Partition of benefits under a public-sector pension plan for de facto spouses

The value of benefits accrued under a public-sector pension plan during a de facto union can be partitioned in the event of a separation.

Since January 2019, it has been possible for de facto spouses who are recognized as such to have the benefits accrued under their public-sector pension plan partitioned in the event of the breakdown of their union, provided that they have signed a written agreement to that effect.

The agreement must:

  • be made before a notary or an attorney, or by a joint sworn statement
  • be signed by both spouses:
    • within 12 months following the date on which they stop living together
      OR
    • if the date on which they stopped living together was before 1 January 2019, and a written agreement was signed within the following 12 months, that is, before 1 January 2020.

The various public-sector pension plans

Several group or specific pension plans are administered in whole or in part by Retraite Québec.

RREGOP et PPMP

See The Government and Public Employees Retirement Plan (RREGOP) and the Pension Plan of Management Personnel (PPMP) section

Other plans

Select the pension plan that corresponds to your situation in order to find out the steps to take with Retraite Québec in the event of a separation.

  • PPOCS (Pension Plan of Peace Officers in Correctional Services – available in French only)
  • PPEMO (Pension Plan of Elected Municipal Officers – available in French only)
  • SPMSQ (Superannuation Plan for the Members of the Sûreté du Québec – available in French only)
  • PPCJBJ (Pension Plan of Certain Judges appointed before 1 January 2001 – available in French only)
  • PPCJQ (Pension Plan of Certain Judges of Québec – available in French only)
  • RPSO (Retirement Plan for members who work in the education and the health and social services sectors – available in French only)
  • RPSO (Retirement Plan for members who work in the civil service – available in French only)
  • TPP (Teachers Pension Plan – available in French only)
  • PPCT (Pension Plan of Certain Teachers – available in French only)
  • PPMNA (Pension Plan of the Members of the National Assembly – available in French only)
  • CSSP (Civil Service Superannuation Plan – available in French only)
  • PPFEQ (Pension Plan for Federal Employees transferred to Employment with the Gouvernement du Québec – available in French only)
  • RPCHCN (Retirement Plan for Active Members of the Centre hospitalier Côte-des-Neiges – available in French only)

The Government and Public Employees Retirement Plan (RREGOP) and the Pension Plan of Management Personnel (PPMP)

  • RREGOP covers regular and casual, full-time and part-time employees in the Québec public service, education and health and social services sectors.
  • The PPMP applies to employees who hold a non-unionized position and who have the required classification.

Partition of benefits accrued under RREGOP and the PPMP can be requested when de facto spouses stop living together.

De facto spouses who would like to have the benefits accrued under a pension plan partitioned must sign a written agreement within 12 months following the date on which they stop living together.

The agreement must be signed by the spouses before a notary or an attorney or by a joint sworn statement.

The recognition of a de facto union

A de facto (common-law) union is when two individuals have been living together for a certain time and are united by particular emotional and economic ties. In cases where de facto spouses who are recognized as such stop living together, they can have the benefits accrued under their public-sector pension plan partitioned. This type of union gives entitlement to survivors' benefits in the event of death.

A de facto union can be considered valid provided that certain conditions are met regarding:

  • the legal definition of spouse;
  • the spouses' civil status;
  • the existence of a conjugal relationship;
  • the length of the conjugal relationship.

To be considered as de facto spouses under RREGOP and the PPMP, the individuals must present themselves publicly as de facto spouses and show that they lived together, and were in fact in a conjugal relationship during:

  • at least the three years preceding the breakdown of the union or the death of the member or retiree
    OR 
  • the year preceding the breakdown of the union or the death if:
    • a child was or is to be born of the union;
    • during the union, either spouse adopted a child of the other;
    • during the union, the spouses adopted a child together.

The steps for partition of the benefits

The Statement of Benefits is the only document that indicates the total value of the benefits accrued by an individual under one or more pension plans administered by Retraite Québec and the value of the benefits accrued during a marriage or civil union. It also indicates the amount of the reduction applicable to the pension if the benefits are partitioned.

