Partition of employment earnings under the Québec Pension Plan for married people or people in a civil union

The employment earnings recorded under the Québec Pension Plan, or, if applicable, the Canada Pension Plan, during the marriage or a civil union are part of the family patrimony. Therefore, they can be partitioned in the event of a separation.

If partition is carried out, the employment earnings recorded under the name of each former spouse under the Québec Pension Plan or, if applicable, the Canada Pension Plan are added together for each year they lived together, and then divided equally between both of them. Therefore, the new information concerning their income can change the amount of the retirement pension to which they are entitled. They can also give entitlement to a retirement pension, a disability pension or survivors' benefits.

If a person is already receiving a pension under the Québec Pension Plan during partition, the pension amount could be increased or decreased further to partition of employment earnings carried out by Retraite Québec.

Before renouncing partition, it is better to know its advantages

• Even if the former spouses earn the same salary, partition could be advantageous. For example, if a person left his or her job to go abroad with the other spouse or if one of them started his or her own business or went back to school, it is likely that during those years, no amounts were recorded under his or her name under the Québec Pension Plan or, if applicable, the Canada Pension Plan. Partition could make a difference on a future retirement pension.
• If a person has never worked, partition could render the person eligible for a retirement pension, disability benefits or, render his or her family members eligible for survivors' benefits.

The Québec Pension Plan

The Québec Pension Plan is a compulsory public insurance plan for workers age 18 and over whose annual employment income is greater than $3500. The Plan is funded by contributions made by workers and employers. Workers who made sufficient contributions to the Plan can be entitled, for them and their family members, to different pensions and benefits. Following a separation, the earnings recorded under the Plan during the union can be the subject of partition.

Period of calculation for partition

Partition of employment earnings recorded under the Plan consists in adding employment earnings recorded under the name of the former spouses names during a certain period, then divided equally between them.

The period subject to partition is always determined in terms of full years.

• For married or civil-union spouses, it begins on 1 January of the year of the marriage or civil union. It ends on 31 December of the year preceding:
  • the one during which the spouses stopped living together, if the judgment so provides;
    OR
  • the filing with the Court of an application for divorce, legal separation, annulment of marriage, or dissolution of civil union.

Recognition of unions by the Québec Pension Plan

Marriage

Marriage is the lawful union of two individuals under the conditions provided for by law for the purpose of living together. The recognition of a marriage is immediate. This type of union gives entitlement to partition of the family patrimony in the event of divorce or legal separation, as well as survivors' benefits in the event of death.

Civil union

A civil union is a type of legal relationship between two same-sex or opposite-sex individuals, who decide to live together as a couple without entering into a marriage. After the union is celebrated, an act of civil union, which is the official document confirming the union, is issued by the Directeur de l'état civil. Civil unions are recognized only in Québec.

Automatic partition of employment earnings

• If the judgment was rendered in Québec, after a divorce, separation from bed and board (legal separation) , civil annulment of marriage, or dissolution or annulment of a civil union, Retraite Québec automatically carries out partition of employment earnings on which the former spouses contributed to the Québec Pension Plan during the marriage or civil union, unless they expressly renounced partition.

  Even if a person renounced partition of family patrimony, he or she did not renounce partition of employment earnings recorded under the Québec Pension Plan or, if applicable, the Canada Pension Plan.

  Retraite Québec generally sends a Notice of Partition within 30 days after receiving a judgment or an application for partition of earnings between former de facto (common-law) spouses. If a person has renounced partition, he or she will be notified in writing that partition will not be carried out.

• If the judgment was rendered outside Québec, the application for partition during the marriage must be filed with Retraite Québec by one of the former spouses or his or her legal representative.

Steps for partition of employment earnings

Retirees and pension sharing

If the person was receiving his or her retirement pension and applied for Retirement pension sharing between spouses, sharing ends at the end of the month during which Retraite Québec received the judgment of the breakdown of the union. Each former spouse will then receive the same retirement pension they would have received before pension sharing, if applicable.