Exactly. Afaik I don’t qualify based on the criteria set out since I wasn’t working when covid happened.
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Service Canada clawing back some of the CERB is highly unlikely. It is unearned income and CPP-D does not claw back any other non-earned income that I am aware of (rental income, investment income, refundable tax credits). And it is only private LTD and provincial disability that claw back other income support, not CPP-D. The only way I could see the CERB being a problem is if Service Canada interpreted it as earned income. That would set a precedent and hard to imagine that holding up under an appeal.
The CERB legislation is quite clear about eligibility. Someone please show me where in the CERB legislation where someone receiving CPP-D who earned $5000-5700 in 2019 and who was earning income and lost that income due to Covid-19 is ineligible? Nothing in the legislation excludes those who were receiving income support other than maternity and EI sick pay. Nothing in the legislation excludes people who were earning less than the $2000 a month offered by the CERB.
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If anyone gets through to Service Canada and gets an answer as to whether the CERB is considered employment income please let us know.
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Candice, I would send a letter to your local office. Find a Service Canada Office
I am still trying to reach Service Canada. Has anyone had any pick talking to someone there?
I’m reading that CPPD considers CERB income and will claw it back 1:1 once you hit the 2020 max fit income ($5800?).
So I earned just over $5000 last year in self employment income, haven’t filed my 2019 taxes yet. Can’t continue working due to corona virus. I qualify for CERB so is it worth claiming CERB more than three times, fit a total of $6000?
ODSP is clawing back at a 2:1 ratio (50%) after $200 a month. But in the news the Feds are advising the provinces to not claw back anything if it’s because of CERB.
So I hope CPP takes the same stance, although ODSP clawing it back pretty much confirms its income.
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I just got off the phone with “Cory” at CPP Disability/Service Canada (40 minutes of muzak hell). He said the CERB is “absolutely not considered employment income.” It will not be clawed back by Service Canada. It is just a matter of whether you meet the eligibility under the CERB.
So, you can apply and receive the CERB if you earned $5000-$5700 in 2019, you were employed and lost your work due to Covid-19, or you were self-employed and lost income due to Covid-19 (self-employed can now earn up to $1000 a month and still be eligible for the CERB, so you don’t necessarily have to have lost all your self-employment income).
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I read some post in another forum where someone said their mother-in-law lost her CPP-D after applying for the CERB. Absolute bs! People are justing posting stuff that has no basis in reality.
The person I spoke to at CPP Disability was adamant that the CERB was not employment income and would not be clawed back. He said go ahead and get it if you are eligible.
If you are still uncertain then call Service Canada yourself. It’ll take about 40 minutes but might be worth it if you need to hear it for yourself.
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Thank you so much Mark! This will actually I’ll make more with CERB than I would with self employment ($8000 with CERB) and I can still make $5800 in income for the year. what I was doing I can’t do right now it’s not legal to do so but once the pandemic is over I can continue working. So that means I will make $5800 in employment income plus $8000 in CERB. I’m in shock reading this! I may be able to pay off my debt now.
I will call Service Canada just to be certain but I believe you Mark. Thank you!!
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also, this is from the CUPE website. Not directly from Service Canada, but they are the public employee union, so assuming they have their facts right:
What if my province offers emergency income support? Am I still eligible for the CERB?
You will not be disqualified for the CERB simply for having non-employment income. You can receive income from non-employment sources while on the CERB, including temporary provincial income support, social assistance, workers’ compensation, or pension income. However, you can only receive $1,000 of income from employment or self-employment in each four-week period.
That is promising. For those of us who are lucky enough to make over $1000/m in CPPD if it’s not considered income as far as CERB is concerned, as long as you made $5000 in employment income last year (2019) and are not receiving more than $1000/m now for employment income, you may qualify for $2000/m for CERB.
Let’s hope that union website is accurate!
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Could you kindly let me know when you do find out!
Greatly Appreciated!!
That’s EXACTLY what I am wondering!!
This is the answer I needed!
I receive CPP-D, but I also worked part-time receiving 15-20 hrs/weekly with a minimum wage job! Due to Covid-19, I was laid off.
I was worried if I applied, & did receive CERB, it would exceed my yearly “allowable” earnings with CPP!
Thank you for your response!!
I called CERB this am and got right through to “Ashley” who verified with her supervisor that you can apply for the CERB if you worked in my case one day a week and collecting CPPDisability. She said the CERB is not considered income and will not affect my allowable $5800 I can make. I always get nervous when things sound to good to be true, so I have applied and received it but will try and save as much as I can “just in case”.
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That is also the answer I received when I called CERB, so I have applied as I fit the criteria
Even more interesting. I am a full time university student, with a disability so I can apply for the student benefit of $1750 for May to August.
I don’t believe you can apply for both CERB and CESB, but if you can, wow!
But there’s hinting online that the student CESB will be considered a tax free grant. And with my husband working our family income is higher so I’m wondering if the CESB is better in our situation.
I’m on Ltd and get cpp disability. Although my disability income did not decrease my expenses increased. My 2 children are home full time, both with disabilities and I have another mouth for pay for as another teenager has been quarantined in my home for the last 2 months. My bills have increased and the groceries I’m going thru is off the charts. Trying to keep up with the extra expenses is making me fall short on new and raising situations. Im dealing with day to day for 3 teens, broken appliances, pet problems etc. I’ve applied for and received the cerb, but now I’m really scared that i might need to pay it back, especially because of my Ltd income, which technically isnt declared as income. Thoughts or answers anyone?
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Yes u can only apply for one or the other. It will be taxable but it will be taxed on your income bracket. So u have to see mathematically which one helps u the most financially.
Continuing the discussion from Can you collect CERB and CPP Disability?:
Well, I’m having a tough time figuring out my situation. I did not make $5000 for 2019. I started work in October for needing payments for bills…I don’t think I qualify then cuz I just worked 1 day a week, sometimes two. I was laid off cuz of covid…anybody know the answer to this??
Hi Rhow,
Did you continue working in the first few months of 2020?
The CERB criteria states that you must have earned $5000 in 2019, or within the last 12 months. So, you could count March 2019 to March 2020 as the last 12 months — maybe that changes things?
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