R-16, r. 4 - Regulation respecting the partition and assignment of benefits accrued under the general retirement plan for the mayors and councillors of municipalities

Updated to 12 December 2023

This document has official status.

chapter R-16, r. 4

Regulation respecting the partition and assignment of benefits accrued under the general retirement plan for the mayors and councillors of municipalities

Act respecting retirement plans for the mayors and councillors of municipalities

(chapter R-16, s. 42).

DIVISION I STATEMENT OF BENEFITS OF THE COUNCIL MEMBER OR FORMER COUNCIL MEMBER

(s. 42, subpars. h and i)

1. Any application for a statement referred to in section 41.4 of the Act respecting retirement plans for mayors and councillors of municipalities (chapter R-16) must contain the following information and be accompanied by the following documents:

(1)  the name, address, social insurance number and date of birth of the council member or former council member and of his spouse;

(2)  an extract from the act of marriage and, where applicable, the date on which the spouses resumed living together;

(3)  a copy of the application for separation from bed and board, divorce, annulment of marriage or payment of a compensatory allowance, together with a copy of the return of service or, where applicable, a copy of the judgment ruling on such an application.

Any application filed under this section is also valid for the other pension plans which are administered by Retraite Québec or for which Retraite Québec is responsible for paying benefits.

O.C. 1752-91, s. 1.

2. Within 90 days following the date of receipt of a duly completed application, Retraite Québec shall provide the council member or former council member and his spouse with a statement showing the following information:

(1)  the date on which the council member or former council member became a member of the general retirement plan for mayors and councillors of municipalities and, where applicable, the date on which he ceased to be a member thereof;

(2)  the benefits accrued to the council member or former council member, without taking into account any reduction resulting from a prior partition or assignment of benefits between spouses, from the time when he became a member of the plan until the date of assessment provided for in the second paragraph of section 41.5 of the Act, as well as the value of those benefits;

(3)  the benefits accrued during the period of the marriage as well as the value of those benefits;

(4)  where applicable, the value of the reduction of the benefits accrued as a result of any prior partition or assignment of benefits between spouses that would be applicable at the date of that assessment;

(5)  the terms and conditions for payment of the sums awarded to the spouse in accordance with Division III.

The statement of benefits and values established at the date of assessment on the basis of information known to Retraite Québec not later than the date of the statement is presumed accurate unless there is evidence to the contrary.

O.C. 1752-91, s. 2.

DIVISION II ESTABLISHMENT AND ASSESSMENT OF ACCRUED BENEFITS

(s. 42, subpar. j)

§ 1 . — Establishment of benefits

3. The benefits accrued under the plan shall be established in accordance with the Act. The benefits of a council member who, on 31 December 1988, was a member of the plan and had fewer than 8 years of service correspond to a deferred-payment pension.

The accrued benefits for the period of the marriage shall be established in accordance with the first paragraph on the basis of the sums accrued to the account of the council member or former council member during that period, on the assumption that he acquired for that period benefits of the same type as those accrued to him between the time when he became a member of the plan and the date of assessment.

For the purpose of establishing and assessing the accrued benefits, those benefits correspond to the benefits acquired under the plan at the date of assessment on the basis of the years or parts of a year of service credited and the sums accrued to the account of the council member or former council member at that date. For those purposes, the council member is deemed to have ceased to be a member of the plan at the date of assessment.

O.C. 1752-91, s. 3.

4. The years or parts of a year of service redeemed shall be counted proportionately to the amounts paid in capital for their payment out of the total capital amount. Those years or parts of a year are deemed to be counted for the period of the marriage to the extent that they were paid during that period.

O.C. 1752-91, s. 4.

5. Where the benefits accrued consist in a pension being paid at the date of assessment and where the number of years of service credited during the period of the marriage is less than the total number of years of service credited under the plan, the amount of the pension for the period of the marriage is equal to “A” in the following formula:

C

B x — = A

D

“B” represents the amount of pension paid at the date of assessment;

“C” represents the amount of the contributions and contributory amounts paid during the period of the marriage with interest accrued to the date on which the pension became payable;

“D” represents the amount of the contributions and contributory amounts paid into the plan with interest accrued to the date on which the pension became payable.

