Difference between revisions of "Types of Employment Insurance Benefits (8:IV)"

== G. Parental Benefits ==

Up to 35 weeks of parental benefits are available to parents, including adoptive parents, who experience an interruption of earnings to care for their new child.   These benefits are available to any parent, not just birth mothers.  Birth mothers can collect parental benefits in addition to their pregnancy benefits.  Parents can share the 35 weeks of benefits between them, but the total claimed by both parents can never exceed 35 weeks.  Only parents who are major attachment claimants (ie have at least 600 insurable hours in their qualifying period) can qualify.  In other words, each parent must qualify individually, and one parent cannot qualify on behalf of the other.   

The period during which parental benefits can be claimed begins on the day the child is born, or placed with the parent for the purposes of adoptions, and ends 52 weeks later.  The 35 weeks of parental benefit do not need to be collected in consecutive weeks and can be collected at any time during this period.  Like other EI benefits, the claimant will receive 55% of their average weekly earnings.   

:'''NOTE:''' Please note that the 2017 Budget Plan proposed to allow parental benefits claimants to extend the period of time they receive benefits to 18 months, up from 12 months. However, this change has not yet been made; please see s. 23(2) to confirm if this change has been made.

:Further, please note that if claimants choose to opt to extend the period of time they receive benefits, the benefit amount will be at a lower rate of 33% of average weekly earnings.