Federal RulesPermanent DivisionDeadlinesSurvivor Pension
Canada Pension Plan s.55.1 | Form ISP1901 | 12 Month Rule | No Time Limit on Divorce
Four things people get wrong.
In Ontario a separation agreement generally cannot prevent a credit split.
Either former spouse can apply alone. The other does not have to consent.
The division is permanent and cannot be reversed once approved.
For a common law relationship the deadline is forty eight months and it is real.
Quick Answer
Can a separation agreement stop CPP credits from being split in Ontario?
Generally no. Credit splitting, formally the division of unadjusted pensionable earnings, is governed by the Canada Pension Plan and operates independently of provincial family law. Service Canada will honour an agreement not to split credits only where the agreement predates 4 June 1986, or where it was made in a province with legislation permitting spouses to opt out. Those provinces are Quebec, Saskatchewan, British Columbia and Alberta. Ontario is not among them. An Ontario separation agreement that purports to waive CPP credit splitting will generally not prevent a former spouse from applying, and either party can apply alone without the consent of the other.
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WHAT IT IS
Not a Pension, an Earnings Record
Your CPP entitlement is calculated from a record of the contributions you made across your working life. Credit splitting takes the contributions both spouses made during the years they lived together, adds them, and divides them equally between the two records. The formal name is the division of unadjusted pensionable earnings.
This is not a transfer of money and it is not a payment. It changes the underlying record from which every future CPP benefit either of you receives will be calculated, including retirement, disability and survivor benefits. Credits can be divided even where one spouse never contributed at all.
The last calendar year the couple lived together is always excluded from the division. Certain periods cannot be divided at all, including years before either of you turned eighteen, years after either of you turned seventy, years in which one of you was already receiving a CPP or QPP retirement pension, and years in which one of you was considered disabled for CPP purposes.
THE ONTARIO POINT
Your Agreement Probably Does Not Bind Service Canada
Separation agreements drafted in Ontario routinely contain a clause in which each party waives any claim to the other CPP credits. Practitioners include it, clients sign it, and it frequently does not do what everyone assumes.
Service Canada will give effect to a spousal agreement preventing a credit split in only two situations. The first is where the agreement was entered into before 4 June 1986. The second is where the agreement was made in a province whose legislation permits couples to agree not to split, and the Canada Pension Plan identifies those provinces as Quebec, Saskatchewan, British Columbia and Alberta.
Ontario has no such legislation. The practical consequence is that a former spouse in Ontario can apply for a credit split years after signing an agreement saying they would not, and the division will generally proceed. If the credit split matters to the overall settlement, it needs to be built into the numbers rather than contracted away.
THE DEADLINES
One Has No Limit, One Runs Out
Where a marriage ended in divorce or annulment on or after 1 January 1987, either former spouse may apply provided they lived together for at least twelve consecutive months. There is no time limit. An application decades later is still valid.
Where the spouses are separated but still married, the same twelve month cohabitation requirement applies together with twelve consecutive months of living apart, and again there is no general time limit. There is one important exception. If the other spouse dies, the application must be made within thirty six months of the date of death.
Common law is different and far less forgiving. Where a common law union ended on or after 1 January 1987, the application must be made within forty eight months of the date the parties began living apart, unless the former partner is alive and agrees in writing to waive that limit. That deadline passes quietly and it is not extended for people who did not know about it.
THE TRAP NOBODY WRITES ABOUT
A Credit Split Can Cost a Survivor Pension
A rule that applies to separated legal spouses deserves particular attention. Where a separated legal spouse has had a CPP credit split received and approved in January 2025 or later in respect of the same contributor, that person is not eligible to receive a survivor pension on that contributor death.
There is a narrow exception. Eligibility may survive where the parties reunited and lived together for twelve months or more immediately before the death.
For someone who is separated but has not divorced, and whose spouse is older or in poor health, this converts a routine administrative step into a decision with a real cost attached. The credit split may improve your own retirement pension modestly while removing a survivor pension worth considerably more. It should be modelled before it is filed, not afterwards, because the division cannot be reversed.
HOW IT FITS A NEGOTIATED SETTLEMENT
Price It In, Do Not Wish It Away
Because the entitlement cannot reliably be waived in Ontario, the sensible approach in a mediated or negotiated settlement is to establish what the split will actually produce for each party and then account for it elsewhere in the agreement.
Both parties can obtain their statement of contributions from Service Canada, and an actuary or a financial professional can model the effect. In a long marriage where one spouse stayed home, the split is often meaningful. In a marriage where both worked at similar levels for the same years, it may be close to neutral, and the clause everyone was arguing about turns out to be worth very little.
Applications are made on form ISP1901 or online through a My Service Canada Account, and a lawyer can act for a client in the process. Either party can start it, and the information one party provides about the period of cohabitation is disclosed to the other, who has the right to challenge it.
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Generally no. Service Canada honours such agreements only where they predate 4 June 1986 or were made in Quebec, Saskatchewan, British Columbia or Alberta. Ontario is not on that list.
