I wrote this article for people who are trying to determine when and how to apply for disability in Canada. This Guide is based on my 15 years of experience helping people win disability claims. It is a good starting point if you are trying to learn the basics about what disability benefits programs are out there for Canadians. I also give you a simple process for how to apply for disability benefits in Canada, no matter what program you may qualify for.
If you want to learn more about how to apply for and maintain disability benefits in Canada, download our free books on CPP disability and long-term disability. You can do that at the end of this article.
If you have questions about this Guide or any disability claim issue, call our support team toll-free at (888) 480-9050.
Keep on learning, and I wish you all the best with your journey,
— David Brannen, disability lawyer & founder of Resolute Legal
Table of Contents
Each disability benefit program in Canada works differently. However, in general, they all have a similar process: you fill out the application and provide additional information; the program approves or denies your claim; if approved, you collect benefits; if denied, you appeal the denial or accept the decision as is.
The process is obviously more nuanced than this, but don’t worry; we will explain how each program works more in-depth throughout this article. We also have links to more specific information on each disability benefits program.
At Resolute Legal, our disability lawyers exclusively handle disability claims, including long and short-term disability insurance, CPP disability, workers’ compensation, the disability tax credit and employment disputes. We can help you win back the benefits YOU paid for. Click on the button below to schedule a FREE case evaluation.
Schedule Your Free ConsultationPeople often ask us when they should apply for disability benefits. We obviously can’t give a general answer that will apply to everyone and every benefit program, but generally, it is when your disability renders you unable to work. But as we will discuss this isn’t always true.
For example, you can and SHOULD apply for workers compensation benefits even when you can still work. In addition, benefits like the disability tax credit don’t require you to be unable to work. So, the answer will depend on what benefit you are applying for as well as individual circumstances.
In this section, we are going to answer the following questions: “How do you apply for disability benefits?” “How to get disability in Canada?” and “Where to apply for disability.” In addition, we also overview a simple (yet complete) 7-step process for applying for disability benefits in Canada. This is a general process that can be applied to any benefit program. However, if you are looking for more specific information on how to apply for a certain program, we’ve included links to those resources as well.
The first step in applying for disability benefits is finding out what benefits you qualify for. In Canada, there are several types of disability benefits plans and programs. Each has its own criteria for eligibility; you don’t have the automatic right to receive any one of these benefits.
Before making a disability claim, your first step is taking stock of the possible disability benefits you might qualify for. It’s possible you may qualify for more than one disability benefit.
These are the most common sources of disability income:
Many employers offer to pay sick days as a workplace benefit. Sometimes, you’re able to bank up weeks or months of sick pay. If you have access to sick pay, this is the first thing you must use when you go on disability leave.
The EI Sickness program provides temporary income replacement benefits to eligible workers for up to weeks. To qualify, your income must be reduced by at least 40%, you must be employed by a qualifying employer, and you must have already earned 600 hours of insurable employment.
To learn more about EI Sickness benefits, read our Ultimate Guide to EI Sickness.
Some employers offer short-term disability benefits or salary continuation benefits. These benefits provide disability income to people who need to be off work for 1-3 months. The length of time for these benefits varies from plan to plan, depending on the specific disability policy. Not every employer offers these benefits, so you need to check to see if your employer offers them. If you don’t have short-term disability benefits, then you may qualify for Employment Insurance Sickness Benefits (above).
To learn more about short-term disability, read our Ultimate Guide to Short term Disability and Canada short term disability lawyer pages.
Some Canadians are eligible to apply for long-term disability benefits. These benefits pay disability replacement income for several years, often until the person is 65. You must be covered under a disability plan or insurance policy to be eligible for these benefits. This could be a workplace group policy provided by your employer or union or an individual disability insurance policy you bought yourself. You’re normally eligible to apply for long-term disability benefits if your disability is caused by an illness or accident. If your disability was caused by a workplace accident, then the long-term disability benefits will overlap with workers’ compensation benefits.
To learn more about long-term disability, check out our Ultimate Guide to Long term Disability in Canada.
Further reading:
Many Canadian workers are eligible to apply for disability payments from the Canada Pension Plan. To qualify, you must be under age 65, unable to maintain gainful employment due to disability, and have made recent contributions to the Canada Pension Plan. You must be continuously disabled and off work for four months before becoming eligible to receive payments.
To learn more about CPP disability benefits, check out our Ultimate Guide to CPP Disability and CPP lawyers.