O.C. 1752-91, s. 5.

§ 2 . — Assessment of benefits

6. Where the accrued benefits consist in a refund of contributions, the value of those benefits corresponds to the contributions paid with interest calculated in accordance with the Act and accrued to the date of assessment as though the refund has been issued at that date. A separate calculation must be made for contributions, additional contributions and contributory amounts. The same applies in respect of the value of the benefits accrued for the period of the marriage.

O.C. 1752-91, s. 6.

7. Where the benefits accrued consist in a deferred-payment pension, the value of those benefits corresponds to the sum of the amounts referred to in section 24 of the Act at the date of assessment. The same applies in respect of the value of the benefits accrued for the period of the marriage.

O.C. 1752-91, s. 7.

8. In this section, “CIA Standards” refer to the standards of practice entitled “Practice-Specific Standards for Pension Plans 3500 Pension Commuted Values” of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries.

The actuarial value of the benefits is determined by using the “distribution of benefits” method and corresponds to the sum of 95% of the actuarial value determined for a male and of 5% of the actuarial value determined for a female.

The actuarial value is also determined by using the following actuarial assumptions:

(1)  mortality rates:

The mortality rates are those determined in accordance with the CIA Standards.

(2)  interest rates:

The interest rates are those determined in accordance with the CIA Standards;

The result must be adjusted in accordance with the CIA Standards.

(3)  Turnover rate: Nil

(4)  Disability rate: Nil

(5)  (subparagraph revoked);

(6)  (subparagraph revoked).

O.C. 1752-91, s. 8; O.C. 1070-2010, s. 1; O.C. 956-2022, s. 1.

9. Where the accrued benefits consist in a pension being paid at the date of assessment, the value of those benefits is obtained by calculating the actuarial value of such a benefit.

The value of the benefits accrued for the period of the marriage shall be established in accordance with the first paragraph.

O.C. 1752-91, s. 9.

DIVISION III PAYMENT OF THE SUMS AWARDED TO THE SPOUSE AS A RESULT OF THE PARTITION OR ASSIGNMENT OF BENEFITS

(s. 42, subpars. h and k)

10. In this Division, the expression “life income fund” has the meaning given to it by sections 18 and 19 of the Regulation respecting supplemental pension plans (chapter R-15.1, r. 6), and the expressions “locked-in retirement account” and “annuity contract” have the meaning given to them by sections 29 and 30 of that Regulation.

O.C. 1752-91, s. 10.

11. An application for payment of the sums awarded to the spouse must be preceded by an application for assessment made in accordance with Division I and must show the name and address of the council member or former council member and of his spouse, their social insurance numbers and their dates of birth.

That application is also valid for all the pension plans for which Retraite Québec has provided a statement.

O.C. 1752-91, s. 11.

12. An application for payment of the sums awarded to the spouse must be accompanied by the following documents:

(1)  the judgment ruling on separation from bed and board, divorce, annulment of marriage or payment of a compensatory allowance;

(2)  where applicable, any other judgment relative to the partition or assignment of the benefits of the council member or former council member;

(3)  where applicable, the agreement entered into between the spouses regarding the terms for payment out of benefits accrued under the general retirement plan for the mayors and councillors of municipalities;

(4)  the divorce certificate and, where applicable, the certificate of non-appeal.

O.C. 1752-91, s. 12.

13. Upon receipt of a duly completed application for payment, Retraite Québec shall send the council member or former council member a statement showing the sums awarded to the spouse as well as the amount of the reduction calculated pursuant to Division IV and applicable from the date of payment. Retraite Québec shall also send the spouse a statement showing the sums awarded to him.

The spouse must, within 60 days of the date on which the statement is mailed to him, provide Retraite Québec with the name and address of the financial institution and with an identification of the annuity contract, locked-in retirement account, live income fund or, where applicable, registered retirement savings plan into which the sums awarded to him must be transferred.

Except where the spouse has been paid otherwise, Retraite Québec shall, within 120 days of the expiry of the period provided for in the second paragraph, transfer the sums awarded to the spouse into an annuity contract, a locked-in retirement account, a life income fund or, where applicable, a registered retirement savings plan with a financial institution chosen by the spouse, provided that the steps necessary for the transfer of those sums have been taken.

