This lawyer, mediator and collaborative lawyer with a certificate in pension law, explains in this paper some of the broader contexts and requirements of pension plans often relevant to the family law case. After setting out the historical context of today’s pension standards relating to pension division on marriage breakdown, the author identifies some of the preliminary considerations for family law lawyers dealing with pensions, details surrounding defined benefit and defined contribution plans, registered versus non-registered plans, and  private and public sector plans.

This paper was presented at the LESA Pensions program in October 2014.