Part 4: The Existing Member Information Changes and Events

Changes to Personal Information – Pension Plan and/or Disability Income Plan

A Data Change Form (Form #30) is required to be completed and submitted to the MEBP Administration Office if a Member has made changes, or if a correction is required to the information that MEBP currently has on file. This form and an on-line version of the form (#30.W) are available under FORMS – Employers section on the MEBP website.

The Data Change Form (Form #30) is to be used to make changes to the following information on the Member's MEBP account:

  • Address
  • Employee's Name - given and/or surname. If a Member's name is changed due to marriage or for any other reason, attach to Form #30 an official supporting document confirming the name change (i.e. marriage certificate or other Vital Statistics document).
  • Telephone numbers
  • Email address
  • Date of Birth - If a Member’s date of birth needs to be corrected, attach a copy of proof of age to Form #30, to support the change. Refer to the "Proof of Age" in Part 2 of this manual for a list of acceptable proof of age documents.
  • Plan Entry Date - If the Member‘s pension entry date needs to be adjusted, you must provide an explanation for the change.
  • Marital Status - if you have been advised by your Member that they have experienced a relationship breakdown, please review the "Spousal Relationship Breakdown" section of this Manual.

Changes to Beneficiary – Pension Plan

If a Member wants to change, or add, beneficiary information for the Pension Plan, they must complete and submit a Pension Plan Beneficiary Designation and Change Form (FORM #25) to the MEBP Administration Office. The MEBP Administration Office must receive the signed original form for it to be valid. The Member should retain a copy for their personal records. This form is available under FORMS – Employers Section on the MEBP website.

MEBP follows the requirements set out in The Pension Benefits Act and Regulations of Manitoba (PBA), when paying a pre-retirement death benefit. If a Member of the Pension Plan dies prior to retirement, the plan will pay a death benefit to the spouse, eligible common-law partner or beneficiary. Prior to completing the Beneficiary Designation Section, the Member should read the information provided on both sides of Form #25.

Spouses and eligible common-law partners have legislated rights under the PBA, which cannot be changed by a Will or Court Order and should be named as the beneficiary to pre-retirement death benefits. The PBA states that a pre-retirement death benefit must be paid to a spouse or common-law partner UNLESS:

  • at the time of death the Member and their spouse or common-law partner, were living separate and apart due to a relationship breakdown or,
  • the Member’s spouse or common-law partner signed an approved waiver form to give up his/her rights to the pre-retirement death benefit and the waiver has not been revoked.

If the spouse or common-law partner wants to waive his/her entitlement to a pre-retirement death benefit, they must complete the Waiver of Entitlement to Pre-Retirement Survivor or Death Benefit (Form #26) and send the original to the MEBP Administration Office. This form is available under FORMS on the MEBP Website. If a spouse or common-law partner has completed and submitted Form #26, they can no longer be named as a pre-retirement beneficiary to the pension plan, unless the waiver is revoked. A waiver can be revoked by the spouse or common-law partner at any time prior to the employee's death by completing the Revocation of Waiver Form - Pre-Retirement Survivor or Death Benefit (Form #27). This form is available under FORMS – Employees Section on the MEBP website.

If the Member does not have an eligible spouse or common-law partner, they may designate someone else as a beneficiary. One or more people, an estate or an institution may be named as a beneficiary. If more than one person is named, please specify the percentage of the benefit that each person is to receive. If a percentage is not specified, MEBP will split the benefit equally.

If the named beneficiary(ies) is under the age of 18, it is mandatory that a trustee appointment be made on Form #25.