I was terminated by employer due to being totally disabled. I had been collecting LTD since 2006 and was terminated in 2012. Upon termination I was informed I would be getting a company pension. I immediately contacted my case manager to inform him of the pension and discussed any reduction of my LTD benefit. He told me No that my benefit would remain the same. For the next 4 years my benefit did remain the same. In late 2016 I was asked to provide an update to my insurance company , I called and spoke with them to provide the info they were asking for, I was also asked about the start dates of my CPP as well as my LTD , I responded that they should have those records and it would be easier for them to look it up than me going through all my files. After they confirmed the particular dates with me I also told them they would have the start date of my pension. To my surprise they did not have any info in regards to a company pension. I told them that I had reported it to my case manager back in 2012 but they insisted they did not have any info. I also was informed that my employer had not notified them at all about being terminated or receiving any pension, they even admitted that this was unusual and did not understand why the employer had not provided any info to them. As a result of all this I am being held responsible for a 14,000.00 overpayment. Over paid for almost 4 years. I proceeded to contact the Ombudsman for the insurance company , their reply was because there was no record of my call in 2012 to my case manager and that the phone calls between case manager and claimant were not recorded they could not do anything for me. I then contacted the Canadian Insurance companies Ombudsman and basically I lost as well , they stated the same reasons. Now I am paying back 14,000.00 , this has destroyed me financially . I did what I was required to do and reported my pension income and because he did not record the information in my file the and my employer did not inform the insurance company it is my fault? My LTD benefit remained the same just as I was told so I had no reason to know that anything was wrong. Now I am on the verge of bankruptcy because I have lost 600.00 per month in order to pay back the overpayment. I only have 2 years left before I turn 65 so therefore the pay back must be done by then. I started the payback in October of 2017. Is there anything else I can do to fight their decision?
Thank you
Is bankruptcy an option? Do you have any assets that would make that impossible? If not see a trustee.
I don’t understand why it has to be paid back before 65.
I understand why you owe the money.
You should be able to negotiate the length of time it gets paid back.
Contact a lawyer.
Very sorry to hear about your situation. There is not much that can be done legally as without some records to prove the conversation etc, then it is a he said / she said situation. Legally you would owe the money even if you were given bad advice from the case manager. I expect if you could track down the actual case manager from that time they would either have forgotten or would be reluctant to admit such a mistake.
They want it paid back by age 65 because they want to be able to recover it from the payments they are making to you, but there is no reason the payments have to be finished by then – it would be something you would have to work out with them. Unfortunately, they have the leverage here as they can sue you for the overpayment if you don’t agree with their payment schedule.
You should consider bankruptcy, but get good advice on that from someone you trust. You don’t want to avoid any other unintended consequences.
David Brannen
Disability Lawyer with Resolute Legal
The response posted above is based on the limited factual information made available and is not intended as a full and complete response to the question. The only reliable manner to obtain complete and adequate legal advice is to consult with a lawyer, fully explain your situation, and allow the lawyer enough time to research the applicable law and facts required to give an adequate opinion. The basic information provided above is intended as a public service only, a full one-on-one discussion with a lawyer should be done before taking any any action. The information posted on this forum is available to the viewing public and is not intended to create a lawyer client relationship with any person. If you want one-on-one advice, please click here to request a free consultation or call toll free 1-877-282-5188 to speak with a member with our disability claim support team.