2,667
edits
Difference between revisions of "Unmarried Spouses"
From Clicklaw Wikibooks
→Government Benefits
| Line 150: | Line 150: | ||
==Government Benefits== | ==Government Benefits== | ||
The fact that a couple live together may entitle one or both of them to certain benefits paid by the federal or provincial government | The fact that a couple live together may entitle one or both of them to certain benefits paid by the federal or provincial government if they also qualify as ''spouses'' under the applicable rules and legislation. It can also expose them to the prospect of losing those benefits, most notably social assistance payments. | ||
===Social Assistance=== | ===Social Assistance=== | ||
The ministry which administers the Employment and Assistance Act and is responsible for social assistance often treats anyone living together as a couple as being in a | |||
The ministry which administers the ''Employment and Assistance Act'' and is responsible for social assistance often treats anyone living together as a couple as being in a spousal relationship, whether you are or aren't. This will decrease, and sometimes cancel, your benefit entitlement under what's known as the ''spouse in the house'' rule. As soon as you and your partner — or the person the ministry claims is your partner — stop living together, the ministry will usually return to treating you as single. | |||
===Employment Insurance=== | ===Employment Insurance=== | ||
EI applies the same | EI applies the same standards to unmarried spouses as it does to married spouses. | ||
===Canada Pension Plan=== | ===Canada Pension Plan=== | ||
Unmarried spouses may share in each other's accumulated CPP credits, however this sharing is not automatic. You must apply to equalize your CPP credits with your spouse's CPP credits. | |||
There may be positive income tax consequences if you elect to share | There may be positive income tax consequences if you elect to share a CPP pension that is being paid out. You will be eligible to share your pension if you have been living together as a couple for at least one year and you are both at least 60 years old. | ||
===Old Age Security Pension=== | ===Old Age Security Pension=== | ||
| Line 173: | Line 174: | ||
The Medical Services Plan will cover your partner on your plan without any minimum limit on the length of time you've been living together, although you must have signed your partner up on the plan and must pay the family rate rather than the single rate. | The Medical Services Plan will cover your partner on your plan without any minimum limit on the length of time you've been living together, although you must have signed your partner up on the plan and must pay the family rate rather than the single rate. | ||
If you or your partner receive any workplace medical or dental insurance coverage, check with the plan | If you or your partner receive any workplace medical or dental insurance coverage, check with the plan administrator to see if unmarried couples are eligible beneficiaries under your plan. | ||
===ICBC Death Benefits=== | ===ICBC Death Benefits=== | ||
A surviving | A surviving unmarried spouse can apply to receive death benefits from ICBC when the other spouse is killed in a car accident, regardless of whose fault the accident was. | ||
==Further Reading in this Chapter== | ==Further Reading in this Chapter== | ||