Further reading:
The Disability Tax Credit (DTC) is a non-refundable tax credit that reduces the taxable income of people with disabilities and/or people who are financially supporting a person with a disability. While technically, it is not a form of disability income, if you qualify for the disability tax credit, you may receive a retroactive tax refund from Revenue Canada. How much disability tax credit will I get? Well, depending on your income level and taxes paid, this refund can be tens of thousands of dollars paid back to you.
To learn more about the DTC, check out our Online Guide to the Disability Tax Credit.
Most workers in Canada are covered by Provincial Workers’ Compensation Programs. It is the law for most businesses to enrol in a workers’ compensation program, but there are some exceptions. Each province has its own workers’ compensation program, and they go by many names, including the Workers Compensation Board (WCB), Worksafe and WSIB. To be eligible for workers’ compensation benefits, you must work for an employer enrolled in the workers’ compensation program, and you must suffer a work-related injury.
To learn more about workers’ compensation disability benefits, check out our Ultimate Guide Workers Compensation Benefits and Workers Compensation Lawyers.
Canadian Armed Forces members can be eligible for disability benefits under the Veterans Affairs Canada Disability Program. To qualify for this disability income, you must suffer from a disability from a medical condition or injury that is related to your service in the armed forces.
Each province in Canada has its own disability income program for eligible residents. These provincial disability income programs are part of the social safety net and are usually the last option if you don’t qualify for any other form of disability income. Provincial disability support programs are based on both disability and financial criteria. In other words, you can only qualify for provincial disability support income if your personal and family income and assets fall below certain levels. Therefore, even though you are unable to work due to disability, you may not qualify for provincial disability support income if a family member has income or if you have equity in your home, RRSPs, savings, etc.
List of provincial disability benefits in each province:
The Canada Disability Benefit (CDB) is a new income benefit that is designed to reduce poverty for working-age people with disabilities. The Canada Disability Benefit has not been released yet. However, it is expected to function similarly to the Guaranteed Income Supplement, where individuals receive a top-up based on their family income.
To learn more about the CDB, check out our Ultimate Guide to who is eligible for the new Canada disability benefit.
It is critical that you have your doctor’s support before you try to go on sick leave and apply for disability benefits. To be blunt, making a disability claim without your doctor’s support is a waste of time and can cause a lot of problems.
Without your doctor’s support, your employer will not recognize your absence from work as being an approved sick leave. They will take the position that you are on unauthorized leave and might take steps to terminate your employment.
If your own doctor doesn’t support you, there is no chance that any disability benefits plan or the program will approve your application for disability payments. Many disability plans will deny your application even if you have a supportive doctor.
It may just mean that your doctor needs more convincing. You should discuss your concerns with the doctor and do everything the doctor recommends to improve your symptoms and ability to work. Many doctors will support you once they believe you have done everything possible to try and remain employed.
In rare cases, you may have a biased or uninformed doctor. Some doctors have personal beliefs and biases against people who need to apply for disability benefits. Don’t assume this is the case with your doctor just because they are reluctant to support you; give your doctor the benefit of the doubt.
However, if you have gone to great lengths to show the doctor you are, in fact, unable to work and they still aren’t supportive, you may have to switch to a new doctor. Changing doctors must be a last resort; the simple fact that you changed doctors will be a red flag for the new doctor and also the disability benefits plans. They may think you are trying to manipulate the system.
Read more about how to get a doctor to fill out paperwork if they are unsupportive.
Once you have your doctor’s support, you can start the transition from employment to being on sick leave. It is important that you carefully manage this transition to protect your employment, your workplace pension, and your group medical plan.
It is common for there to be tension between you and your employer in the months (and even years) leading up to you going on sick leave. Some employers are not friendly or understanding to employees who are ill and disabled. For this reason, it’s important to get your doctor to write a note for your employer to confirm that your illness and disability are the reasons for your poor work performance and/or your need to take a sick leave from work.
Some employers will pressure you into resigning or accepting a “severance package.” This may seem like a good idea, but if you sign off on that deal, there’s a good chance you’re also signing off on your right to make a claim for long-term disability benefits! This is almost always in the fine print, and the money you get from the severance will pale in comparison to what you would receive from disability benefits.
Don’t retire from employment. You may be eligible for early retirement, but most disability insurance plans have a clause that says they don’t have to pay you if you retire. This is a mistake you absolutely must avoid.
Once you have things in order with your employer and have your doctor’s support, you can start gathering the various application forms for disability income benefits. Each disability plan or program has its own unique forms and procedures you must follow when making a disability claim.
Here is where you get the forms:
You can get these forms from your employer if you are covered under a group disability plan through your workplace.
