Ontario Introduces PBA Amendments In Response To Carrigan Case

Last year, the Ontario Court of Appeal surprised many in the pension industry with its decision in Carrigan v. Carrigan Estate, which essentially established a new priority scheme for the payment of pre-retirement death benefits – and by extension joint and survivor benefits – under the Ontario Pension Benefits Act (the PBA).

The Ontario government has responded to stakeholders' concerns by introducing Bill 151, Strengthening and Improving Government Act, 2013, which includes the following amendments to the PBA:

• clarification of who qualifies as a "spouse" for purposes of entitlement to pre-retirement death benefits and joint and survivor benefits where there is more than one individual potentially entitled to such benefits;