Death Before Retirement
If you pass away before you begin receiving your pension, SFPP will pay a benefit to either your pension partner, your chosen beneficiaries, or your estate.
It's very important that we're contacted as soon as possible after your death. Once we have the documentation we need, we can inform the people who are entitled to receive a benefit about their options. Those options depend on whether or not you're vested at the time you pass away.
Please be aware that from April 1, 2020, to be vested in SFPP requires you to have 2 or more years of pensionable service. Before April 1, 2020, you needed 5 or more years of pensionable service.
*If any of your service was accumulated before 1992, please contact us for details.
Benefit if Vested (2 or More Years of Service)
If you have a pension partner, they may choose to receive a monthly pension for life which would start immediately or a 1-time payment based on the commuted value of the pension.
Monthly pension payments will continue even if your pension partner is working, re-marries or moves outside Canada.
A commuted value lump-sum paid to a pension partner is normally transferred to a Locked-In Retirement Account (LIRA). Any non-locked funds are paid as a taxable cash lump-sum payment or can be transferred to a Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP).
If you don't have a pension partner (or if they've completed a waiver giving up the right to a pre-retirement death benefit), your beneficiaries are entitled to a 1-time, taxable cash lump-sum payment based on the commuted value of the pension.
If you don't have a beneficiary on file with SFPP, the benefit will be paid to your estate.
| Relationship | Details | Entitlement |
|---|---|---|
| Pension partner | No pre-retirement death waiver | Pension for life Or Commuted value |
| Beneficiary(ies) or estate | No pension partner, or pension partner has waived right to benefit | Commuted value |
Those entitled to survivor benefits or the personal representative of your estate should contact us as soon as possible so we can guide them through the process. They may also wish to consult an estate lawyer.
Benefit if Not Vested (Under 2 Years of Service)
If you have a pension partner, they're entitled to a refund of your SFPP contributions with interest.
If you don't have a pension partner (or if they've waived the right to a pre-retirement death benefit), then your beneficiaries are entitled to a refund of your contributions with interest.
If you don't have a beneficiary on file with SFPP, the benefit will be paid to your estate.
| Relationship | Details | Entitlement |
|---|---|---|
| Pension partner | No pre-retirement death waiver | Refund of member contributions with interest |
| Beneficiary(ies) or estate | No pension partner, or pension partner has waived right to benefit | Refund of member contributions with interest |
Those entitled to survivor benefits or the personal representative of your estate should contact us as soon as possible so we can guide them through the process. They may also wish to consult an estate lawyer.
Important Information
Any death benefits payable to your pension partner (if you have one) and/or beneficiaries after your death will be made according to the information we have on file when payment is made or according to your Will, whichever is more recent. To ensure that your wishes are honoured, it's important to keep this information updated at all times.
You can review the pension partner and beneficiary information you've chosen on the Pension Highlights statement you receive each year or on your online account, both of which can be accessed when you log in to this website.
You can make changes to your beneficiaries online or by filling out the Designation of Beneficiary(ies) form and sending it to us.
If you choose your Will to indicate your beneficiaries, the indication must refer specifically to either the Special Forces Pension Plan or your "employment-based pension plan".