August 20, 2024 – Notional Disposition Costs

“Eighth, with respect to his pension, RRSP and LIRA, Mr. Pierre has chosen a notional tax rate of 26.9% while Ms. Pierre has chosen one for him of 24.7%. In a report dated July 24, 2017, Guy Martel noted that the former would be Mr. Pierre’s notional tax rate at a retirement age of 65, while the later would be his rate at a retirement age of 60. In Van Delst v. Hronowsky, 2021 ONSC 2353, I noted at paragraph 35 that the proposition that the normal retirement age of a PSSA plan member may travel with the pension valuation and not necessarily with the determination of disposition costs is supported by Knight v. Knight, 2018 ONSC 3294, wherein Justice Nelson indicated at paragraph 55 that “notional disposition costs may be deducted from a spouse’s net family property if there is satisfactory evidence of a likely disposition date and it is clear that such costs will be inevitable when the owner disposes of the assets or is deemed to have disposed of them.” (Underlining is original). Like Ms. Van Delst in that case, Mr. Pierre testified that he absolutely intends to work until age 65, and he submits that his notional tax rate at retirement should be as of age 65. I found in Van Delst that the wife’s notional tax rate at age 65 was acceptable despite that FLV was calculated on a normal retirement age of 60. However, I distinguish that case on the basis that the rate had already been used in my April 2019 judgment for other of the wife’s post-retirement assets and not overturned by the Court of Appeal, notwithstanding the ordered recalculation. Logically, however, if Mr. Martel has calculated the disposition rates based on the value of all of Mr. Pierre’s projected income at ages 60 and 65, the rate should correlate to those values. The notional disposition rate for Mr. Pierre’s assets in the Comparative NFP will, therefore, be 24.7%.”

            Pierre v. Pierre, 2021 ONSC 5650 (CanLII) at 98