• Becoming a Member
• A Guide for New Members
• Earning Pension Credit
• Types of Pensions
• How to Apply for Your Pension
• Job and Life Changes
• Leaving the Plan
• FAQs
• Forms & Resources
• Glossary
• Access LPF

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Naming a Beneficiary

Your spouse is your primary beneficiary. If you die before your pension commences, a death benefit will be paid to the spouse with whom you were living at the time of your death. If you do not have a spouse, the benefit will be paid to the beneficiary your have named, therefore it is important that a beneficiary be shown on your records at all times. If you do not name a beneficiary, the proceeds will be paid to your Estate, and in some cases, this could cause a delay in releasing the death benefit.

You should also name a “secondary” or “contingent” beneficiary, in the event your primary beneficiary dies before a benefit is paid out.

It is recommended that you review and update your beneficiary at least once per year if your personal situation changes, or as part of your financial review.

Naming Minor Child/Children as Beneficiary

Do not name your minor child/children as your beneficiary, without a contingency plan. Most laws do not allow minor children to control assets, so a court will name a guardian or a trustee to take care of any assets left to a minor child. This may delay release of the assets, at a time when it may be most needed. In most provinces, children can take control of assets until they are 18 years old, and this may not be your original intent.

Therefore, if you want to name your minor child/children to receive the proceeds from your Pension Plan, in the event of your death prior to commencement of your pension, you should set up a “Trust Agreement” or designate a “Guardian” yourself.

Your lawyer or your financial advisor should be consulted for further information on this important subject.

Changing your beneficiary

You can change or update your beneficiary by completing and submitting the Beneficiary Designation Form.

If you and your spouse are getting separated or divorced or if your marriage is annulled and you and your spouse intend to divide your pension benefits earned under this Plan, a separation agreement or court order made in accordance with the Family Law Act must be provided to LPF.

The separation agreement/court order must fully describe how the pension benefits paid at termination, death or retirement will be divided. The maximum amount of pension benefits that can be assigned to a former spouse is 50% of the pension benefit earned during the period of the marriage or co-habitation, determined in accordance with applicable provisions of the Pension Benefit Act and the Family Law Act. Your pension will be reduced by the amount of any pension assigned to your former spouse.

In Ontario, your former spouse will be entitled to payments upon the earliest of your date of termination, retirement or death. This may vary from province to province.

If you are in the process of getting separated or divorced and need to obtain an estimate of the benefit you accrued during your marriage, please download and complete a Marriage Breakdown Estimate Request Form and send it to LPF by email, fax or regular mail.

What should you do upon a Marriage Breakdown

Download and complete a Member Personal Information Change Form and mail it to LPF as soon as possible after the date of separation from your spouse.

You should also review your beneficiary information. Log into AccessLPF to review your beneficiaries and complete a Beneficiary Designation Form.

Forward a certified copy of the separation agreement/court order to LPF. If you and your spouse are not signing a separation agreement or you don’t have a court order specifying the division of family property, please advise our office in writing.

Before January 1, 1987, a Break in Service would occur if you failed to earn at least 1 quarter of Future Service Credit in any 3 consecutive calendar years. If this occurred and you had Vested benefits, then your pension credits earned before 1987 would be calculated in accordance with the Plan Rules applicable at that time.

After January 1, 1987, you are not considered a participant of the Plan if any of the following occur:

Note

The following exceptions apply:

Reciprocal Agreement (Money Follows the Worker)

Effective January 1, 2009, if you are going to work temporarily out west, under the Western Fund or the BC Pension, you have the option of choosing to transfer your monthly pension contributions to LPF.

This Reciprocal Agreement between the three pension plans provides their members, who are working outside their home locals, the option to have their pension contributions transferred between each Plan, so that they can keep accumulating years of service, without incurring a break in service. For additional information, refer to our pamphlet Reciprocal Agreement “Money Follows the Worker”.

For more information, see Leaving the Plan.

After January 1, 1990 if you are absent from work due to an injury you sustained while working with an Employer that is covered under a Collective Agreement, and if you are receiving benefits under an applicable provincial Workers' Compensation arrangement, you may receive up to one year of Future Service Credit based on 100 hours per month during the time you receive Workers' Compensation Benefits. You cannot be receiving a pension from this Fund during the period in which the Fund has granted you WSIB Credit.

If you have/had a work-related injury and are receiving/received compensation benefits from the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) of Ontario, we require your written authorization and claim number in order to contact WSIB to obtain the necessary information to determine if you are entitled to receive additional pension credit. Please download and complete the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) of Ontario Authorization Form and mail it to our office. Once a response is received from the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board on Ontario, we will notify you.

If you are receiving/received compensation benefits from a province other than Ontario, please contact our office for more information.

Disability Service Credit While Disabled

In order to prevent a a Break in Past Service, if you became disabled before your Contribution Date and before January 1, 1988, the Break may be prevented up to a maximum of 3 years on the basis of evidence that includes a medical report or letter by a qualified physician. The report must establish your total incapacity to work in the job at which you were employed when you first became disabled.

If you became disabled after your Contribution Date and before January 1, 1988, you may be granted one year of Future Service Credit for each three consecutive months of proven disability up to a maximum of 3 years, on the basis of evidence that includes a medical report or letter by a qualified physician, which established your total incapacity to work in the job at which you were employed when you first became disabled. However, Future Service Credits will only be granted for years of disability if they are necessary for Vesting.

What is Permanently and Totally Disabled?

You are considered permanently and totally disabled if, as a result of an injury or disease, you are unable to work at a job for which you are reasonably qualified by education, training or experience, for the rest of your life. Your disability must be proven on the basis of satisfactory medical evidence submitted to the Trustees by a qualified physician.

If you apply for a Disability Pension, you may be required to be examined by a qualified physician, selected by the Trustees. As a part of receiving the Disability Pension, you may be required to be re-examined as often as determined necessary.

You may also be considered permanently and totally disabled if you are receiving disability benefits from the Canada/Quebec Pension Plan; however, you must submit your Canada/Quebec Pension Plan disability entitlement letter to provide evidence of this.

Your Disability Pension from the Fund will immediately stop if you return to work and/or recover from your disability. You may then apply for an Early Retirement Pension, or another type of pension, depending on whether you qualify. You may re-apply for a Disability Pension, but must provide a new medical release form to be completed by a qualified physician.

When a member who is not yet a pensioner dies, please notify our office as soon as possible. The following information must be provided to the Pension Fund office:

When a member dies before retirement, benefits are payable in this order of entitlement:

You can download and print an Application for Pre-Retirement Spouse’s or Survivor’s Benefit in the Forms & Resources section.