In 1995 British Columbia enacted the Family Relations Act, which provides for the assistance of plans in dividing pensions between spouses on marriage breakdown. In March 1996 a first edition of this publication was published to canvas the operation of the Family Relations Act and the Pension Benefits Standards Act, as these statutes apply when a marriage breaks down and one of the assets to be divided is a pension. Since publication of the first edition, a number of developments necessitated the publication of this second edition. This report is in the form of questions and answers. The material included is based upon questions that arose after Part 6 of the Family Relations Act was introduced in 1995.
An earlier report on the Division of Pensions on Marriage Breakdown was published by the Law Reform Commission of British Columbia in 1992. For a copy of the earlier report, click here.
Keywords: pensions, benefits & welfare, family law, divorce and separation, marriage breakdown, pension division, questions and answers, equitable distribution of marital property, Family Relations Act, Part 6, education
