Lieutenant Governors Superannuation Act

An Act to provide for the payment of superannuation benefits to Lieutenant Governors Short title This Act may be cited as the Lieutenant Governors Superannuation Act. Definitions In this Act, contributor means a Lieutenant Governor who is required by subsection 4(1) to contribute to the Consolidated Revenue Fund and includes a Lieutenant Governor who has, pursuant to subsection 4(2), ceased to be required so to contribute, and a Lieutenant Governor who has ceased to hold office as the lieutenant governor of a province and has become entitled to an immediate pension or a deferred pension under this Act; (contributeur) deferred pension means a pension that becomes payable to a person at the time he or she reaches sixty years of age; (pension différée) disabled, with respect to a contributor, means afflicted with a permanent infirmity that renders the contributor incapable of performing the duties and functions of his office or incapable of pursuing regularly any substantially gainful occupation commensurate with his qualifications; (invalide) immediate pension means a pension that becomes payable to a person immediately on his becoming entitled thereto; (pension immédiate) Lieutenant Governor means a person who holds office as the lieutenant governor of a province on or after December 2, 1975; (lieutenant-gouverneur) survivor means a person who was married to a Lieutenant Governor or former Lieutenant Governor immediately before the death of the Lieutenant Governor or former Lieutenant Governor, and in the case of a former Lieutenant Governor, to him or her immediately before the time when he or she ceased to be a Lieutenant Governor; or a person who establishes that the person was cohabiting in a relationship of a conjugal nature with a Lieutenant Governor or former Lieutenant Governor for at least one year immediately before the death of the Lieutenant Governor or former Lieutenant Governor, and in the case of a former Lieutenant Governor, with him or her immediately before he or she ceased to be a Lieutenant Governor. (survivant) Pension to Lieutenant Governor Every contributor who has contributed under this Act in respect of five years of service as the lieutenant governor of a province is, subject to this Act, entitled on ceasing to hold office as the lieutenant governor of a province, if he or she has reached the age of sixty years or is disabled, to an immediate pension calculated in accordance with subsection (2), or if he or she has not reached the age of sixty years, subject to subsection (3), to a deferred pension, calculated in accordance with subsection (2), or a return of the total contributions made by him or her under this Part, together with interest, if any, calculated pursuant to subsection (5), at his or her option; and entitled, if he or she becomes disabled not having reached sixty years of age but having become entitled to a deferred pension, to an immediate pension calculated in accordance with subsection (2), in which case he or she ceases to be entitled to a deferred pension referred to in clause (a)(ii)(A). Amount of pension Subject to this Act, the pension to which a contributor is entitled under this section is three-tenths of the average salary received by him during the last five years of his service as the lieutenant governor of a province. Option deemed to be exercised Where under subsection (1) a contributor is entitled to a deferred pension or a return of contributions at his option and he fails to exercise the option within six months from the day on which he ceases to hold office as the lieutenant governor of a province, he shall be deemed to have exercised the option in favour of a deferred pension. Return of contributions to Lieutenant Governor on ceasing to hold office Every contributor who, on ceasing to hold office as the lieutenant governor of a province, is not entitled to a pension under subsection (1) is entitled, on ceasing to hold that office, to a return of the total contributions made by him under this Part, together with interest, if any, calculated pursuant to subsection (5). Interest on payment and amount of contributions When, at any time after December 31, 1975, a contributor or his or her survivor, estate or succession becomes entitled, pursuant to subsection (1) or (4) or section 8 or 9, to be paid any amount of the contributions made by the contributor under this Part, the President of the Treasury Board shall determine the total amount of contributions that have been made under this Part by the contributor during each year, in this subsection called a “contribution year”, in which contributions were made by the contributor; and calculate interest at the rate of four per cent compounded annually on the aggregate amount in respect of each contribution year from December 31 of that year to December 31 of the year immediately preceding the year in which the contributor ceased to hold office as the lieutenant governor of a province. Lieutenant Governor’s contribution Every Lieutenant Governor shall, by reservation from his salary, contribute to the Consolidated Revenue Fund six per cent of his salary. Contributions not required Notwithstanding anything in this Part, no contributor shall contribute as required by subsection (1) after he has contributed under this Act in respect of service as the lieutenant governor of a province totalling five years. Income Tax Act For the purposes of the Income Tax Act, the amount contributed by a Lieutenant Governor pursuant to subsection (1) shall be deemed to be contributed to or under a registered pension plan. Election not to contribute under section 4 A Lieutenant Governor may, in writing, elect, within six months after his appointment as the lieutenant governor of a province, not to contribute pursuant to section 4 and on so electing he shall, notwithstanding that section, not be required to contribute pursuant to that section. Return of contributions A Lieutenant Governor who has made an election under this section and who has made any contributions pursuant to section 4 or 13 is entitled to a return of the total amount of those contributions, without interest. Election irrevocable An election made under this section is irrevocable. When sections 3, 4, 7, 8 and 8.1 do not apply Sections 3 and 4 do not apply to a Lieutenant Governor who has made an election under this section and sections 7, 8 and 8.1 do not apply to the survivor of a Lieutenant Governor who has made an election under this section. Diversion to satisfy financial support order When any court in Canada of competent jurisdiction has made an order requiring a former Lieutenant