Members - Changing Your Marital Status
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Email the linkWhat you need to know
New spousal relationship:
- your new spouse may be entitled to a lifetime survivor pension if they qualify
- the survivor pension is increased for inflation every January
- insured benefits in retirement apply to your spouse if you qualify for this provision
Breakdown of your spousal relationship
If your spousal relationship has ended, please read our factsheet to learn more about how this may impact your pension.
How to update your status
New spousal relationship
Marriage
- send OPTrust a copy of your:
- marriage certificate and Statement of Marital Status form
- spouse’s birth certificate, driver's licence or passport
- notify OPTrust of if you are changing your surname
- update your beneficiaries through your Online Services account
Common-law
- if you and your common-law spouse have been in a spousal relationship for less than three continuous years or are not the parents of a child, you may designate them as your beneficiary using your Online Services account
- if you and your common-law spouse have been in a spousal relationship for at least three continuous years or are the parents of a child, send OPTrust:
- Statement of Marital Status form
- copy of your spouse's birth certificate, driver's licence or passport
- update your beneficiaries through your Online Services account
Spousal relationship breakdown:
- review your beneficiary information and update it as necessary through your Online Services account
- Send OPTrust a completed Statement of Marital Status form
When to contact us
- any life changes – marriage, new common-law spouse, separation, divorce, death, new beneficiaries
- changes to contact information – address, phone number, e-mail address
Forms you may need to complete
New Spouse
Spousal Relationship Breakdown
STEP 1: The Application Process
Member/member's former spouse complete Application for Family Law Value (Family Law Form FL-1)
STEP 2: Determining the Value
Within 60 days OPTrust determines value and sends both parties a copy of Statement of Family Law Value.
STEP 3: Decision Re: Division of Pension
Steps 4 to 5 below apply if the pension is divided. If no division, please provide a certified copy of your court order or separation agreement stating the decision made regarding the division of the pension.
STEP 4: Applying to Divide Your Pension
- Spouse's Application for Transfer of a Lump Sum (Family Law Form FL-5)
- This form is to be used if your spousal relationship ended before you retired, and you received a Statement of Family Law Value (FL-4A or FL-4D) from OPTrust.
- Spouse's Application to Divide a Retired Member's Pension (Family Law Form FL-6)
- This form is to be used if your spousal relationship ended after you retired, and you received a Statement of Family Law Value (FL-4E) from OPTrust.
- Please provide a certified copy of your court order or separation agreement made on or after January 1, 2012 which provides for the division of the Family Law Value. The final settlement document must include the following information:
- Name of the pension plan and plan administrator
- Name of the plan member and their former spouse
- Specify the amount or percentage of the Family Law Value that must be transferred or divided by the plan administrator
- Family Law Valuation Date (this date should match with the Statement of Family Law Value)
- Start date of the spousal relationship is not required to be in the document, but if it is it must match the Statement of Family Law Value
- Pursuant to the Ontario Family Law Act
STEP 5: Updating Your Beneficiaries (if applicable)
Background material for more information
- How to prove your spousal relationship (fact sheet)
- Family Law and Your Pension (Post-2011 Rules) (fact sheet)
- Survivor benefits before retirement (fact sheet)
- Survivor benefits after retirement (fact sheet)