Accessing income support?

A dollar sign resting in a hand

You may be in a situation where psoriatic disease flares or your health worsens, and this impacts your ability to work. There are different income support programs or programs that cover some of your lost salary or wages if you can’t work. The income support available depends on whether you are working, and the disability insurance offered by your employer. If your employer does not offer disability insurance, there are federal programs available to provide income support or replace some of your income. Please note that all programs will require some sort of medical documentation to access.

  • Your employer may have a short-term disability insurance plan that may cover some of your salary or wages if you can’t work because of sickness or injury. Short-term disability coverage typically provides benefits for up to 6 months while you’re sick or Each employer has different policies and procedures when it comes to addressing short-term absences relating to illness and may also have additional sick and vacation leave available to address these situations. Contact your employer to find out what disability insurance benefits are available and how to apply.
  • When you lose more than 40% of regular weekly earnings, you can consider applying for Employment Insurance (EI) Sickness Benefits which provide up to 15 weeks of financial assistance if people can’t work for medical reasons. You could receive 55% of your earnings up to a maximum of $638 a Some employers might top up or add to EI Sickness Benefits or offer disability insurance to employees, but this varies by employer. If you are self-employed, you might also apply to the EI Sickness Benefits for Self-Employed People. A medical doctor or practitioner must complete parts of the application form.
  • Your employer may have a long-term disability insurance plan that may provide long-term income replacement. It is usually accessed once sick leave, EI Sickness Benefits and short-term disability plans are fully used. Long-term disability insurance can provide up to 60-70% of income replacement, however there is a process for accessing benefits depending on whether you can’t do the job you last had or whether you can’t do any job or occupation. You can learn more about short and long-term disability insurance on the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada website.
  • For people without short and long-term disability insurance, the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) Disability Benefits are available for those with a severe disability that prevents them from doing any To qualify, the disability needs to be prolonged, of long-term or indefinite duration and you must be under 65 years of age and have contributed enough to the CPP. The maximum monthly benefit provided (2022) is $1,464.83.
  • The Canada Workers Benefit (CWB) is a refundable tax credit for low-income individuals and families who earned income from employment or business. The CWB is made of two parts: a basic amount and a disability To access the disability supplement, you must be approved for the Disability Tax Credit and complete your personal income tax return.