Does my former spouse have to consent?
No. Either former spouse can apply alone. The other party is notified and can challenge the information provided, but not the entitlement itself.
Is there a deadline?
For a divorce on or after 1 January 1987 there is no time limit. For a separated married couple there is no general limit, but only thirty six months if the other spouse dies. For a common law union the limit is forty eight months from separation.
Can a credit split be undone?
No. The division is permanent and changes both earnings records for all future CPP purposes.
Could a credit split cost me a survivor pension?
It can. A separated legal spouse with a credit split approved in January 2025 or later is not eligible for a survivor pension in respect of that contributor, subject to a narrow reunification exception.
How do I apply?
Through a My Service Canada Account online, or by completing form ISP1901 and mailing it with the required documents. A lawyer may act on your behalf other than online.
Start My Enquiry
Speak to Us Before You File a Credit Split
The division is permanent. If you are separated rather than divorced, or your former partner is unwell, the timing of this application matters a great deal.
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Separating later in life
Related pages
Written for separations after a long marriage, where the pension matters more than the salary and there is less time to recover from a mistake.
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Immigration consulting services are provided by Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultants (RCICs) in good standing with the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants (CICC) under the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants Act, S.C. 2019, c. 29, s. 292.
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The no-obligation initial assessment is a brief introductory conversation. It does not include a review of your documents and does not constitute legal advice. Lexaltico LLP charges a fee for substantive consultations, including civil litigation, criminal defence and immigration matters; the firm may waive that fee at its discretion. Any fee is disclosed in advance and credited in full toward your account if you retain the firm. Documents are reviewed and advice given only at a paid consultation or once the firm has been retained. No solicitor-client relationship arises, and no duty of confidentiality applies, until confirmed in writing.
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Where we refer a matter to another firm, including through LexKonnect, we comply with Rule 3.6-6.1 of the Law Society of Ontario’s Rules of Professional Conduct. Any referral fee is set out in the Law Society’s standard referral agreement, signed by you before the referral proceeds, and no fee is payable to us unless and until the receiving firm has been paid for its work. You are never obliged to accept a referral and are free to retain any firm you choose. No referral arrangement affects the independent professional judgment of any lawyer at this firm.
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Failure to commence proceedings within applicable limitation periods may permanently bar your claim. In Ontario, the general limitation period is two (2) years from discovery under the Limitations Act, 2002, S.O. 2002, c. 24, Sched. B. Seek legal advice promptly.
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Not everyone at the firm is a lawyer. Licensed paralegals in Ontario may act only within the scope permitted by the Law Society of Ontario, which does not include most family, estate or criminal matters. Immigration consulting may be provided by Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultants, who are not lawyers. Each page and each biography states which applies. Ask us at the outset who will handle your matter and under which licence.
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We serve clients in a number of languages. Every page of this site is written and published in English. Where a document, a summary or a conversation is provided in another language, the English version governs in the event of any difference. If you need an interpreter, tell us when you book and we will arrange one.
Lexaltico LLP
Legal Notices
How Lexaltico LLP handles personal information, under PIPEDA and Ontario law.
What we collect
What you give us
When you use a form on this site, email us or telephone us, we collect what you choose to send:
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How we use it
Purpose
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Your rights under PIPEDA
Under the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act,
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Enquiries that do not become files
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records require, then destroyed.
If you are not satisfied with our answer you may complain to the Office of the Privacy
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Short, and written to be read rather than scrolled past.
The four things that matter most
Nothing on this site is legal advice, however specific it looks.
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Do not send confidential information before a retainer is signed.
Past results depend on their own facts and do not predict yours.
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Information, not advice
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statutes and cases by name, and they are reviewed. None of that makes them advice about your
matter. Law is applied to facts, and we do not know yours.
The difference is practical rather than technical. A page explaining that spousal support is
usually indefinite after a twenty year marriage is accurate as a general statement and may be
wrong about you, because of a domestic contract you signed, a period of separation you have
forgotten, or an income that is not what a tax return says it is.
Law also changes. Pages carry a review date where one is relevant. A page reviewed last year may
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Three things must happen first
A conflict check must be completed. We act for a great many people and
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That check happens before anything else and occasionally means we have to decline.
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Why you should not send us documents yet
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solicitor client relationship for the privilege to attach to.
It can also create a problem for you. If you send us detailed information about a dispute and we
are later approached by the other side, what you sent may affect whether we can act for either of
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Results, testimonials and reviews
What they do and do not tell you
Case results described anywhere on this site are real and are described accurately, and they are
specific to their own facts. A settlement at three times the original offer happened because of
that employer, that contract and that person’s history. It says nothing about what your
matter is worth.
Client reviews are the views of the people who wrote them. We do not offer anything in return for
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Calculators on this site produce estimates from the figures you enter. They apply published
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To the fullest extent the law permits, Lexaltico LLP is not liable for any loss arising from your
use of, or reliance on, anything published on this website.
Governing law
These terms are governed by the law of Ontario and the federal law of Canada that applies in
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Ontario, and marketing on this site is intended to comply with the
Rules of Professional Conduct.
