Qualifying period

Hello. I want to ask a specific question regarding my qualifying period. I had a back injury back in 2016. Till Feb 2018, I worked full time and managed the pain. In Feb 2018 I went on STD for a few weeks. After returning back to work I was still dealing with significant amount of pain. I again managed to work full time till September 2018. In September 2018 I had a back surgery after which I became totally disabled and couldn’t return to work. I have been on LTD since than.

I have CPP contributions from Year 2014 to 2019. There was only a small amount of CPP contribution for 2019 because I didn’t use my vacation in 2018 and the company had to pay me that amount so a small portion of CPP contribution was made. Now based on this, I am applying for CPPD in 2021. Do I fall in the minimum qualifying period if I use Sep 2018 as my disability onset?

@David_Brannen if you could kindly advise, I would really appreciate it.
thanks,

I can’t answer for your specific situation without seeing your actual statement of CPP contributions from Service Canada, but I can give you a hypothetical:

If a person worked made the minimum contributions for CPP disability in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018, then they their minimum qualifying period would go to December 31, 2020.

That is based on the 4 of 6 years having made minimum contributions:

2015 - yes (1)
2016 - yes (2)
2017 - yes (3)
2018 - yes (4)
2019 - no (5)
2020 - no (6)

So you can see that 2020 is the last time that person would. have had 4 of 6 years of contributions. if you want us to confirm for sure on your case, we would need you to send us your official statement of contributions from Service Canada. You can get it online. We would do that in a free consultation.


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 1-877-917-7050 to speak with a member with our disability claim support team.

thankyou David. I definitely want to get this checked in the consultation. I do have access to my official statement online. I am gonna book the free consultation.

In the above example that you mentioned so as the qualifying period is till December 31, 2020, if a person submits his application in late 2021 would it still be processed since the disability onset falls within the qualifying period? Would this application be just deemed as late application?

thanks, once again

The date of application doesn’t matter. In the above example the application could be done in 2022 or 2023. There is a late application provision that allows this. No matter when the application was filed the person would have to prove the disability onset happened during the MQP and was continuous to present.