Should the spouse fail to indicate his choice or to take the necessary steps within the prescribed period, Retraite Québec shall transfer those sums into an annuity contract or a locked-in retirement account or, where applicable, a registered retirement savings plan in the spouse’s name with the financial institution with which Retraite Québec entered into an agreement to that effect.

Where the spouse proceeds by way of forced execution, the judgment authorizing seizure in the hands of a third person shall take the place of an application for payment and this section shall apply.

O.C. 1752-91, s. 13; I.N. 2016-01-01 (NCCP).

14. Retraite Québec shall transfer the sums awarded to the spouse into an annuity contract, a locked-in retirement account or a life income fund where those sums come from an entitlement to a pension or deferred pension.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, Retraite Québec shall transfer those sums into a registered retirement savings plan where those sums come from an entitlement to a refund of contributions or, upon application by the spouse, into a locked-in retirement account, an annuity contract or a life income fund.

O.C. 1752-91, s. 14.

15. Interest compounded annually and accrued from the date of assessment up to the date of payment must be added to the sums awarded to the spouse at the rate provided for in section 1.1 of the Regulation respecting the application of the Act respecting the Pension Plan of Elected Municipal Officers (chapter R-9.3, r. 1), in force on the date of assessment. However, where that date is prior to 1 June 2007, the applicable interest rate is 4.10%.

O.C. 1752-91, s. 15; O.C. 1070-2010, s. 2.

DIVISION IV REDUCTION OF ACCRUED BENEFITS

(s. 42, subpar. l)

16. If the amount paid to the spouse comes from an entitlement to a refund of contributions or to a deferred-payment pension, the amount of the refund to which the council member or former council member is entitled or, where applicable, the sum of the amounts serving to determine his pension is reduced by the sums awarded to the spouse at the date of assessment with interest compounded annually at a rate determined for each period under the Regulation respecting interest applicable under the general retirement plan for the mayors and councillors of municipalities (chapter R-16, r. 1) and accrued from 1 July of the year of assessment to the first day of the month during which the refund is issued or, where applicable, to the first day of the month during which the pension becomes payable.

O.C. 1752-91, s. 16.

17. If the amount paid to the spouse comes from an entitlement to a refund of contributions or to a deferred-payment pension and if the pension is being paid at the date of payment, or if that amount comes from an entitlement to a pension, the pension of the former council member shall be reduced, from the date of payment, by the amount of pension payable at that date that would have been obtained on the basis of the sums awarded to the spouse at the date of assessment.

For the purposes of the first paragraph, the amount of pension payable at the date of payment shall be established according to the actuarial method and assumptions provided for in section 8. That amount of pension is deemed to be payable for at least 15 years, as mentioned in section 27 of the Act, in respect of the annual pension of the former council member. Where the pension is being paid at the date of payment, that period corresponds to the residual period applicable to the annual pension at that date.

O.C. 1752-91, s. 17.

18. Any refund of contributions to be issued as a result of a death must be reduced by the sums awarded to the spouse with interest compounded annually at a rate determined for each period under the Regulation respecting interest applicable under the general retirement plan for the mayors and councillors of municipalities (chapter R-16, r. 1) and accrued from 1 July of the year of assessment to the first day of the month during which the refund is issued, except for the period during which a pension is paid.

O.C. 1752-91, s. 18.

DIVISION V TRANSITIONAL

O.C. 1070-2010, s. 3.

18.1. For the purposes of section 17, the amount of pension that would be obtained on the basis of the sums awarded to the spouse at the date of assessment is determined at that date according to the actuarial method and assumptions that were used for the assessment of accrued benefits.

O.C. 1070-2010, s. 3.

19. (Omitted).

O.C. 1752-91, s. 19.

REFERENCES

O.C. 1752-91, 1992 G.O. 2, 3

O.C. 1070-2010, 2010 G.O. 2, 3843A

S.Q. 2015, c. 20, s. 61

O.C. 956-2022, 2022 G.O. 2, 1889