what employees get
Valuable survivor benefits include a lifetime pension for a surviving spouse that includes inflation protection, a minimum guarantee of payments should you and your spouse both die early in retirement, and pre-retirement death benefits.
If you have an eligible spouse at the time of your death in retirement, they will receive a survivor pension for life equal to 60% (or 75% if you choose that option when you retire) of the CAAT pension you were receiving.
The survivor pension receives the same conditional inflation protection increases as member pensions.
If you do not have an eligible spouse when you retire, or that spouse pre-deceases you, and you have a subsequent spouse at the time of your death, that person would be your eligible spouse, provided they qualify under applicable pension legislation.
All Plan members are entitled to survivor benefits, including members who die while working for a participating employer, and those who are on an approved leave of absence or disability leave.
If you have an eligible spouse: Your eligible spouse is the sole recipient of the pre-retirement death benefit. No other survivor benefits are paid. Your spouse can choose between a lump sum payment, an immediate monthly pension, or a deferred monthly pension payable at the age of 65.
If you don’t have an eligible spouse: Your designated beneficiaries (or estate if you did not name any designated beneficiaries) will receive a payment equal to the commuted value of your pension. If you are employed in Ontario or Nova Scotia, your eligible children may be entitled to a children’s pension until your children no longer meet the definition of child. Your designated beneficiaries (or estate if you did not name any designated beneficiaries) could also receive a payment.
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