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Bill C-378

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SUMMARY

The purpose of this enactment is to provide that, under certain federally funded pension plans, in the case where there is no surviving spouse, the children of a contributor to a pension receive the same benefit as the spouse would have received, divided equally between them, in place of the lesser amount provided for previously.

It also provides that, under these pension plans, where there is no spouse or child entitled to a benefit, the contributor may designate one or more relatives, who have been financially dependent on the contributor for three or more years to the extent of fifty percent or more, to share the benefit that would have gone to a spouse.

Further, it is provided that after January 1, 2004, to qualify to be registered under the Income Tax Act for contributions to be deductible, private sector pensions that provide a benefit for a surviving spouse or child must also include the right, where there is no surviving spouse or child, for the contributor to designate a dependent relative as a surviving beneficiary in lieu of a spouse.