the value of your pension plan account (member and employer contributions, plus the earnings associated with those contributions) shall be payable to your spouse or beneficiary.
Your spouse is entitled to receive the death benefit outlined above in one of the following forms:
- a tax-free transfer to an insurance company to purchase an immediate or
deferred life annuity commencing no later than the end of the calendar year
in which the spouse reaches age 71;
- a tax-free transfer to another registered pension plan, if permitted by that plan; or
- a tax-free transfer to a Locked-in Retirement Rccount (LIRA) which must be
used to provide an annuity at retirement.
If you do not have a spouse at the time of death, the benefit will be paid to your beneficiary or estate in the form of a lump sum cash payment.
In the event of your death after retirement, the death benefit is based on the form of annuity you elected at retirement.
If you elected a joint and survivor annuity, the benefit will continue to your
spouse at 75%, 66 2/3%, 60% or an amount less than 60% provided
your spouse signed a waiver.
If you elected a single life annuity, the benefit will continue to your
beneficiary for the balance of the 5, 10, or 15 year guarantee period. If you
pass away within the guarantee period and do not have a beneficiary at the
time of death, the remaining balance of guaranteed payments shall be
commuted and paid in a lump sum to your estate. If you pass away after
the guarantee period has expired, no further benefits are payable.
If, at retirement, you transferred the value of your pension plan account to a registered vehicle and had not yet purchased an annuity, the registered account will transfer to your spouse or beneficiary.