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C-256 — An Act to amend certain Acts in relation to survivor pension benefits
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C-256
An Act to amend certain Acts in relation to survivor pension benefits
NDP
In progress
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BILL C-256
An Act to amend certain Acts in relation to survivor pension benefits
Last activity : Outside the Order of Precedence
NDP
In progress
Commons · 1st2025-11-07Commons · 2ndCommons · 3rdSenate · 1stSenate · 2ndSenate · 3rdRoyal assent
Sign-in required — one request per person, no anonymous requests
What it does, in plain language
- Lets a surviving spouse or partner collect a pension even if the couple married or began living together after the plan member turned 60 or retired.
- Amends seven statutes: the Canadian Forces Superannuation Act, the Judges Act, the Members of Parliament Retiring Allowances Act, the Public Service Superannuation Act, the RCMP Superannuation Act, the Pension Benefits Standards Act, 1985, and the Pooled Registered Pension Plans Act.
- Repeals the so-called "marriage after 60" rule that cut off survivor benefits for spouses married later in life.
- Removes the options that let contributors, judges and former MPs voluntarily reduce their own pension to cover a later spouse, and treats any such existing choice as revoked once the change takes effect.
- Redefines "survivor" under the MPs' pension law as the person married to the member at death, or someone who lived with them in a conjugal relationship for at least one year before death, including for a prime minister.
- Requires a federally regulated pension to be paid as a joint and survivor benefit if the member has a spouse or common-law partner when payments start or at any point afterwards.
- Confirms that a survivor is entitled to the variable payments left in the deceased member's account under defined contribution provisions and pooled registered pension plans.
- Adjusts children's allowances to one-fifth of the basic allowance each, or two-fifths where there is no eligible survivor, capped at four-fifths or eight-fifths in total.
🤖 AI-generated from the bill’s official text as introduced — may not reflect amendments adopted since.
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