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Survivor benefit

The following information is intended to provide you, the employer, with information regarding Survivor benefits when the death of an active plan member occurs.

Reference to compensation advisor in the following text is the equivalent of an employer representative.

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Introduction

The Government of Canada Pension Centre (Pension Centre) is now responsible for providing pension benefit counseling and information to the survivor, beneficiary or estate representative of a deceased public service pension plan member. This includes any lump sum or ongoing pension benefit and the one-time Supplementary death benefit (SDB) payment (if eligible).

When the employing department is advised of the death in service of a plan member, the compensation advisor refers the survivor or representative to the Public Service Pension and Benefits website for general information on survivor benefits and advises him to contact the Government of Canada Pension Centre for federal employees. Please provide a copy of the contact information sheet to survivors or representatives without access to the Web.

The compensation advisors are responsible for ensuring that the Pension Centre is aware of the plan member's date of death by submitting the Struck-Off-Strength (SOS) transaction and the Notification of Death in Service form (PWGSC-TPSGC 2014) (accessible on the Government of Canada network only) will also have to be completed and forwarded to the Pension Centre as soon as compensation is notified that the member has passed away.

Survivor benefit entitlements

A Death in service (DIS) occurs when the plan member dies while still employed in the public service. A survivor benefit may be payable to the eligible survivor and/or children.

A survivor refers to the person who, at the time of the plan member's death, was legally married to the plan member or was cohabitating with the plan member in a relationship of a conjugal nature (includes common-law and same sex partners) for at least one year prior to the date of death. A divorced spouse is not entitled to a survivor's pension, but a separated spouse usually retains entitlement to a survivor's pension.

A child can be a plan member's natural child, stepchild, or adopted child, who at the time of the plan member's death was dependent on him for support. To be eligible for a child's allowance, a child must be:

When a plan member, who has less than 2 years of pensionable service, dies while employed in the public service, the survivor and/or children are entitled jointly to a Return of Contributions (ROC) plus interest.

When a plan member, who has 2 years or more of pensionable service, dies while employed in the public service, a survivor's and/or child's allowance is payable.

Survivor benefits

The table below outlines the different survivor benefits available under various circumstances where the plan member had 2 years or more of pensionable service.

Table 1: Survivor benefits available under various circumstances
Circumstances Entitlement
Survivor only Survivor's allowance
(1 % X average salary X years of pensionable service)
Survivor and children Survivor's allowance
Child's allowance for each child (one-fifth of the survivor's allowance up to a maximum of four fifths.)
Children only (no survivor) Child's allowance for each child
(two-fifths of the survivor's allowance up to a maximum of eight fifths.)
No eligible survivor or children Greater of a ROC plus interest or amount equal to five years' basic pension (Guaranteed Five Year Minimum). Amounts are paid either to a beneficiary named under the SDB Plan or to the estate.

Struck-off-strength transaction

If a plan member dies while still employed in the public service, the SOS is the day following the date of death.

The compensation advisors report a death in service by completing the SOS transaction in the Regional Pay System (RPS) or the Data Capture Tool (DCT). The plan member's termination date and termination reason have to be reported using the proper codes.

The SOS date is entered as CCYY/MM/DD with AM/PM Indicator (1 for AM and 2 for PM). The SOS reason used for a death in service is 17.

Required documents

In all DIS cases, the compensation advisors must complete the Notification of Death in Service form (PWGSC-TPSGC 2014) and forward to the Pension Centre.

The Notification of Death in Service form (PWGSC-TPSGC 2014) enables the compensation advisor to certify the final salary and allowance rates, their dates of authorization, and known SDB deficiencies and to identify a contact person.

The Pension Centre is responsible for communicating with the contact person identified on the Notification of Death in Service form (PWGSC-TPSGC 2014) to obtain all other essential documents required to authorize the SDB payment and to commence the survivor benefit.

In some cases, the Pension Centre may also request the  Confirmation of Salary and Service form (PWGSC-TPSGC 2020). 

In some cases, the Pension Centre may also request the PWGSC-TPSGC 2020 Confirmation of Salary and Service form.

Supplementary death benefit

The SDB provides a one-time, tax-free, lump sum payment payable upon the death of the participant. All plan members, with the exception of employees of certain public service corporations, participate in the SDB plan.

The SDB amount is equal to twice the member's final annual salary adjusted to the next highest multiple of $1,000.

The Pension Centre is responsible for processing SDB payments for both regional and non-regional DIS cases. Compensation advisors will forward the completed Notification of Death in Service form within 24 hours directly to the Pension Centre, where SDB payments are issued and mailed directly to the beneficiary.

Recovery of contributions: Deficiencies

If the plan member was on Leave without pay (LWOP) at the time of death or was paying deficiencies prior to his death, the survivor is responsible for the outstanding balance, as the pension is based on the service for which the contributions were required.

