Widow warned best hope for change to CPP survivor benefits rules is top court
OTTAWA — Samantha MacDougall is staring down a tough road.
Late next month, she’s scheduled to appear before the social security tribunal, the final appeals body on benefits decisions, to argue the government was wrong to deny her Canada Pension Plan survivor benefits.
Anyone under age 35 who loses a spouse only receives CPP survivor benefits if they have children or a disability. Otherwise, they must wait until they reach age of 65 to collect benefits.
MacDougall was 30 when her partner Greg Weeks died in 2013. Her two stepsons were too old to be considered dependents, nor did she have a disability.