Eliminate marriage after 60 clause
Petitioners ask the Government of Canada to eliminate the "marriage after 60" clause so spouses marrying veterans after 60 receive survivor superannuation automatically. The government responds: CFSA limits automatic survivors to unions begun before 60.
Why we would sign this petition
- Removes an eligibility rule petitioners say penalizes spouses who marry veterans after 60, guaranteeing automatic survivor pensions.
- Prevents veterans from halving their pensions to provide for survivors, reducing the risk of poverty for veterans and their partners.
- Implements steps cited by petitioners (Bill C‑221, ACVA report) and follows past ministerial directions to correct the rule.
Why we wouldn’t sign this petition
- Pension plans commonly limit survivor eligibility to unions begun while employed or before a cutoff age; changing this departs from common pension practice.
- An existing optional survivor benefit lets members provide protection by reducing their pension; removing the clause could increase plan costs or alter retirement choices.
- Courts have previously upheld age-based limits and administrative or legal complexity may argue for caution before changing long‑standing rules.
The summary and both sets of reasons are AI-generated from the petition and given equal weight. Claims are the petitioners’ own; consult the official record for the full text.
Official petition
Petition to the Government of Canada, Whereas: • The 1901 Militia Pensions Act contained a clause, known as the "gold-digger clause" that disallowed pensions to survivors of veterans who married after the age of 60. • Spouses of veterans, including common-law partners, who marry after the age of 60 are not entitled to the automatic survivor pensions under the Canadian Forces Superannuation Act. • The National Council of Veterans' Associations, RCMP Veterans Association, and the Armed Forces Pensioners/Annuitants' Association of Canada have advocated for the elimination of the "marriage after 60" clause. • The "marriage after 60" clause applies to Veterans, RCMP veterans, and all federal public servants. • The Prime Minister's 2015 and 2017 mandate letters to the Minister of Veterans Affairs directed the elimination of the "marriage after 60" clause. • The "Veterans Survivors Fund" in the 2019 budget has not been successfully rolled out to survivors of Veterans. • We should not punish Veterans or any federal public servant for finding love after the age of 60. • Veterans are choosing to live in poverty now, halving their pension, in order to give their survivor a portion of their pension after their death. • Bill C-221 lays out the elimination of the clause and could be adopted by the government. • The 44th parliament voted to concur in the ACVA report, "Survivor Retirement Pension Benefits". THEREFORE, we, the undersigned, citizens of Canada, call upon the Government of Canada to immediately act to eliminate the "marriage after 60" clause and ensure that the spouse, or common-law partner, of a Veteran who married after age 60 automatically receives the superannuation benefit.
Government response
Response by the Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence Signed by Sherry Romanado The Canadian Armed Forces offer competitive salaries and world-class benefit packages that start on the first day of a member's service, up until after they retire. To ensure members are fairly compensated for their service to Canada, National Defence continues to work to better reflect today's reality for Canada's Veterans. The Canadian Forces Superannuation Act, which governs the Canadian Forces Pension Plan, allows for the payment of a benefit to a survivor or eligible children if a marriage or common-law relationship is established before the Canadian Armed Forces pensioner is 60 years of age. The age limit of 60 for the Canadian Forces Pension Plan was implemented in recognition of the fact that Canadian Armed Forces members tend to retire earlier than the average Canadian. In 1994, the Federal Court of Appeal ruled that this provision does not discriminate on the basis of age, and is not in breach of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms (Sutherland v. Canada, 1994). The Supreme Court of Canada denied leave to appeal this decision. It is common among pension plans in Canada to limit eligibility for survivor benefits to the spouse or partner that existed when the plan member was employed. In doing so, pension plans do not take responsibility for changes in a personal status once that person is no longer employed. The Canadian Forces Pension Plan, however, provides a more generous benefit than most pension plans, by offering an automatic survivor benefit to partners so long as the marriage or common law union began prior to age 60, irrespective of when the member retired. Additionally, in 1992, the Canadian Forces Superannuation Act was amended to give plan members some flexibility in their ability to provide protection for their post-retirement spouses or common-law partners acquired after reaching age 60. These amendments introduced the Optional Survivor Benefit, which provides Canadian Armed Forces members with the option to reduce their pensions by 30, 40, or 50 percent in order to provide a corresponding benefit for their surviving spouse. The reduction continues for the lifetime of the pensioner unless his or her spouse predeceases him or her, or the marriage is dissolved by divorce or annulment, in which case the full pension benefit is reinstated to the member from there forward. Budget 2019 announced the Veterans Survivors Fund to support Veterans who married over age 60 and their spouses. Veterans Affairs Canada has worked with Statistics Canada to identify the size and characteristics of the survivor population, although at this time, the Veterans Survivors Fund has not been established.