I am new to this forum. I want to begin by thanking Resolute Legal team and David. You nice people are a blessing to humanity. Especially for people like us who are suffering from severe health and financial issues.
Summary
For the past few years I have been on Long Term Disability covered by my employer’s group Insurance. After the first couple of years ABC Insurance Company (not the actual name to maintain confidentiality) asked me to apply for CPP Disability benefits. The package came with multiple CPP-D forms including CPP Payment Offset agreement and Consent for ABC Insurance Company to Communicate with Service Canada directly regarding my disability claim etc. My doctor and I completed the CPP-D forms. I signed the Offset agreement, consent forms and applied for CPP-D benefits. My CPP-D application was declined and ABC insurance did not ask me to appeal.
After few months my employer decided to change the Insurance Company and moved to XYZ Insurance Company (not the actual name to maintain confidentiality). Now the XYZ Insurance Company is asking me to apply for CPP Disability benefits again. They have sent me the CPP package along with similar forms including CPP Payment Offset agreement and Consent to communicate with Service Canada regarding my claim.
My questions (I apologize in advance if any of my question don’t make much sense. With severe and prolonged illness and increasing age my senses have slowed down significantly)
Will this new application for CPP Disability have any connection with my previous application which was denied couple of years back?
How far back CPP retroactive payments go? Lets assume Service Canada receives my application in April 2018 and I get approved after 4 months. Will the start of retroactive payments be the date when I became disable few years back?
Will it be a problem if I sign CPP payment Offset agreement with this new XYZ Insurance company? Considering I have already signed an Offset agreement with the previous ABC insurance company. I am asking this question because I don’t want to be in a situation where I have 2 Insurance Companies asking for retroactive disability payments. If I get approved.
Do I need to cancel the authorization I have given to the previous ABC Insurance company to communicate with Service Canada regarding my CPP Disability claim? If Yes, can you please guide me how it is done? I am asking this question because I am not sure if the authorization gets cancelled by Service Canada automatically when your CPP-D claim gets denied and you were not asked to appeal by the insurance company. I do not feel comfortable if some Insurance company has access to my CPP-D claim details when I am not dealing with them for the last few years.
I can only offer general advice, but I think it will help point you in the right direction. I’ve answered each of your questions below:
You can make multiple applicaions for CPP disability as long as they have not gone for a “final decision”. A final decision, means the Social Security Tribunal (or its predecessor, the Pension Appeals Board) has ruled on it. If you stopped your appeals short of the PAB or Social Security Tribunal, then you can easily apply again. When people re-apply Service Canada will pull the old application / file and include it in their file for your new application.
Retroactive CPP is calculated form the date of your most recent application. An old CPP application is not relevant. Retroactive payments go back a maximum of 12 months from the date they stamp a new application as received and complete. You may see references online to a 15 month retroactive period, but they then apply a 4 month waiting period so the practical period for payment is 12 months.
Offset agreements are specific to the CPP claim. New claim means new offset agreement.
When you file a new CPP Application, just explain in a coverletter your situation. There is old CPP app and a new LTD insurer. Tell them to cancel any authorizations for the old insurer.
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.
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.