When my 2 years were up and I was on LTD my employer terminated my benefits including pension, extended health, employee counselling, life insurance etc. The only thing I kept was life insurance. Is this legal? I suffer from Major depression anxiety. I did try to go back but failed I don’t believe they’ve done this to all employees.
It is legal for an employer to terminate employment at any time.
2-4 years is the typical time for people on disability (sometimes employment is never terminated).
Search for “frustrated employment”.
That said, if they terminate some people after 2 years but not other people then that doesn’t sound legal.
I would get the free consult from Resolute.
If you are 10 years past the event, then you are well past limitation periods that would apply to make a claim against your employer for this. There may be an exception if you were part of a union, but I expect you will be well past those deadlines as well.
Generally, the law says employers are bound by the terms of the employment contract. Most employment contracts don’t include clauses saying that the employee can stay on the medical plan even if out on disability. Some do say this, especially in union situation. If an employment contract did not have this type of language, then employers have more rights to just cut people off medical plans.
If person is terminated after two years on LTD, that person may have had grounds to file a human rights complaint or wrongful termination lawsuit. Both of those would have to be started within 1-2 years after the termination event.
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.
When an employer ends benefits does that mean they can also terminate the employees company pension plan and force them to take it out?
Your pension plan probably converts to a LIRA (locked in retirement account?).
You’re not forced to take it out.
This is a defined contribution plan in Ontario.
I don’t know about defined benefit plans or plans outside Ontario.
I would suggest finding a financial advisor.
Maybe google “disability retirement planning”.
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Each province has strict rule on how pensions have to be handled when employees leave. You want to speak with your pension plan administrator, who is independent from your employer.
Mine is managed by the same company. 
I don’t really want to ask them I’ll just deal with it when it happens.
One year after the LTD insurer cut me off and I was in the middle of litigation with the Insurer, my employer terminated my employment for “frustrated contract” and all benefits/pension ceased. I was left with no choice in getting back on LTD as I was terminated. The employer sent me paperwork regarding my pension which was a DB pension. I had the choice of deferring it until 55-65 or moving it into a LIRA or other registered pension forms.
Caramel,
What you describe is a common situation – employer seeking to terminate employees who are appealing denied disability claims. It is important to know that it is difficult for an employer to rely on “frustration of contract” as a reason to terminate an employee for cause. It is often possible to challenge this and to either have the employer back off, or make a fair severance payment to the employee.
Ideally, when a person hires a lawyer for your disability claim you want to make sure that he or she has the competence and willingness to deal with any disability-related employment issues that may arise during the LTD litigation. Some lawyers will say you have to go elsewhere for help with these related issues and that is not practical or effective in my experience.
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.
David - that is exactly what happened. I settled with the Disability Insurer early 2018 - about 3 months after my termination of Oct 2017. My Disability lawyer stated he had no experience at employment law so i have not pursued litigation against the employer even though everyone believes I should. I don’t even know if I can still take action. I live in Alberta and I was terminated less than 2 years ago. Plus I dont think Employment lawyers will engage in litigation without payment up front which i don’t have because we had to use the settlement (which wasnt as good as i wanted) to dig ourselves out of as much debt as possible.
Caramel, I will send you a private message on this.