Saskatchewan judge upholds $134,000 pension valuation in property division dispute, rejecting ex-husband's claim for a higher share
October 24, 2024
A Saskatchewan nurse will not have to top-up her former spouse’s share of her pension after a judge accepted the Saskatchewan Healthcare Employees’ Pension Plan’s (SHEPP) method of valuation.
SHEPP valued the wife’s pension at $134,000. The husband retained an independent valuator who concluded that the termination method utilized by SHEPP resulted in an underestimate of the pension’s true worth once the wife’s ongoing accrual was taken into consideration as well as the fact that she was unable to retire for another seven years.
The husband proposed $200,000 as a fairer median value of the pension for purposes of property division. However, only half of the value of the pension as determined by SHEPP (or $67,000) could be transferred to the husband. The husband claimed that his ex-wife should provide a top-up from her share of the family property to make up for the difference.
In the end, the judge declined to order any top-up, accepting that SHEPP’s valuation was appropriate in the circumstances. Referencing a recent Alberta Court of Appeal decision on the same issue, the judge held that they were not convinced that the husband would get less than the wife if the SHEPP valuation was used.
“He has the advantage of accessing his portion of the pension now and though it will be transferred to an RRSP, he can invest whereas [she] is limited to waiting to receive whatever pension benefit she may be entitled to,” the decision reads.
To read the judge’s decision, click on more information below:
