While it is less common these days for employment benefits to
include a pension, many individuals still do have either a pension
(not including the Canada Pension Plan, which is subject to its own
rules and which is not the subject of this blog) or a locked-in
retirement account (LIRA) which was created from former pension
funds. While these funds, particularly LIRAs, tend to be thought of
as if they are RRSPs or RRIFs, it is important to remember that the
rights associated with them, including the right to designate a
beneficiary, are not always the same.
In Canada, pensions rights under provincial and territorial
jurisdiction are governed by fairly rigid statutory rules. Under
Ontario pension legislation, surviving spouses generally have the
right to receive either a survivor's pension or a lump sum
payable on the death of their spouse (or possibly a choice between
the two, depending on the pension plan in question). As well, a
surviving spouse's rights take
