Former Members of Parliament Elections for Joint and Survivor Benefits Regulations (SOR/96-320)

Short Title

1 These Regulations may be cited as the Former Members of Parliament Elections for Joint and Survivor Benefits Regulations.

Interpretation

2 In these Regulations,

Act

Act means the Members of Parliament Retiring Allowances Act; (Loi)

election

election means an election made under section 23 or 43 of the Act; (choix)

spouse

spouse means a spouse referred to in sections 23 and 43 of the Act. (conjoint)

Election

3 A former member may elect under section 23 or 43 of the Act to receive a joint and survivor benefit, not later than one year after the latest of

• (a) the day on which these Regulations come into force,

• (b) the day on which the former member and the spouse are married, and

• (c) the day on which any allowance under Part II of the Act becomes payable to the former member.

• 4 (1) Notwithstanding section 3, where a former member has not made an election within the period described in that section, the former member may make an election after the expiration of that period if the former member has received in writing, from a person employed in the Public Service, within the meaning of subsection 3(1) of the Public Service Superannuation Act, whose ordinary duties included the giving of advice respecting the election,

  • (a) erroneous or misleading information regarding the period during which the former member could make an election; or

  • (b) materially erroneous or misleading information regarding the amount of the former member’s joint and survivor benefit or the amount of the joint and survivor benefit to which the spouse would be entitled.

• (2) Where it is established that a former member has received erroneous or misleading information as described in paragraph (1)(a) or (b), the Minister shall send the former member a written notice containing the correct information.

• (3) An election may be made under subsection (1) not later than three months after the day on which the notice referred to in subsection (2) is sent.

Documentary Evidence

5 A former member, or a person acting on their behalf, shall, within one year after the day on which an election is made, send the Minister or a person designated by the Minister

• (a) a document that is evidence of the spouse’s date of birth;

• (b) a document that is evidence of the marriage of the former member and the spouse; and

• (c) if the name of the spouse as indicated on a document referred to in paragraph (a) is not the same as the name of the spouse as indicated on a document referred to in paragraph (b), any other document that confirms that the evidence of the date of birth and of the marriage relates to the spouse, or a statutory declaration by which the spouse declares that the documents are in respect of the spouse.

• 6 (1) Subject to subsections (2) and (3), proof of age of a spouse is established by a birth certificate issued by a civil authority.

• (2) Where a birth certificate cannot be obtained, proof of age of a spouse is established by

  • (a) a statutory declaration of the spouse in which the spouse attests to their date of birth and explains the reasons why the birth certificate cannot be obtained; and

  • (b) a document that was created

    • (i) within five years after the spouse’s date of birth, that states the name of the spouse and their date of birth or age, or

    • (ii) at least 20 years before the day on which the election is made, that states the spouse’s date of birth, accompanied by a statutory declaration by which a person other than the former member or the spouse attests that the date stated in the document is the correct date of birth of the spouse.

• (3) Where a document or statutory declaration referred to in paragraph (2)(b) is required to be submitted but cannot be obtained, the statutory declaration referred to in paragraph (2)(a) shall set out the reasons why it cannot be obtained.

• 7 (1) Subject to subsection (2), proof of the marriage between the former member and the spouse is established by a marriage certificate issued by a civil authority.

• (2) Where a marriage certificate cannot be obtained, proof of the marriage between the former member and the spouse is established by

  • (a) a statutory declaration by which the former member or the spouse attests to the date of the marriage and explains the reasons why the marriage certificate cannot be obtained; and

  • (b) a document that is similar to a marriage certificate and that is issued in relation to the marriage ceremony, or a statutory declaration by a person who attended the marriage ceremony, other than the former member or the spouse, attesting to the person’s knowledge of the marriage.

Non-Compliance with Requirement to Submit Evidence

8 An election is considered not to have been made if any document or statutory declaration that is required by any of sections 5 to 7 is not submitted within one year after the day on which the election is made.

Calculation of Joint and Survivor Benefit

• 9 (1) Subject to section 10, the amount of the monthly instalment of a joint and survivor benefit payable to the former member is equal to the amount obtained by subtracting from the former member’s monthly instalment of the allowances to which the former member is entitled under Parts I and II of the Act immediately before the election, an amount determined as follows:

  • (a) calculate the actuarial present value of the allowances to which the former member is entitled under Parts I and II of the Act immediately before the election, and the supplementary benefits payable in respect of those allowances under Part IV of the Act, taking into account the death benefit payable in accordance with section 61 of the Act;

  • (b) convert the amount determined in accordance with paragraph (a) into the following benefits, each of which has the same actuarial present value, namely,

    • (i) an immediate single life annuity that is payable to the former member by monthly instalments beginning on the first day of the month after the month in which the election is made, and that is determined taking into account the supplementary benefits payable under Part IV of the Act, as if the annuity were an allowance payable under Parts I and II of the Act, and

    • (ii) a benefit that consists of

      • (A) an immediate annuity that is payable, during the life of the former member, by monthly instalments beginning on the first day of the month after the month in which the election is made, and that is determined taking into account the percentage, namely 40, 50 or 60 per cent of the former member’s joint and survivor benefit, that the former member elects to allocate to the spouse and the supplementary benefits payable under Part IV of the Act, as if the immediate annuity were an allowance payable under Parts I and II of the Act, and

      • (B) a surviving spouse’s annuity that is payable, during the life of the former member’s surviving spouse, by monthly instalments beginning on the day after the day on which the former member died and that is equal to 40, 50 or 60 per cent, in accordance with the election made by the former member, of the immediate annuity determined in accordance with clause (A), and that is determined taking into account the supplementary benefits payable under Part IV of the Act, as if the surviving spouse’s annuity were an allowance payable under Parts I and II of the Act; and

  • (c) subject to subsection (2), subtract the amount of the first monthly instalment of the annuity referred to in clause (b)(ii)(A) from the first monthly instalment of the annuity referred to in subparagraph (b)(i) and adjust the amount to take into account

    • (i) that the joint and survivor benefit is payable to the former member during the least of

      • (A) the period of the life of the former member,

      • (B) the period of the life of the spouse, and

      • (C) the duration of the marriage, and

    • (ii) that the joint and survivor benefit begins to be payable in the month referred to in section 15.

