Responsibilities | Pension Plans
Division of Pension Entitlement Upon Marriage Breakdown

The division of pension entitlement on marriage breakdown is dealt with under Part 6 of the Family Relations Act. The Family Relations Act comes under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Attorney General rather than the Pensions Department of the Financial Institutions Commission.

Plan administrators and members, as well as consultants and lawyers, who have questions concerning the division of pension entitlement on marriage breakdown should refer to the Questions and Answers About Pension Division on Marriage Breakdown in British Columbia.

To request a division of a pension you should contact the pension plan administrator. The plan administrator should be able to provide you with the necessary prescribed forms to be completed and returned to the administrator.

Copies of the Family Relations Act and the Division of Pensions Regulation are available from: Crown Publications

Please note that certain plans are covered by federal, rather than provincial, pension legislation. In their case the relevant legislation is the federal Pension Benefits Standards Act, 1985, R.S.C. 1985 (2nd Supp.), c. 32. That Act covers non federal government, private sector employees working in employment which constitutionally falls under federal jurisdiction, and is therefore covered by federal legislation. That Act is administered by the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (O.S.F.I.).
Their address and telephone numbers are:

Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions
Kent Square, 16th Floor
255 Albert Street
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0H2
general inquiries: 613 990-8010, fax: 613 990-7394

The federal Pension Benefits Standards Act, 1985 provides, in many instances, that the division of pensions of members of federally regulated private sector pension plans is governed by the property and family legislation of the relevant provincial jurisdiction. The result is that a federally registered plan may still be considered a local plan for the purposes of a division of pensions under Part 6 of the Family Relations Act. You are advised to consult the Pension Benefits Standards Act, 1985 and/or O.S.F.I. before drawing any final conclusions.

There is also a federal Pension Benefits Division Act which governs the division of pensions for federal employees who are members of the federal public sector statutory pension plans. The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat has provided a Program Overview of the Pension Benefits Division Act and a question and answer brochure on the Pension Benefits Division Act. For further information on this Act contact:

Distribution Centre
Corporate Services Branch
Treasury Board of Canada
300 Laurier Avenue West
Ottawa Ontario K1A 0R5
telephone: (613) 995-2855, fax: (613) 990-7394

Credit Splitting of Canada Pension Plan Benefits is governed by special provisions of the Canada Pension Plan.

Some private sector web sites also provide detailed useful information on pension division, and can easily be found through use of a search engine.