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Life Changes

Separation and divorce

Find out how a separation or divorce may affect your pension benefits.

Relationship changes and your pension

As you go through both professional and personal changes throughout your career, OMERS is here to help.  

As an OMERS member, if your spousal relationship ends, dividing your pension with your former spouse is not a requirement – the decision is up to you and your former spouse.  

If you still have a benefit in the OMERS Plan, you may be required to obtain a valuation of the pension benefits accrued during your relationship, known as a Statement of Family Law Value (FLV). This will help you and your former spouse value your net family property. 

We outline the steps on this page. The Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA) also has a comprehensive guide that can assist you in navigating this process. Neither FSRA nor OMERS can provide you with legal or financial advice. We encourage you to seek independent legal advice. 

The rules on this page apply only to those with a separation or divorce document (a certified court order, family arbitration award or domestic contract) signed or executed on or after January 1, 2012.

If your separation or divorce document was signed or executed before January 1, 2012, please contact OMERS Member Experience.

Important information on survivor benefits

  • Your spousal status impacts the OMERS benefits payable if you pass away. This could affect your decision on whether or not to divide your pension. Whatever you decide, remember to keep in touch with OMERS regarding whether your pension is being divided and your spousal status. Visit the Survivor benefits page for information.

  • Your survivor benefits could be affected if your spousal relationship ends. You should review and update your beneficiaries as soon as possible by logging in to your myOMERS account.

How to obtain a Statement of Family Law Value

Step 1: Apply for a Statement of FLV

Who can apply?

Under the Ontario Pension Benefits Act (PBA), you are eligible to apply if you are: 

  • A member of the Plan who is working (i.e., active), deferred or retired at the FLV date; or 

  • A former spouse of an OMERS member who was legally married to the member (common-law spouses cannot apply). 

How to apply

To apply for a Statement of FLV, please complete an Application for Family Law Value (Family Law Form FL-1 ) and send it to OMERS.

Here’s how to complete Part B of the Family Law Form FL-1:

Please check your FSRA form carefully before sending it to OMERS. 

You may be required to submit additional documents along with your form. See Part G of the Family Law Form FL-1 for an explanation of these documents. Make sure you also complete any required appendices. 

After you’ve completed the form, mail it to: 

OMERS Administration Corporation
ATTN: Member Experience
900-100 Adelaide St. W.
Toronto, ON, M5H 0E2

You must send the application to OMERS. Do not send the application to FSRA. 

You’ll receive your Statement of FLV within 60 days of OMERS receiving your completed application. If there is information missing, OMERS will contact you or your designated contact person directly.

OMERS can only process statements after the FLV date, which is the separation date agreed to by you and your former spouse to divide family property. OMERS cannot process statements for a future FLV date. 

Step 2: OMERS prepares the Statement of FLV

OMERS will prepare a Statement of FLV, which will include the maximum amount that OMERS can be directed to pay your former spouse if you need to make an equalization payment. An equalization payment is the payment one spouse owes to the other to account for the difference between the net family property they accumulated during their spousal relationship. The spouse with the smaller net family property receives the equalization payment. 

Depending on the member’s status in the Plan (working, deferred or retired) at the FLV date, one of Family Law Form FL-4B, Family Law Form FL-4D or Family Law Form FL-4E will be used. FSRA classifies a working member as an “active” member on its forms. 

Both the member and the former spouse (married or common-law) will be sent a copy of the Statement of FLV, regardless of who applied. If either spouse has designated a contact person, only the contact person will be sent the statement. 

How the FLV is calculated 

The FLV values the pension you accrued during the period of your spousal relationship. OMERS uses a method that involves using contributory earnings and credited service (as at the FLV date), legally required assumptions and the terms of the OMERS Plan to calculate the FLV through a formula set in the law. 

The assumptions used are disclosed on the Statement of FLV. The FLV must be calculated according to requirements established by the law so the methods and formulae are standardized. 

The FLV does not include benefits under the Retirement Compensation Arrangement (RCA) for the Plan or the member’s Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVCs) value as at the FLV date, but may reflect service purchases, omission periods and transfers. For more about the RCA, AVCs, service purchases, omissions and transfers, as well as the impact of dual memberships, see the information below. 

Step 3: Decide whether to divide the pension

Once you receive the Statement of FLV from OMERS, you and your former spouse will need to decide if your pension will be divided. 

If you decide to divide your pension, your separation or divorce document must clearly outline the division of the pension amount as either a specific amount or a percentage of the FLV. You also must ensure that the FLV date matches the date on the Statement of FLV. For members with more than one OMERS membership, this must be indicated for each membership separately. 

If you have an AVC account or you are entitled to an RCA benefit, these benefits must be addressed separately in the applicable document. 

OMERS cannot accept a third-party valuation as a basis for the OMERS Statement of FLV.

Step 4: Apply to transfer or divide the pension from OMERS 

If you and your former spouse choose to divide your pension, your former spouse must apply for a transfer (if you are a working or deferred member) or division (if you are a retired member) and provide the supporting documentation. OMERS will transfer or divide the pension within 60 days of receiving a completed application.

Working and deferred members 

To apply to transfer the FLV from the Plan, send the following to OMERS:

1. A separation or divorce document

A separation or divorce document that: 

  • Is a certified document

  • Clearly specifies the transfer amount or percentage of the FLV that is to be paid from the Plan

  • States the FLV date that corresponds to the date listed in the Statement of FLV

2. Spouse’s Application for Transfer of a Lump Sum (Family Law Form FL-5) 

  • Parts A to D completed by the member’s former spouse

  • Part E completed with the financial institution information or Part F completed with the pension plan information

  • Part H signed and dated by the member’s former spouse

Reasons why your Family Law Value application could be delayed

Start date and separation date

Your application could be delayed if:

  • There is a discrepancy between the start date and separation date on Family Law Form FL-1 vs. Appendix A – Joint Declaration of a Period of Spousal Relationship

  • The start date and/or separation date are incomplete (e.g., March 2000 would not be accepted because a specific day is required to be reported)

  • Proof of start date and/or separation date were not included with your application

Missing information

Some of the most common pieces of missing information are: 

  • Proof of age for the member's former spouse – acceptable proof is a legible photocopy of one of the following: birth certificate, baptismal papers, Canadian registration of birth, Canadian passport, Canadian citizenship papers or Canadian driver’s licence

  • Direct contact information for each party

Fees

The fees are missing or they were included when they are not required.

Amendments

Amendments to the Application for FLV not initialled by the applicant, whether it was you or your former spouse.