Under CPP you can do volunteer work. To qualify for CPP disability you just can’t be able to do regular (i.e. go to a job every day..)

If someone (in Ontario) cannot pay their bills due to an injury or job loss.. etc. You may be able to get a grant or loan from the rent bank to cover short term rent etc. I don’t know if other provinces have similar plans. You would have to check for the details.

I ask because a certain European country once offered career re-training if one could no longer, say, work as a trained baker because they developed a flour allergy.

For Nortel, It states this in the flex booklet 2009 version on page 2.

“Did you know: Most of Nortel's Health & Group Benefits, including short-term disability, long term disability, medical and dental/vision/hearing care, are self-insured. This means that Nortel plays a role similar to that of an insurance company for its employees. In other words, the Company assumes the risks and pays the claims directly from its net income or retained earnings. The insurance company only provides administrative services such as claims processing.”

The 1997 flex-benefits highlights booklet has it high lighted on page 8 under “Did You Know…” , so it goes back to at least 1997, I don’t have any documents from before this (nor do I have for 2000), I cleaned out my filing cabinet a few years back. I don’t know when they became self insured but there was a reason many companies did this.

Insurance companies are rubbing there hands in glee at all this attention they are getting but they don’t come out and tell you the full truth. Under Canadian law, Insurance companies only have to cover you on LTD for 2 years! This is all that is mandated by the government. After that they can change the policy and you MAY loose your coverage. I have met several people this has happened to. With the company sponsored plan they are insuring you to do the job you had before you became disabled. With the insurance company they can say you can still work, just not the job you previously did, even if you can now only sweep floors, or work at a fast food outlet. Prior to self insured plans companies spent a lot of time fighting with insurance providers on behalf of their employees for benefits that they thought they were entitled to.

There was one LTD recipient from Nortel on the news that had been collecting for almost 20 years, she was carrying around a banner as part of a protest, if she had been insured by an insurance company she would have been cut off years before, especially if they saw the news footage.

If on LTD apply for CPP disability now. There are many reasons to do this here are a few…(if you qualify for CPP disability, Note: if you can do any work at all you won’t qualify).

1. You may be able to claim the disability tax credit this is ~6000/person. If this person and her son are both disabled that is a lot of extra $/year. With CPP and ODSP for her son she would get a significant amount of what she gets now.
2. Almost all plans whether insurance backed or company backed have a cap, the payments will continue longer if you are getting CPP disability.
3. CPP disability does not affect whether you own a house etc… they don’t care. Unlike Ontario disability that does care (5K max).
4. There is a time limit to apply, it was 5 years after becoming disabled, I think this has changed.
5. And this one is the most important (most people don’t know this).. Almost 100% of LTD plans stop when the recipient turns 65. At that point they are expected to go on Canada or company pension! If you were on CPP disability then it switches over. If you were on private disability for 30 years then there is a huge gap in your CPP contributions and your payout for CPP at 65 may be significantly reduced.

Note: There is a however a big tax advantage if you buy your on LTD insurance vs the company paying for it.

If someone can do any work and they don’t qualify for CPP disability, then they should re-train for a new job before their benefits are discontinued. Under an insurance backed plan they would never be able to stay off work for 20 years, if they can still do any work of any kind.

That, and insurers will need time to process my claims so would I mind waiting outside?