Every limit on what this website tells you, and every thing it does not do, in one
place rather than in small print at the bottom of each page.
Before you rely on anything here
Four limits, and they matter in this order.
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Everything published on this website is general information. It is not legal
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create a solicitor client relationship. Do not act, or decide not to act, on anything here without
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These pages describe the law of Ontario, and of Alberta only
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Each page states the law as at the review date shown on it. Legislation is amended and case law
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These pages describe how a rule usually works. That is not the same as how it applies to your
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If you contact us
If you are in danger
If you or a child are in immediate danger, call 911.
This website is not an emergency service. Enquiries sent through a form here are read during
business hours and a reply may take up to 2 business days.
Using this website, submitting a form, sending an email or speaking to us on the telephone does
not make us your lawyers. That relationship arises only when the firm has
confirmed in writing that it has agreed to act, a conflict search has been completed, and a
retainer has been signed.
Confidentiality of enquiries
Do not send confidential or sensitive information through this website or by email until we have
confirmed in writing that we can act for you. Information sent before that point is
not treated as confidential and may prevent us from acting for you, or for
someone else, in a connected matter.
Response times
We aim to reply within 2 business days. Contacting us does not guarantee a reply within any
particular period, does not oblige the firm to act, and does not stop, extend or satisfy
any limitation period, filing date or court deadline.
Our telephone line
Our line is answered 24 hours a day, every day of the year. Outside office hours calls are taken
by our intake service, who record your details and pass them to the firm. A lawyer responds during
the next business day, or sooner if the matter is urgent. Answering the telephone is not the same
as giving legal advice, and no relationship arises from that call.
Who we are and how we are regulated
Law Society of Ontario
Lexaltico LLP is regulated by the Law Society of Ontario under the
Law Society Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. L.8. All lawyers practising in
Ontario through the firm are members in good standing.
Law Society of Alberta
Alberta matters are handled by lawyers licensed with, and in good standing with, the
Law Society of Alberta. A lawyer licensed in Ontario is not thereby licensed in
Alberta, and the reverse is also true.
Immigration regulation
Immigration consulting is provided by Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultants
in good standing with the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants under the
College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants Act, S.C. 2019, c. 29,
s. 292.
Lawyers, paralegals and consultants
Not everyone at the firm is a lawyer.
Licensed paralegals in Ontario may act only within the scope the Law Society
permits, which does not include most family, estate or criminal matters.
Immigration consultants are regulated by the College, not by a law society,
and are not lawyers.
Law clerks and managers support files but do not give legal advice.
Each page and biography states which applies. Ask at the outset who will handle your matter and
under which licence.
Languages
We serve clients in thirteen languages. Every page of this website is written and published in
English. Where anything is provided in another language, the English
version governs in the event of a difference. If you need an interpreter, tell us when
you book and we will arrange one.
Fees
The initial assessment
The no-obligation initial assessment is a brief introductory
conversation. It does not include a review of your documents and does not constitute
legal advice.
The firm charges a fee for substantive consultations, including in civil litigation,
criminal defence and immigration matters. The firm may waive that fee at its discretion.
Any fee is disclosed in advance and credited in full toward your account if you retain the
firm.
Referral fees
Where we refer a matter to another firm, including through LexKonnect, we comply with Rule 3.6-6.1 of the Law Society of Ontario’s Rules of Professional Conduct. Any referral fee is set out in the Law Society’s standard referral agreement, signed by you before the referral proceeds, and no fee is payable to us unless and until the receiving firm has been paid for its work. You are never obliged to accept a referral and are free to retain any firm you choose. No referral arrangement affects the independent professional judgment of any lawyer at this firm.
What is published on this site
Calculators and estimators
They produce estimates from what you type and cannot know the rest. They do not
account for the terms of your contract, statutory exceptions, or the discretion a court will
apply. Do not make a decision on a number produced by a calculator.
Past results
Any outcome described happened on its own facts, before its own decision maker,
under the law as it stood at the time. Past results do not predict or guarantee the result of any
other case.
Reviews and testimonials
Reviews shown here are written by third parties and published on platforms we do not control. Each
describes one person’s experience of one matter. They are not a promise, a
prediction or a guarantee about any other matter.
Links to other websites
This site links to regulators, courts, government sources, professional associations and social
platforms, all operated by others. We do not control them, we are not responsible for
their content or accuracy, and a link is not an endorsement.
Other notices
Limitation periods
Failure to start a proceeding within the applicable limitation period may permanently bar
your claim. In Ontario the general period is two years from discovery
under the Limitations Act, 2002, S.O. 2002, c. 24, Sched. B.
Shorter periods apply to many claims. Seek advice promptly. Nothing on this website extends a
limitation period.
Accessibility
We aim to meet the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act
and WCAG 2.1 Level AA. If any part of this site prevents you from reaching us, telephone
+1 416 333 6200 or write to
hello@lexaltico.com and we will provide the information
in another format, at no charge.