When there is evidence that pension contributions or SDB deficiencies exist (for example LWOP at SOS or when a previous period of LWOP is not paid in full), the Pension Centre will request a completed Termination/Retirement Debt Recovery form (PWGSC-TPSGC 4242) (accessible on the Government of Canada network only) and a Notification of Death in Service form (PWGSC-TPSGC 2014).

Consequently, the pay office completes Part B of the Notification of Death in Service form (PWGSC-TPSGC 2014) with respect to known SDB deficiencies and faxes the form back to the Pension Centre within 24 hours. All SDB deficiencies are recovered from the SDB payment.

If there are any outstanding deficiencies that have not been recovered, the Pension Centre is responsible for advising the survivor of his repayment options.

How to complete the required forms

The following forms are used by the Pension Centre to process a survivor's benefit. Once completed, please fax the forms to the Pension Centre. Refer to the Government of Canada Pension Centre’s Employer Support Services for more information.

Instructions: PWGSC-TPSGC 2014: Notification of Death in Service form

This form must be completed by departments, Crown corporations, agencies and territorial governments when a plan member dies while still employed. It must be forwarded to the Pension Centre within 24 hours of the death in service.

Notification of Death in Service form (PWGSC-TPSGC 2014) (accessible on the Government of Canada network only)

Table 2: How to fill out form PWGSC-TPSGC 2014
Field Description
Plan member's personal information Enter the member's personal information
Part A
(To be completed by the Compensation Advisor or designated person)		 Enter the date of death, the pay office, the department and the paylist Report the plan member's salary rate, date of authority and any applicable pensionable allowance Indicate your name, telephone and fax numbers and then sign and date the form certifying that the information is correct
Contact information Provide the information for a contact person. This contact may be the spouse, executor of the estate, or the person who informed you of the plan member's death Enter the name, telephone number, mailing address, relationship to the deceased and any additional information Fax the form immediately to the Pension Centre
Part B
(To be completed by the Pay Office)		 Part B must only be completed when requested by the Pension Centre
Part B1
Period of LWOP		 Report any period of LWOP
Part B2
Arrears on Death Benefit contributions not recovered		 Report any outstanding SDB deficiencies If there are no deficiencies, indicate "None" or "Not applicable (N/A)" Only outstanding SDB deficiencies prior to the implementation of Release 2.0 of the Modernization Project need to be reported Indicate your name, sign and date the form certifying that the information is correct Fax the completed form to the Pension Centre within 24 hours
Instructions: PWGSC-TPSGC 2020 Confirmation of Salary and Service form

This form must be completed by employing organizations upon request by the Pension Centre to provide salary and service certification.

Regional accounts (RPS)

If there is missing or conflicting data in the pension system, the Pension Centre may request certification on the Confirmation of Salary and Service form (PWGSC-TPSGC 2020).

Non-regional accounts

The Pension Centre will request the salary and LWOP certification on the Confirmation of Salary and Service form ( for terminations requiring salary certification prior to the implementation of Release 2.0 of the Modernization Project. The Pension Centre may also request salary and LWOP certification if there is a discrepancy after the implementation of Release 2.0 of the Modernization Project.

Confirmation of Salary and Service form (PWGSC-TPSGC 2020) (accessible only on the Government of Canada network)

Table 3: How to fill out form PWGSC-TPSGC 2020
Field Description
Plan member's personal information Enter the member's personal information
Department information
  • Enter the department or Crown Corporation's information
  • If this is an amendment to the form, enter the date the previous PWGSC-TPSGC 2020 form was sent
Salary data
  • Enter the applicable Entitlement/Deduction/Salary Adjustment (E/D/A) Code
  • Enter the "From" and "To" dates for each period of pensionable entitlement
  • Insert the rate at which the authorized salary is paid
  • Insert the rate-amount: the authorized pensionable salary or allowance amount for the period
  • Enter the Pay Office and the Department codes
  • DR: indicate if period is a dual remuneration case ("0" for no and "1" for yes)
  • Enter the Standard Work Week (SWW) and Assigned Work Week (AWW) for the period
  • Non-SWW: indicate whether or not the employee is working a non-standard work week ("1" for yes, "2" for no and "3" for a SWW non-regular Monday to Friday)
  • Insert the pension type (PT) code
  • When reporting non-revised salary data, provide the date of the collective agreement applicable to the salary rate
LWOP data
  • Enter LWOP periods – "From" and "To" dates and number of hours
  • Indicate LWOP reason code
  • Enter the Pay Office and the Department codes
  • Enter the period for which the data was provided
Certification Indicate your name, telephone and fax numbers and then sign and date the form certifying that the information is correct.

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