2023 Annual statements have been delivered. We’re pleased to offer a fresh look and format for your statement and would like to clarify the way spousal beneficiary information is shown on your statement.
We have received inquiries from members where their statement illustrates:
1. They have a spousal beneficiary named (found on page 2 of the statement), but
2. They do not have a spouse named (found on page 1 of the statement).
If the above is how your annual statement is illustrated, you may want to know why. Your statement is illustrated this way because, until recently, CSS captured your spousal beneficiary information while you were saving and accruing your pension savings. However, CSS only captured your spouse’s information when you were commencing a retirement income with CSS or in the event of a spousal relationship breakdown.
In 2022, processes and requirements were updated, and we began capturing both spousal beneficiary information and spousal information in the electronic member files to comply with applicable pension rules. With the 2023 annual statements, we began reporting the information that we had in the database as it related to both the spousal beneficiary information and the spouse information.
Your inquiries about how this information is presented on your 2023 annual statement are important, and we want you to know that we have identified a way to update your CSS records as smoothly as possible. We will update your pension records as follows: If you have a spousal beneficiary named, your “spouse information” will be updated accordingly.
Please ensure that you visit our annual statement page for more information about your statement. If you wish to make any information updates, please submit a Member Information Change form and/or a Designation of Beneficiary form.