The plaintiff was injured in a motor vehicle accident. He took early retirement under his union pension plan, and began receiving benefits at age 58 (rather than 65). The plan entitled a person of age 55 or older to take early retirement if he or she became totally and permanent disabled. The defendant asserted that it was permitted to deduct the early pension benefits from the income loss claim. The plaintiff argued that the payments did not fall within the type of deductible benefit contemplated in s. 267 of the Insurance Act. The defendants brought a motion for a determination on deductibility. Justice Nicholson considered that the plaintiff had paid into the pension plan during his working years, and agreed with the plaintiff that the defendants were seeking to deduct payments made from the plaintiff’s own property – his vested pension plan. The court held that the benefits were not deductible, and dismissed the defendant’s motion.
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