If you’re self-employed, you get the forms from your insurance broker or directly from the insurance company.
You must use the online EI benefits application from your home computer; you can also use a computer at any Service Canada office.
You can get the application package from any Service Canada office. Or you can download them from our Ultimate Guide to CPP Disability.
You can get the application forms from any Service Canada office, or you can apply online for the DTC through the Canada Revenue Agency.
You can pick up the forms from any Veterans Affairs Canada Office, or you can download the VAC disability application online.
You must request the forms directly from your province’s workers’ compensation program.
You must contact your provincial government department to get the application package.
Fill out the forms and gather all the supporting information and documents. Most disability programs have 2-3 forms to be filled out when making a disability claim. You fill one of the forms out. Usually, another form is a medical report for your doctor to fill out. With some disability plans — short- and long-term disability, workers’ compensation — there is also a form your employer needs to fill out.
It is your responsibility to make sure the forms are filled out properly. You must review your doctor’s report and the employer’s form for accuracy after they are filled out. Your doctor may inadvertently forget to mention one of your medical conditions; your employer may give an inaccurate or incomplete description of your work duties.
We see many people do a very poor job when making a disability claim. This is how legitimate disability claims get denied. The claim representative deciding to approve or reject your application does so based on the quality of the information and documents you have given and not on the reality of your situation as you know it.
You should read that sentence again. If you have done a poor job putting together your application, it’s very likely your claim will be denied, no matter how legitimate your disability is.
Once you have the application prepared, you simply send it to the disability plan or program. The disability plan or program will assign a person to review your application; this person is called a claim representative, advisor, or adjudicator. The representative will often call or write to ask you for clarifications or more information. You should always cooperate and give the requested information to the best of your ability. Being open and honest with whoever is adjudicating your claim will always help your case.
Once you have submitted your application and fulfilled any further requests for information, you just have to wait for the claims representative to make a decision. They will either approve or deny your claim. Normally it takes up to 30 days for the claim representative to make this decision, but it can take longer in some cases. If you have been waiting months for a decision, something strange is going on, and you should take the appropriate steps to get to the bottom of it.
Claiming disability in Canada can be an uphill battle — especially without any support. Resolute Legal has helped thousands of people win disability benefits in Canada, and we can help you, too. Click on the button below to schedule a free case evaluation.
Schedule Your Free ConsultationThe following are our key takeaways on how to claim disability in Canada:
1. Application Process Overview: Disability benefit applications in Canada involve a standardized process: application, information submission, and awaiting approval or denial. Distinct programs have unique aspects.
2. Diverse Disability Benefits: Disability sources include sick pay, EI Sickness Benefits, short-term/long-term insurance, CPP Disability, Disability Tax Credit, Workers Compensation, Veterans Affairs, Provincial Disability, and the upcoming Canada Disability Benefit.
3. Timing Matters: Apply when a disability impedes work, with exceptions like workers’ compensation allowing applications while still employed.
4. Preparation Essentials: Identify eligible benefits, consider multiple sources, and obtain program-specific application forms.
5. Doctor’s Crucial Role: Doctor support is vital; address concerns or consider a change if needed for approval.
6. Employment Transition Caution: Manage employment transitions carefully, secure a supporting doctor’s note, and avoid hasty resignations impacting long-term disability claims.
7. Application Procedures: Different benefits require specific forms; obtain them from relevant sources such as employers, Service Canada, or insurance brokers.
8. Precision in Form Completion: Accurate completion of forms is crucial. Thoroughly review medical reports and employer forms to prevent application denials.
9. Submission and Cooperation: Submit applications and promptly provide requested information. Cooperation and transparency enhance success chances.
10. Decision Waiting Period: Expect approval or denial within 30 days; investigate prolonged delays.
11. Professional Assistance Option: Seek professional help if facing challenges. Resolute Legal offers free case evaluations for navigating disability claims in Canada. Thorough preparation and accurate documentation are paramount.
We hope this article helped you understand how to apply for disability benefits in Canada. To learn more, click on the image below to download our free books on winning CPP and long-term disability claims. We also encourage you to check out our list of disabilities in Canada that qualify for disability benefits to see if your condition qualifies for benefits.
A former occupational therapist turned disability lawyer, David has been representing people in disability claims for over fifteen years. David is Resolute Legal's founder and managing lawyer. He is the author of the best selling The Beginner's Guide to CPP Disability, the CPP Application Workbook and A Beginner's Guide to Disability Insurance Claims in Canada.
Speak with our support team to learn what your next step should be? Schedule free disability claim evaluation by phone, videoconference, or email.