Before the benefits accrued under a public-sector pension plan are partitioned, the former spouses must jointly file an Application for a Statement of Benefits with Retraite Québec to find out the value of the benefits.

Each pension plan for which you would like to receive a Statement of Benefits must be specified on the Application for a Statement of Benefits.

In the case of partition, the proportion of the value of the benefits accrued under your plan could be granted to your spouse as follows: for de facto spouses, partition cannot exceed 50% of the value of the benefits accrued over the total period of membership in the pension plan.

Requesting the Statement of Benefits

  1. Complete the Application for a Statement of Benefits – De facto spouses This link will open in a new window. (form RSP 387A) available after the Guide, on page 5.
  2. Send it to Retraite Québec via the Sending a document online service, along with all the required documents.

If the application is received more than 12 months following the date on which the spouses stop living together as indicated on the form, the written agreement will be required and will have to be sent to Retraite Québec. Should there be no agreement, the Statement of Benefits cannot be produced.

As of the date on which the form is received, along with all the required documents, Retraite Québec has 90 days to send the Statement of Benefits.

De facto spouses who would like to have the benefits accrued under a public-sector pension plan partitioned must send an Application for Payment to Retraite Québec, along with the written agreement that carries out partition. The agreement must be signed by both spouses, within 12 months following the date on which the spouses stop living together, before a notary or an attorney or by a joint sworn statement.

An individual who is or was a member of a public-sector pension plan, or who is a retiree, as well as his or her spouse must file an Application for Payment.

Applying for payment:

Send them to Retraite Québec via the Sending a document online service, along with all the required documents.

Once the process has been completed, the spouses will receive a detailed written confirmation from the pension plan administrator.

Applying for a transfer of the amounts

The amounts allocated due to partition of the benefits accrued under a pension plan must be transferred to one of the following investment vehicles:

  • an annuity contract
  • a locked-in retirement account (LIRA)
  • a life income fund (LIF)
  • a registered retirement savings plan (RRSP) or a registered retirement income fund (RRIF). A transfer to an RRSP or RRIF is only possible if the spouse is eligible for a refund of his or her contributions on the date the benefits are valuated.

To transfer the amounts allocated due to partition of the benefits accrued, the individual who receives the amounts must:

  1. complete the Direct Transfer of a Single Amount This link will open in a new window. (T2151) form from the Canada Revenue Agency
  2. send it to Retraite Québec via the Sending a document online service.

Impact of partition on the pension plan

Once the benefits accrued under a public-sector pension plan have been partitioned, a reduction due to partition will be calculated and indicated in the file of the individual who is or was a member, or who is a retiree. This is a permanent reduction of the benefits the individual will receive or is already receiving if he or she is a retiree.

If the individual has not yet begun receiving his or her retirement pension:

  • the reduction will apply as of the date on which it comes into effect
  • the amount of the reduction will be increased or decreased based on the age at the time he or she retires and the date on which the benefits are paid.

If the individual is a retiree:

  • the pension will be reduced as of the date on which the benefits are paid.

If the individual is already a retiree on the date of valuation of the benefits, the amount of the reduction shown on the Statement of Benefits will be increased by 0.5% for each month between the valuation date and the date on which the benefits are paid (the date on which the amounts are transferred). It is therefore important to apply for payment of benefits as soon as possible.

In the case of a refund of contributions that occurs once the value of the benefits accrued under a pension plan has already been partitioned, the portion granted to the former spouse will be subtracted from the refund.

Impact of partition in the event of the breakdown of a second union

In the event of the breakdown of a second union, the retirement pension of an individual who is or was a member of the plan was reduced permanently after the first breakdown, and will be reduced a second time. However, this second reduction will not exceed 50% of the value of the benefits accrued during the marriage or civil union or, in the case of a de facto union, 50% of the total value of the benefits accrued under the plan. If the individual began receiving a pension benefit before he or she entered into his or her second union, the value of the pension is excluded from the partition of benefits, since it was not accrued during the union.

Top of page