Canadian Armed Forces pensions
Becoming a survivor: Survivor/dependant

Learn about the types of survivor benefits available to eligible survivors and children of Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) Pension Plan members and pensioners.

Who to contact in the event of a death

Dealing with the death of a loved one is a stressful and overwhelming experience. If you think you are entitled to CAF pensions survivor benefits, please contact the Canadian Armed Forces Pension Centre to let them know and obtain information. In the case of a death of a Canadian Armed Forces Pension Plan Member or Annuitant, you and/or your family may be entitled to:

• Survivor Pension
• Dependant Child’s Pension
• Supplementary Death Benefit, and/or
• Minimum Death Benefit

Medical and Dental Insurance coverage may be available.

Collect required documents

Table 1 tells you what documents you will need.

Notify the pension centre

Once you have collected all the documents you need, send them to the Pension Centre. The Pension Centre contact information can be found below.

Contact pension centre

After two weeks from mailing the documents, please follow up with the Pension Centre at 1‑800‑267‑0325, to ensure that everything has been received.

Complete the package

The Pension Centre will send you a package containing information and forms needed to start the benefit payment process. Complete these forms and send them back to the Pension Centre.

Receive benefits

Once the Pension Centre receives all the necessary documentation for your case, they will begin to process the benefit. The standard processing time to receive your benefit payments is within 30 days of receipt of all required documents.

Required Forms

The following table provides a summary of the documents required by the Government of Canada Pension Centre in order for Canadian Forces Superannuation Act benefits to be paid to eligible Survivors and/or beneficiaries.

Table 1 Survivor Checklist

Required Documents and Information	Married	Common Law
Pension or Service Number
Social Insurance Number
Birth Certificate
Death Certificate
Marriage Certificate		N/A
Direct Deposit Form
Statutory Declaration Formtable 1 note 1	N/A
Proof of Cohabitation Formtable 1 note 2	N/A
Power of Attorney Form (if applicable)table 1 note 3
Table 1 notes Table 1 note 1 Claimant’s Statement form 2467 & Supporting Statement form 2467-1. Return to table 1 note 1 referrer Table 1 note 2 Some examples to prove common law relationship could include: proof of shared address, proof of shared bank account, bills, tax returns etc. & form 2016. Return to table 1 note 2 referrer Table 1 note 3 General Power of Attorney or a Power of Attorney for Property—Must be one of the following: Certified true copy signed by a commissioner of oaths, lawyer, notary, of Justice of the Peace, or The Original copy (which will be returned to the sender by mail). Return to table 1 note 3 referrer

Table 2 Child Checklist

Required Documents and Information	Child(ren) Pension
Pension or Service Number
Social Insurance Number
Birth Certificate
Death Certificate
Direct Deposit Form
Proof of Educationtable 2 note 1
Unsworn Custody Controltable 2 note 2
Sworn Custody Control
Table 2 notes Table 2 note 1 Declaration of attendance at an Educational Institute form 2002. Return to table 2 note 1 referrer Table 2 note 2 Statutory Declaration—Unsworn Custody Control form 475E & Statutory Declaration form 479E. Return to table 2 note 2 referrer

Who can receive benefits and what they are after a plan member’s death

If you are a legal spouse or common-law partner of the same or opposite sex, you are eligible for a survivor pension, which is a monthly allowance payable for life. You must have been married to the plan member at the time of death, or, if common-law, be able to establish that you were living in a conjugal relationship for at least one year before the plan member's death.

If you married or began living in a conjugal relationship with an annuitant plan member after that member's 60th birthday, you are only entitled to a survivor pension if the annuitant plan member had applied for the Optional Survivor Benefit (OSB), in which they would have accepted a reduction to their own pension in order to provide you with a survivor pension. Contact the Canadian Armed Forces Pension Centre if you think this may be the case.

Eligible children under the age of 18 or students who are between the ages of 18 and 25, and who are in full-time attendance at school or an educational institution, are entitled to a child pension, unless they were conceived after an annuitant plan member’s 60th birthday.

When a survivor pension may not be paid

You will not receive the survivor pension if:

• at the time of the plan member's death you were divorced from the plan member
• the plan member's death occurred in the first year of marriage or cohabitation, unless it is proven that, at the time of the marriage or cohabitation, it was reasonable to assume that the plan member could have lived at least one year;
• you married or began living in a conjugal relationship with the plan member after they had become an annuitant of the plan and were aged 60 or older and the annuitant plan member did not opt to provide you with an OSB survivor pension;
• you are found criminally responsible for the death of the plan member
• you waive your entitlement in favour of an increased child pension or where there is a minimum benefit payable; or
• you are missing or cannot be found

Additional death benefits paid out

If the member was a participant in the Supplementary Death Benefit (SDB) plan, the beneficiary designated on the Naming or Substitution of a Beneficiary (CF-FC 2196) form is entitled to the SDB. If there was no designated beneficiary, the SDB is paid to the plan member's estate.

