CPP Disability Benefits Advocacy Program

Canada Pension Plan-Disability (CPP-D) provides financial assistance to CPP contributors who are unable to work because of a severe and prolonged disability. Recipients may receive provincial (PWD/PPMB) disability benefits in addition to CPP-D in the form of a top-up if their CPP-D benefits fall below the provincial minimum.

To receive disability benefits from CPP-D, people must have contributed to CPP through their employment.

Our CPP-D advocacy program assists clients primarily with CPP-D Reconsiderations and Appeals. We provide help with other CPP-D case types if possible. Assistance is provided in our office, by appointment or over the phone.

In-Person Appointments

Because of the large number of people who contact us for help, it is difficult for us to accept walk-in clients. If you would like to meet with an advocate in person, please call to make an appointment.

Advocacy Access Direct Lines

Phone: 604-872-1278 (in the Lower Mainland)

Toll Free: 1-800-663-1278

CPP Advocacy Access Publications

We publish a range of CPPD guides for people with disabilities and their advocates. See our resources in the Money & Income Support Library section. Click here for our program brochure.

Thanks to a grant from the Notary Foundation of BC, in 2011 we will be updating our CPP-D advocate’s manuals and translating them into Chinese and Punjabi.

CPP Allowable Income

The Allowable Earnings Initiative means that:

• CPP Disability Benefits recipients may earn up to $4,700* gross in a calendar year without having to report earnings or employment to HRDC.*
• Recipients will not be subject to a reassessment based on their employment earnings providing they do not earn more than $4,700 gross per year.*
• A calendar year starts in January. This means that if a person's work carries over from one year into the next, the calculation of earnings starts at zero every January.*
• CPP Disability recipients may work as many hours as they want providing their annual gross income does not exceed $4,700.*
• People who earn more then $4,700 gross per year must report their earnings and employment to HRDC. This may result in a termination or review of their CPP Disability Benefits.

*The exemption amount is $4,700 for 2010; the amount goes up every year.

New CPP Project

In the fall of 2011, we began a new one-year project thanks to funding from the Law Foundation of Ontario. We will be producing:

• an online training course–with our community partners at PovNet–for community advocates on CPP applications, Reconsiderations and Review Tribunals.

• 

  a manual on appealing to the CPP-D Review Tribunal, for people with disabilities and for community advocates. The manual will be available in English, Traditional Chinese and Punjabi.

More to come on this project!

	BCCPD's Canada Pension Plan-Disability program will stay open in 2011 thanks to the generous support of the Law Foundation of BC.
	Thanks to a grant from the Notary Foundation of BC, in 2011 we will be updating our CPP-D advocate’s manuals and translating them into Chinese and Punjabi.

Changes to CPP Appeal Process

In October 2011, the Office of the Commissioner of Review Tribunals (OCRT) made changes to the CPP appeal process.

These changes will have a significant impact for individuals who represent clients before the Review Tribunal.

See our blog update on these CPP changes here.