Putting the spotlight on pension problems

Opinion

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This article was published 26/10/2024 (336 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It’s not the money; it’s the principle.

Winnipeg retiree Carole Zoerb says being denied the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) survivor’s benefit from her deceased ex-husband isn’t going to cause her financial hardship. She has enough to get by.

Rather, she worries other Canadians may be unfairly denied a benefit they essentially pay into every working day of their lives.

“What I’m concerned about is the process,” says Zoerb, who worked in the non-profit sector most of her career, helping individuals navigate government programs like CPP.

For the past few years, she has been jumping through the various hoops herself to appeal a decision by Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC), which administers CPP, regarding a benefit she believes she deserves.

What she realized, however, is the rules for receiving the benefits can be rigid, and extenuating circumstances — such as compassionate grounds — are not part of the legislation to allow someone, who deserves the benefit but may not meet the criteria for whatever reason, to receive it.

“I started investigating and I found some really, really horrifying things that are happening,” she says.

Canadians denied CPP benefits can take their cases to the General Division of the Social Security Tribunal, which publishes its decisions online.

Zoerb says she uncovered cases like that of a refugee — who worked in Canada for a number of years — denied his benefit because of a mistake on his documentation regarding date of birth.

“He never got his benefits and, like me, there was no way that a common sense arbitrator could say, ‘Well, it was just a mistake in terms of paperwork’ and let him have his money because he had paid into CPP all these years.”

Zoerb is pushing for changes to the legislation so it matches what the Quebec Pension Plan — a separate but parallel program — includes. The key difference, she adds, is QPP decision-makers have flexibility to ensure those who rightly should receive benefits do receive them, even if they do not necessarily meet a list of bureaucratic criteria.

It’s difficult to know how many Canadians are denied CPP benefits — be it their typical pension or the death, disability or survivor benefits.

Yet, ESDC statistics show in the 2023-24 fiscal year, the department rendered 842,002 decisions — with only 9,154 requests for consideration.

Of those requests, 5,280 of the original decisions were upheld. Over the same span, the tribunal — which is the next step after losing an appeal — rendered 1,964 decisions.

“Depending on the situation, an appellant who disagrees with a decision of the appeal division can apply for judicial review to either the Federal Court or the Federal Court of Appeal within 30 days of receiving the appeal division’s decision,” ESDC spokesperson Liana Brault stated in an email to the Free Press.

“If the appellant is dissatisfied with the court’s decision, they may apply for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada within 60 days of receiving that decision.”

Rarely does anyone take it that far, says David Brannen, a New Brunswick-based lawyer and founder of Resolute Legal Disability Lawyers, specializing in CPP appeal cases.

“I would encourage people that if they get to the point where they have a hearing (for appeal with ESDC) and have not been approved already, to get professional help because there is so much on the line,” he says.

Often hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of future benefits are at stake, he notes.

Yet, cases like Zoerb’s are less common, Brannen adds.

What’s more, he is uncertain she could win her case — because survivor benefits are determined based on whether you are a spouse or common-law partner at the time of death of the pensioner. When Zoerb’s husband died, they were divorced.

Still, he recognizes the unfairness.

A spouse married for decades, who took time off to raise children, affecting her own CPP, should be recognized for that contribution. CPP does have drop-out provisions — excluding years for raising children up to age seven. Yet, arguably, taking time to raise children can have a large impact on income potential for an entire career, especially if someone has taken several years off work.

In law, however, “It’s not the truth of the situation; it’s what you can prove in court,” Brannen notes. “Ultimately, there is a checklist that they have for you to check off to get the benefit.”

Zoerb’s case does not check all those boxes.

Overall, the system can be unfair because of “technicalities” that disqualify individuals, but most cases involve CPP disability, he says.

“We represent a lot of people who get denied and I am certain if we didn’t, they would continue to get denied for technical reasons.”

Often denials centre on incorrect documentation — like medical records.

“It’s not as simple as you pay in and you get it,” Brannen says. “There are a lot of hoops to jump through to get CPP disability.”

For example, an individual’s disability must start very close to when they were paying into the plan, he says.

Getting approval ultimately comes down to meeting required criteria, Brannen says.

Most Canadians applying for CPP and the survivor, death and disability benefits do receive them without any problems, Brannen adds.

Yet, it can be financially devastating for the few who are denied, especially CPP disability.

“If you’re unfamiliar with these rules, they can feel like traps,” Brannen says. “No one is actually trying to trap people, but CPP is not going out of its way to help either.”

For Zoerb, the whole notion of being denied benefits from a plan Canadians pay into — money that is rightfully theirs — feels absurd.

“It makes no sense,” she says. “If you paid into it and are entitled to it otherwise, you shouldn’t be denied.”

Joel Schlesinger is a Winnipeg-based freelance journalist

joelschles@gmail.com