7 January 2003 Internal T.I. 2002-0168347 F - RETRAITE OU PENSION ALIMENTAIRE -- summary under Subparagraph 56(1)(a)(i)

The separation agreement (later ratified by court judgement) between the taxpayer and former spouse agreed to share equally the income from the pension fund of the taxpayer's former employer. Pursuant to the subsequent divorce decree, the ex-spouses were to share equally the pension rights held by the taxpayer. The Directorate indicated that since a clause in the separation agreement indicated that the amounts paid were intended to be support, they constituted alimony payments rather than pension income to the recipient, so that IT-499, para. 11 was inapplicable. However, under the terms of the divorce decree (which provided that the former spouses would share equally the pension rights held by the taxpayer, accumulated during the period when they were living together, and that each renounced any claim to future maintenance from the other), this element fell away, and the amounts were received by the ex-spouse as pension payments.