What To Consider When Examining Both CPP Disability And WSIB Benefits?

A look at the differences in the administration of the Canadian Pension Program (CPP) and the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) disguises a significant interaction between the two programs. CPP is administered by Service Canada; the WSIB administers its own disability program.

The disguised interaction

Each program has its own definition for disability. CPP considers all of an employee’s health problems; WSIB considers only work-related health problems. Still, there is a significant interaction between those same 2 programs.

Specific features of the interaction

WSIB has a work-transition program. Enrollment in that same program can get viewed in 2 different ways. It might be seen as a reason for saying that an applicant for CPP disability does not qualify for receipt of the available payments. Alternately, it could get viewed as part of a limited vocational training, which would allow for receipt of CPP disability benefits.

Someone that has enrolled in CPP’s program might also inquire about receiving WSIB benefits; yet such an action could lead to a cancellation of the application for any CPP benefit. The denied worker could re-apply, but an older worker might become too old to qualify for CPP’s program.

Accident Lawyer in Waterloo knows that if a disabled employee is receiving WSIB benefits, and that same person undergoes marked changes in his or her material circumstances, WSIB must be notified about those same changes. Moreover, that notification must get delivered to WSIB’s offices within 10 days of the time when the change becomes effective.

Questions that go unanswered

If someone in CPP’s program completes a limited vocational training, and then inquires about receiving WSIB benefits, could the person that has completed CPP’s program transfer any credit gained towards the credits offered to someone that has completed WSIB’s work-transition program. Are the 2 programs at all similar?

That question might be asked by someone that took CPP’s limited vocational training and then became more-seriously disabled. He or she could have reason for giving thought to enrollment in WSIB’s disability program. If the credits earned could be transferred from CPP to WSIB, then the graduate of the limited vocational training would have reason to give serious consideration to enrollment in WSIB’s program.

For instance, some worker that has suffered a permanent leg impairment might get trained to sit at a machine and manipulate the controls by hand. Suppose, though that the same person developed carpal tunnel syndrome during the course of that training. Could any credits earned while learning how to work that one machine’s controls get transferred to WSIB’s work-transition program? That would allow the worker with the carpal tunnel syndrome to shorten the amount of time in that transition program. Thus, he or she could get back to work sooner.