For information about SDB, visit the Supplementary Death Benefit page.

Required documents needed to receive survivor or child pension payment

The following table provides a summary of the documents required by the Government of Canada Pension Centre in support of a claim for survivor benefits under the Canadian Forces Superannuation Act (CFSA)

Documents in support of a claim for survivor benefits

If you are the…	You need to provide…
Legal spouse (legally married to the plan member)	Marriage certificate Member's death certificate
Common-law partner	One Sworn statement by the claimant, and two supporting statements must be completed and forwarded: Statutory Declaration – Claimant's Statement (CF-FC 2467) Statutory Declarations – Supporting Statement (CF-FC 2467-1) Other reasonable evidence establishing the conjugal nature and duration of the relationship (for example, documents related to a mortgage, a lease, a joint bank account, etc.) Member's death certificate
Eligible child under age 18	Birth certificate Adoption papers or proof of guardianship. The Statutory Declaration – In the Matter of the Canadian Forces Superannuation Act (CF-FC 2010) must be completed and forwarded Member's death certificate
Eligible child 18 years of age or older but under 25	Birth certificate Proof of full-time attendance at school or at another educational institution since the age of 18 or since the date of the member's death. The Declaration of Attendance at an Educational Institute (CF-FC 2002) form must be completed each semester Member's death certificate

How the survivor and child pensions are paid

The survivor pension is paid in monthly instalments for life.

The child pension for children under the age of 18 is paid to the survivor or guardian on behalf of the children. If the child is in full-time attendance at school between the ages of 18 and 25, the benefit is paid directly to them until the age of 25 when they are no longer eligible for the benefit.

Survivor and child pensions are indexed to keep up with inflation

Indexation starts to accrue as soon as the survivor and child(ren) become entitled to the pension and is applied on 1 January of each year. This helps to protect the value of your pension against the impact of inflation and it ensures that the original purchasing power of the pension will remain unchanged.

Survivor pension is not reduced by the coordination of benefits with the Canada Pension Plan / Quebec Pension Plan

Survivors can receive benefits under the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) or Quebec Pension Plan (QPP) and also receive a full survivor pension under the Canadian Forces Superannuation Act (CFSA).

Survivor benefits for separated spouses and ex-common-law partners

Where there has been a separation before the contributor's death, the survivor (spouse) is entitled to a survivor pension.

Ex-common-law partners are not entitled to survivor benefits, unless they apply for the division of pension benefits, in accordance with the Pension Benefits Division Act (PBDA). For information about this, please visit the Division of pension benefits page.

How survivor pension is apportioned when there are 2 survivors

When a survivor pension is payable and there are 2 survivors (a separated spouse and common-law partner), the total amount of the pension will be apportioned between the 2 survivors based on the number of years each survivor cohabited with the plan member.

Can a general Power of Attorney manage my pension affairs

If you wish for another person to manage some of your pension affairs, an original, notarized, or a certified true copy of the general power of attorney (POA) document bearing the original signature of the lawyer, notary, commissioner of oaths or justice of the peace must be sent to the Government of Canada Pension Centre. The person you name can then request address changes, direct deposit and choose a benefit on your behalf. However, a POA does not provide that person with the authority to change the recipient of a pension benefit or to change a beneficiary under the Supplementary Death Benefit (SDB) plan.

In order to protect plan members, the Government of Canada Pension Centre cannot accept photocopies, faxes or scans of legal documents. Original POA documents will be returned to you by mail.

If you simply wish to allow someone to make enquiries and receive information about your pension matters, but not make decisions on your behalf, you can provide the Government of Canada Pension Centre with a written consent to that effect.

Survivor or child pension ends when you are no longer eligible

Payment of a survivor pension ceases on the survivor's death.

The child pension is paid to each child as long as he or she remains entitled to it as defined above.

Group insurance plans that survivors and children are eligible to participate in

Survivors of a deceased plan member and their eligible family members are eligible for coverage under the Public Service Health Care Plan (PSHCP) and the Pensioners' Dental Services Plan (PDSP).

If there is no surviving spouse, eligible children (including full-time students) who are entitled to a child pension are eligible for coverage under both health and dental plans.

If the deceased member had family coverage under the PSHCP, coverage will be continuous if the survivor applies within 60 days of the member's death.

If the deceased member was not covered by the PSHCP or did not have family coverage, such coverage can be obtained but it will not take effect until three months after the application is received.

If you apply for the Pensioners' Dental Services Plan within 60 days of your entitlement to a survivor or child pension, your coverage will begin on the effective date of your pension entitlement. Otherwise, your coverage will take effect on the first day of the second month following the date on which the Government of Canada Pension Centre receives your application.

You can be covered by the Public Service Health Care Plan and the Pensioners' Dental Services Plan even if you do not reside in Canada. For more information, please contact the Canadian Armed Forces Pension Centre.