Basics of Family Law
Division of Property: Who Gets What?
How are pensions divided?
A pension is an asset, just like a car, a bank account or a house. How a pension is divided will depend on what kind of pension it is and whether you are married or not. You will most likely have at least two pensions: one or more from work, and one from the Canada Pension Plan.
Work Pensions
The Family Relations Act (FRA) covers most pensions earned while working in British Columbia. Under the FRA, if you are married, even if you have your own pension from work, you are still entitled to a share of any pension earned by your spouse during your marriage. Your spouse is also entitled to a share of your pension.
The general rule is that the pension earned during the marriage will be divided 50-50, unless that would be unfair. You can, however, agree to a division other than 50-50, provided it leaves the owner of the pension with at least half of what he or she would have had if the pension had not been divided.
Pension division is not automatic. Your separation agreement or divorce order must state that the pensions are to be divided, and you will need to apply to each plan separately to ask for the division.
If you are not married (this applies to opposite- and same-sex couples), but you have a separation agreement that states the pensions are to be divided, the Family Relations Act will apply to you as well. That means pension plans will divide your pensions using the same formula as they do for married couples. Again, you will need to apply to each plan separately to ask for the division.
Exceptions:
Federal public service pensions, which include pensions from the federal government, the RCMP and the Canadian military, are covered by the federal Pension Benefits Division Act instead of the Family Relations Act, even if the pension was earned while working in BC.
Like other work pensions, federal public service pensions are not divided automatically: your separation agreement or divorce order must state that the pension is to be divided.
Please contact the pension plan administrator for details, or see see the guide to federal pension benefits division for more information.
Canada Pension Plan
The Canada Pension Plan (CPP) is a federal government pension plan that ensures a basic income for retired workers. How much you receive from the CPP is based on the number of credits you accumulate during your working life.
When either a marriage or a common-law relationship ends, the Canada Pension Plan credits built up by the couple, during the time they lived together, can be divided equally between them. This division is called "credit splitting."
Credits can be split upon divorce or separation even if one spouse or common-law partner did not pay into the Canada Pension Plan.
- If you are divorced, credit splitting is automatic. You simply need to send the CPP formal notification with a copy of your divorce order.
- If you are separated but not divorced, or were in a common-law relationship, you will need to apply to the CPP for credit splitting. There are only two requirements: you must have lived together continuously for at least one year and you must have been separated for at least 12 months before you apply. If you were in a common-law relationship, you must apply within four years of the date you began living apart. Same-sex former common-law partners are eligible for credit-splitting if they separated on or after July 31, 2000.
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