Expecting parents usually have a lot on their to-do list, from prepping the nursery to ensuring their hospital bag is ready; however, one crucial thing to look into is Canada’s maternity and parental benefits.
To ease the transition into parenthood, the Employment Insurance (EI) program allows you to take time off from work so you can care for your newborn or adopted child.
Here’s what you should know.
Maternity benefits vs. parental benefits
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If you’re expecting or recently gave birth, you might be eligible for maternity assistance through EI. Benefits include financial support during the early stages of your child’s life, so you don’t have to worry about how taking time off will affect your income.
The Government of Canada’s website states that maternity benefits “are only available to the person who is away from work because they’re pregnant or have recently given birth. They can’t be shared between parents.”
In addition to maternity assistance, you might even be eligible to receive parental benefits. The two options for parental benefits include the standard and extended parental benefits.
Parents can share these benefits but must submit separate applications indicating the same option.
And you don’t even have to take time off in one go — you have to take it within a certain period starting from the date of your child’s birth or “the week your child is placed with you for the purpose of adoption.”
If you opt for the standard parental benefit, you must use your benefits within 52 weeks (12 months), but if you opt for the extended parental benefit, you must do so within 78 weeks (18 months).
So how much can you receive?
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If you just gave birth or caring for a newly adopted child, you could receive maternity benefits, which are worth 55% of your income, up to a maximum of $668 a week. You can receive these benefits for a maximum of 15 weeks.
If you opt for the standard parental amount, you can receive up to 55% of your income, up to a maximum of $668 a week. The standard parental package is the same.
The extended version differs in that you’ll receive 33% of your income or up to a maximum of $401 weekly.
If your income varies, the percentage of benefits you receive will be based on the number of your highest-paid weeks of employment.
You can receive your parental benefits once your 15 weeks of maternity benefits run out. And to simplify the process, you can apply for both benefits at the same time.
You can even receive your maternity benefits “as early as 12 weeks before your due date or the date you give birth.”
You can calculate your benefits here.
And if you suffer from complications during pregnancy, you could also be eligible for EI sickness benefits. Like maternity benefits, you could receive 55% of your earnings, up to a maximum of $668 a week. In this situation, a medical certificate would be required to show that you cannot work and the approximate period.
What benefits are you eligible for?
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If you’re considering applying for EI maternity and parental assistance, do so as early as possible to see if you qualify.
To do so, you must meet the following criteria:
- You must prove that you’re pregnant or recently gave birth
- You must be a parent caring for a newborn or newly adopted child
- You must prove that your earnings have decreased by more than 40% for at least one week
- You must demonstrate that you’ve accumulated 600 insured hours of work in the 52 weeks “before the start of your claim or since the start of your last claim.”
How to apply for benefits
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You can start your application online before you have all the required information.
Some information required to complete your application will include your social insurance number (SIN) as well as the other parent’s SIN if you plan to share benefits, the last birth name of one of your parents, the names and addresses of your employers, dates of employment, child’s expected date of birth or the date your child was placed with you for adoption.
The process should take about an hour to complete, and your information will be saved for three days after you start your application.
Once you complete your online application, you can submit the documents by mail.
To start your application and for the complete list of requirements, check here.
Once you’ve submitted your application and required documents, you’ll receive a benefit statement with a four-digit access code by mail. You can then check the status of your application online here.
If you’re eligible, you can expect to receive your first payment around 28 days after you apply.
For more details, click here.
This article was originally published on March 10, 2024.