Governor to pay financial support, amounts payable to the former Lieutenant Governor under this Part are subject to being diverted to the person named in the order in accordance with Part II of the Garnishment, Attachment and Pension Diversion Act. Payment deemed to be to pension recipient For the purposes of this Part, any payment made pursuant to subsection (1) shall be deemed to have been made to the former lieutenant governor in respect of whom the payment was made. Pension of surviving spouse Where a contributor who has ceased to hold office as the lieutenant governor of a province but who is entitled to be paid an immediate pension or a deferred pension under section 3 dies, his surviving spouse, if that person was his spouse at the time he ceased to hold office as the lieutenant governor of a province, shall be paid a pension equal to one-half of the immediate pension or deferred pension to which the contributor was entitled under that section. Idem Where a contributor who has, pursuant to subsection 4(2), ceased to be required to contribute pursuant to subsection 4(1) dies while holding office as the lieutenant governor of a province, his surviving spouse shall be paid a pension equal to one-half of the immediate pension or deferred pension to which the contributor would have become entitled under section 3 had he, immediately prior to his death, ceased, for any reason other than death, to hold office as the lieutenant governor of the province. Commencement of pension to surviving spouse A pension that is payable under this section to the surviving spouse of a contributor commences to be payable immediately after the death of the contributor. Return of contributions to surviving spouse Where a contributor dies while holding office as the lieutenant governor of a province and his surviving spouse is not entitled to a pension under section 7, his surviving spouse shall be paid the total amount of the contributions made by the contributor under this Part, together with interest, if any, calculated pursuant to subsection 3(5). Election for former Lieutenant Governor If the person to whom a former Lieutenant Governor is married or with whom he or she is cohabiting in a relationship of a conjugal nature, having so cohabited for a period of at least one year, would not be entitled to a pension under section 7 in the event of the former Lieutenant Governor’s death, the former Lieutenant Governor may make an election, in accordance with the regulations, to reduce the amount of the pension to which he or she is entitled in order that the person could become entitled to a pension under subsection (2). Payment A person referred to in subsection (1) is entitled to a pension in an amount determined in accordance with the election and the regulations if the former Lieutenant Governor dies and the election is not revoked or deemed to have been revoked, and the person was married to the former Lieutenant Governor at the time of his or her death, or was cohabiting with the former Lieutenant Governor in a relationship of a conjugal nature for a period of at least one year immediately before his or her death. No entitlement A person who is entitled to receive a pension under section 7 after the former Lieutenant Governor’s death is not entitled to a pension under subsection (2) in respect of that former Lieutenant Governor. Residual amounts Where, on the death of a contributor, there is no surviving spouse to whom a pension or return of contributions under this Act may be paid, or where a person who is entitled to a pension under this Act as the surviving spouse of a contributor dies, any amount by which the total amount of the contributions made by the contributor under this Part, together with interest, if any, calculated pursuant to subsection 3(5), exceeds the total amount paid to the contributor and his surviving spouse under this Part shall be paid, as a death benefit, to his estate or, if less than one thousand dollars, as the President of the Treasury Board may direct. Payments out of C.R.F. The pensions and returns of contributions payable under this Act shall be paid out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund. Payment of pension Where a pension becomes payable under this Act, it shall be paid in equal monthly instalments in arrears; subject to paragraph (c), be paid pro rata for any period of less than a month; and continue, subject to this Act, during the lifetime of the recipient and thereafter until the end of the month in which the recipient dies. Regulations The Governor in Council may make regulations prescribing the terms on which a contributor may pay for any period of service in instalments and the method of determining the amounts to be reserved from any amount payable to a contributor by Her Majesty in right of Canada, including any pension payable to him under this Act, and the amounts to be recovered from any pension payable to the survivor of a contributor under this Act in respect of unpaid instalments; prescribing the medical examination to be required to determine whether a contributor is disabled; prescribing forms for the purposes of this Act; and respecting the election that may be made under section 8.1, including regulations respecting the time, manner and circumstances in which an election may be made, revoked or deemed to have been revoked; the reduction to be made in the amount of a former Lieutenant Governor’s pension when an election is made; the amount of the pension to be paid under subsection 8.1(2); and any other matter that the Governor in Council considers necessary for carrying out the purposes and provisions of section 8.1. Definition of “Supplementary Retirement Benefits Account” In this Part, Supplementary Retirement Benefits Account means the Account established in the accounts of Canada pursuant to the Supplementary Retirement Benefits Act. Contributions Every contributor, except a contributor who has ceased to hold office as the lieutenant governor of a province, is required to contribute to the Supplementary Retirement Benefits Account, by reservation from his salary, prior to 1977, an amount equal to one-half of one per cent of his salary; and commencing with the month of January, 1977, an amount equal to one per cent of his salary. For the purposes of the Income Tax Act, the amount contributed by a contributor pursuant to section 13 shall be deemed to be contributed to or under a registered pension plan. Amount to be credited to S.R.B. Account Where any amount is paid into the Supplementary Retirement Benefits Account pursuant to section 13, an amount equal to the amount so paid shall be credited to that Account.