After the Death of a Spouse: Your Benefit Checklist

This checklist is for anyone whose husband, wife or common-law partner has died in Canada. One key fact: CPP only pays up to 12 months of back payments, so apply for the survivor’s pension early.

In the first 30 days

  1. Tell Service Canada about the death. This stops CPP, Old Age Security (OAS), Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) and Allowance payments in your spouse’s name. Call 1-800-277-9914 (TTY 1-800-255-4786), Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 4:30pm local time, and have their Social Insurance Number (SIN) ready. You can also mail or bring proof of death, such as the funeral director’s statement of death, to a Service Canada Centre. See Cancel CPP and OAS benefits after a death.
  2. Ask for funeral help before you sign a contract, if money is tight. In Ontario, you can apply to your local municipality, but you must apply before you sign with a funeral provider. In British Columbia, the Burial or Cremation Supplement needs approval before services are provided; call 1-866-866-0800. In Quebec, the special funeral benefit pays up to $2,500 through Services Québec, but you must first apply for the QPP death benefit.
  3. Return payments made after the month of death. CPP and OAS (including GIS and the Allowance) are paid for the month the person died. Anything paid after that month must be repaid. For direct deposit, ask the bank to send those payments back, or send a cheque payable to the Receiver General for Canada. Paper cheques go to Returned Cheques, PO Box 2000, Matane QC G4W 4N5.
  4. Tell the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). Call 1-800-959-8281 (tax) or 1-800-387-1193 (benefits), or mail form RC4111. If a benefit cheque arrives in your spouse’s name and has not been cashed, return it so the CRA can pay the estate.
  5. Update your own marital status to widowed. Tell the CRA by the end of the month after the death. Use My Account, call 1-800-959-8281, or send form RC65. Your benefits are adjusted starting the month after your status changed.
  6. Have the executor apply for the CPP death benefit. It is a one-time payment to the estate: a basic $2,500, plus a possible $2,500 top-up, for a maximum of $5,000. The top-up applies only if the person never received a CPP or QPP retirement or disability pension and left no spouse or partner who qualifies for the survivor’s pension. The executor should apply within 60 days of the death, online in My Service Canada Account or with form ISP1200.
  7. If your spouse was a Veteran, call Veterans Affairs Canada. If they received a VAC disability pension, you keep getting their pension for one year, then the survivor’s pension starts on its own, with no form. Call 1-866-522-2122, Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 4:30pm local time.

In the first 3 months

  1. Apply for the CPP survivor’s pension. You may qualify if you were legally married to the person, or lived with them common-law for at least 1 year. A separated legal spouse may qualify if there was no common-law partner. In 2026 the maximum is $803.54 a month under 65 and $904.59 at 65 and over. Apply in My Service Canada Account or with form ISP1300. The first payment takes about 6 to 12 weeks.
  2. Claim the CPP children’s benefit. Children under 18, or 18 to 25 and in school, can get $307.81 a month each in 2026. For a child under 18, the parent or guardian applies on the same ISP1300 form. Students aged 18 to 25 apply themselves with form ISP1402. See Benefits for children under 25.
  3. If you are 60 to 64, apply for the Allowance for the Survivor. It is for people with low income whose spouse or partner died and who have not remarried or started a new common-law relationship. You must live in Canada and have lived here at least 10 years since age 18. For July to September 2026, it pays up to $1,702.34 a month if your income is under $30,696. It is not automatic, so you have to apply.
  4. If you get GIS, check your new amount. Service Canada asks you to contact them when your spouse dies. The GIS maximum for a single or widowed person is $1,123.17 a month (July to September 2026), compared with $676.09 when your spouse also gets full OAS, so your payment may change.
  5. Check your Canada Child Benefit (CCB). If you are the surviving parent, the CRA usually moves the children to your account, so you do not need a new application. The CRA recalculates your payment based on your new family income. A grandparent or other caregiver needs to apply in My Account or with form RC66.
  6. Watch for your Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit. This is the former GST/HST credit. If your spouse’s payments included an amount for you, the CRA automatically decides if you can get the remaining payments. You must have filed a tax return to get them.
  7. In Quebec, contact Retraite Québec and Revenu Québec. Quebec workers are covered by the Québec Pension Plan (QPP), not CPP. Notify both as soon as possible. Through Retraite Québec you can apply for the QPP death benefit ($2,500), the surviving spouse’s pension (up to $881.48 a month at 65 and over in 2026) and the orphan’s pension ($307.81 a month).

In the first year

  1. File your spouse’s final tax return. If the death was between January 1 and October 31, it is due April 30 of the next year. If it was between November 1 and December 31, it is due 6 months after the death. If your spouse or you ran a business, the filing date is later, but any tax owing is still due on those dates. See filing due dates.
  2. Keep filing your own taxes every year. GIS, the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit and the CCB are all worked out from your tax return, even if you have little or no income.
  3. Apply for anything you missed before 12 months pass. CPP pays back at most 12 months (11 months plus the month you apply), so a late survivor’s pension application can cost you money.
  4. Check provincial programs for seniors and low-income people. Top-ups such as Ontario’s GAINS, the BC Senior’s Supplement and the Alberta Seniors Benefit depend on your income, which may now be different. Use the links below.
  5. Tell Service Canada if you start a new relationship. The Allowance for the Survivor is only for people who have not remarried or entered a new common-law relationship. The CPP survivor’s pension continues if you remarry.

Money you may now qualify for

Common questions

How much is the CPP death benefit in 2026?

The basic amount is $2,500. A top-up of another $2,500 is possible in some cases, for a maximum of $5,000.

Do I have to pay back my spouse’s last CPP or OAS payment?

No, the estate keeps the payment for the month of death. Payments for any month after that must be returned.

Does the funeral home tell Service Canada?

Do not count on it. Service Canada asks you to report the death yourself by phone, mail or in person, and a funeral director’s statement of death can be used as proof.

Will I lose the CPP survivor’s pension if I remarry?

No, the CPP survivor’s pension continues if you remarry. The Allowance for the Survivor is different: it is only for people who have not remarried or started a new common-law relationship.

Not sure what else you can claim? Try our benefits checkup. Be careful of scams: Service Canada and the CRA never ask for fees, gift cards or passwords by text or email.