• (2) For the purpose of paragraph (1)(c), where the calculation of the joint and survivor benefit is made for a former member in respect of whom a death benefit would be payable if the former member were to die on the day on which the election was made, the actuarial present value that is converted in accordance with subparagraph (1)(b)(i) shall not take into account the amount of that death benefit.

Adjustments

• 10 (1) Where a former member has made an election and becomes entitled to and receives retiring or compensation allowances or supplementary benefits, as the case may be, by reason of being disabled, the amount of the former member’s joint and survivor benefit determined in accordance with section 9 shall be adjusted to take into account the new period during which the joint and survivor benefit or supplementary benefits are to be paid.

• (2) Where a former member in receipt of retiring or compensation allowances or supplementary benefits, as the case may be, by reason of being disabled ceases to be entitled to the retiring or compensation allowances or supplementary benefits, the amount of the former member’s joint and survivor benefit determined in accordance with section 9 shall be adjusted to take into account the new period during which the joint and survivor benefit or supplementary benefits, as the case may be, are to be paid.

Actuarial Assumptions

• 11 (1) For the purposes of sections 9 and 10, the following are the only demographic assumptions on which the actuarial values are to be based:

  • (a) the rates of mortality are those set out in the valuation report laid before Parliament in accordance with sections 65 and 66 of the Act, taking into account the mortality projection factors set out in the report; and

  • (b) the rates of divorce are those established by the Superintendent of Financial Institutions in accordance with statistics on divorce published by Statistics Canada.

• (2) For the purposes of subsection (1), the valuation report is the most recent valuation report laid before Parliament or, where the most recent valuation report was laid less than two months before the day on which the former member made an election, the previously laid report.

12 For the purposes of the determinations referred to in sections 9 and 10, the rates of interest set out in the Recommendations for the Computation of Transfer Values from Registered Pension Plans, published by the Canadian Institute of Actuaries, effective September 1, 1993, shall be the rates of interest in respect of

• (a) subject to paragraph (b), fully indexed pensions; and

• (b) unindexed pensions for the period in respect of which no supplementary benefits would be payable under Part IV of the Act, in the case of a former member who has not yet reached 60 years of age.

Revocation of the Election

13 An election is revoked and ceases to have effect on the earliest of

• (a) the day on which the spouse dies,

• (b) the day on which the annulment of the marriage of the former member and the spouse takes effect, and

• (c) the day on which the divorce between the former member and the spouse takes effect.

• 14 (1) A former member may revoke an election where

  • (a) the former member received in writing, from a person employed in the Public Service, within the meaning of subsection 3(1) of the Public Service Superannuation Act, whose ordinary duties included the giving of advice respecting the election, materially erroneous or misleading information regarding the amount of the former member’s joint and survivor benefit or the amount of the joint and survivor benefit to which the spouse would be entitled; or

  • (b) the amount of the joint and survivor benefit payable to the former member is adjusted in accordance with the Pension Benefits Division Act after the day on which the election was made.

• (2) Where it is established that a former member has received erroneous or misleading information as described in paragraph (1)(a), the Minister shall send the former member a written notice containing the correct information.

• (3) The revocation of the election under subsection (1) shall be in writing and shall be sent to the Minister

  • (a) within three months after the day on which the notice referred to in subsection (2) is sent to the former member; or

  • (b) within three months after the day on which the amount of the joint and survivor benefit is adjusted in accordance with the Pension Benefits Division Act.

• (4) The revocation of the election under subsection (1) is effective on the day on which it is sent in accordance with subsection (3).

Effective Date of Joint and Survivor Benefit

• 15 (1) Subject to subsections (2) to (4), a joint and survivor benefit is payable to a former member effective on the first day of the second month after the month in which the election is made.

• (2) Where payment of the allowances to which the former member is entitled is deferred pursuant to section 37.1 of the Act, the former member’s joint and survivor benefit becomes payable on the later of

  • (a) the first day of the month after the month in which those allowances become payable, and

  • (b) the first day of the second month after the month in which the election is made.

• (3) In the case of a former member described in subsection 10(1), the adjustment of the amount of the former member’s joint and survivor benefit is effective on the first day of the month after the month in which their retiring or compensation allowances or supplementary benefits, as the case may be, become payable.

• (4) In the case of a former member described in subsection 10(2), the adjustment of the amount of the former member’s joint and survivor benefit is effective on the first day of the month after the month in which their retiring or compensation allowances or supplementary benefits, as the case may be, would become payable.

Termination of Joint and Survivor Benefit

16 Where an election is revoked pursuant to section 13 or 14, the joint and survivor benefit payable to the former member ceases to be payable on the first day of the month in which the revocation takes place.

Joint and Survivor Benefit for Spouse

17 The joint and survivor benefit to which a spouse is entitled on the death of the former member who had made an election is equal to an amount determined in accordance with clause 9(1)(b)(ii)(B), if paragraph 9(1)(b) were read without reference to supplementary benefits payable under Part IV of the Act.