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ARTICLE · 14 MARCH 2017

Ontario Changes Definition Of "Spouse" In Pension Benefits Act

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Pension plan sponsors and administrators need to change plan administration and update plan texts and other plan documents due to this legislative change.

CanadaEmployment and HR
James Fu
James Fu
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Pension plan sponsors and administrators need to change plan administration and update plan texts and other plan documents due to this legislative change.

the Ontario All Families Are Equal Act, 2016 ("AFAEA"), the Ontario government changed the definition of "spouse" in the Ontario Pension Benefits Act ("OPBA"). This change became effective on January 1, 2017. The AFAEA was passed with the publicized goal of ensuring equal treatment for all parents and children in the province.

Prior to the change, a "spouse" was defined in the OPBA to include either of two persons who are living together in a conjugal relationship in a relationship of some permanence, if they are the natural or adoptive parents of a child, both as defined in the Ontario Family Law Act. The change replaces the reference to "natural or adoptive parents of a child, both as defined in the Family Law Act" with "parents of a child as set out in section 4 of the (Ontario) Children's Law Reform Act".

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