There are three types of benefits that can be paid upon the death of a CPP
contributor:
i
a one-time lump sum Death Benefit which is paid
to the estate of the deceased, to a maximum of $2,500
ii
a monthly Survivor's Pension payable to the legal
spouse or common-law
partner of the deceased contributor
iii
a monthly Children's Benefit payable to the
dependent children of the deceased. The children must be under
18 years of age, or between the ages of 18 and 25, and attending a
school or university on a full-time basis.
Contributory Requirements: For the survivors of a deceased CPP
contributor to be eligible to receive a benefit, the deceased must have
contributed to CPP for at least 3 years. If the "contributory
period" (see next paragraph for definition) of the deceased was longer
than nine years, they must have contributed to CPP in:
one-third of the calendar years in the contributory
period, or
ten years, whichever is less.
The contributory period is the period in your life when you are allowed to
contribute to CPP. This period starts with the date you turn age 18 (or
January, 1966, whichever is later - this is when the CPP program
started). The contributory period ends when you start to collect CPP,
turn age 70, or die (whichever is earliest).
The children's benefit may be payable if a child has lost at least one
parent who was a CPP contributor. The 2011 children's benefit is a
maximum monthly payment of $214.85.
You can estimate the Survivor Benefit available to your spouse or
common-law partner by
referring to your Statement
of Contributions, which is sent to you annually. For purposes of the
CPP, common-law partners are two people, regardless of sex, who have lived
together in a conjugal relationship for at least one year.
See also our article on the Child Rearing Drop-out
Provision, which could help you meet the contributory requirements for
death benefits.
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