Peter McClure, who is dying of cancer, has been repeatedly denied a CPP
disability pension and has been told there will be a long delay in
reconsidering his application.
By Cailynn Klingbeil, Edmonton Journal February 8, 2015
EDMONTON
- A Spruce Grove man dying of cancer has spent one-and-a-half years
fighting to have his Canada Pension Plan retirement benefits switched to
disability benefits, but Service Canada has continually stated he does
not qualify because his condition is not severe and prolonged.
Peter McClure receives about $500 a month in retirement benefits, whereas disability benefits would be at least double that.
McClure, 62, went for a routine colonoscopy in the fall of 2012. Doctors found rectal cancer, and a followup test revealed tumours on his right lung, a second separate primary cancer. In early 2013, doctors told McClure he had six months to one year to live.
Worried about the loss of family income for his wife and himself, McClure applied for and started receiving retirement benefits from CPP in December 2012. Before applying, McClure said he called Service Canada and explained his circumstances: He could work at that time, but his condition might worsen.
“I was told if I applied for CPP I would have it right away. Disability would take three to four months to come,” McClure said. “No one told me the repercussions of doing that.”
But after McClure had to stop working and applied to switch his retirement benefits to disability benefits, he was denied. A reconsideration of that decision resulted in another denial, which McClure has appealed.
Michael Prince, the Lansdowne Professor of Social Policy at the University of Victoria, has extensively studied disability policy and said McClure’s case is not unusual.
About 47 per cent of CPP disability claimants are initially turned down, Prince said.
“This is a national issue, a quiet crisis,” Prince said. “Almost one out of every two Canadians discover this safety net isn’t there for them. It doesn’t give them the protection they had been advised would be there for them. It’s a shock on many levels.”
With so many people turned down, Prince points to a failure in communicating how to successfully apply for disability. “There needs to be an application process that is transparent and clear. Right now, the onus is on people to figure out this maze.”
“People who have played by the rules, who have paid into this, are suffering and struggling.”
After he was first diagnosed with cancer, McClure continued to work his job in sales. He used vacation days to attend medical appointments. After six weeks of treatment for rectal cancer, he began more aggressive treatments for stage IV lung cancer.
McClure, a former fitness and aquafit instructor and founder of the Edmonton Hikers Group, soon developed serious complications. The week after the first chemotherapy session, McClure was sent to the emergency room and doctors discovered a massive blood clot in his femoral artery, leading to a 10-day hospital stay.
McClure’s doctor told him he wouldn’t be able to return to work. He stopped working on April 23, 2013, and after relying on savings, he applied for disability benefits on Aug. 1, 2013. His application was denied the next day, in a form letter stating while he met the contribution requirements, he did not meet the CPP disability rule.
“You do not have a disability that is both severe and prolonged as defined under the CPP legislation,” the letter stated.
Peter McClure receives about $500 a month in retirement benefits, whereas disability benefits would be at least double that.
McClure, 62, went for a routine colonoscopy in the fall of 2012. Doctors found rectal cancer, and a followup test revealed tumours on his right lung, a second separate primary cancer. In early 2013, doctors told McClure he had six months to one year to live.
Worried about the loss of family income for his wife and himself, McClure applied for and started receiving retirement benefits from CPP in December 2012. Before applying, McClure said he called Service Canada and explained his circumstances: He could work at that time, but his condition might worsen.
“I was told if I applied for CPP I would have it right away. Disability would take three to four months to come,” McClure said. “No one told me the repercussions of doing that.”
But after McClure had to stop working and applied to switch his retirement benefits to disability benefits, he was denied. A reconsideration of that decision resulted in another denial, which McClure has appealed.
Michael Prince, the Lansdowne Professor of Social Policy at the University of Victoria, has extensively studied disability policy and said McClure’s case is not unusual.
About 47 per cent of CPP disability claimants are initially turned down, Prince said.
“This is a national issue, a quiet crisis,” Prince said. “Almost one out of every two Canadians discover this safety net isn’t there for them. It doesn’t give them the protection they had been advised would be there for them. It’s a shock on many levels.”
With so many people turned down, Prince points to a failure in communicating how to successfully apply for disability. “There needs to be an application process that is transparent and clear. Right now, the onus is on people to figure out this maze.”
“People who have played by the rules, who have paid into this, are suffering and struggling.”
After he was first diagnosed with cancer, McClure continued to work his job in sales. He used vacation days to attend medical appointments. After six weeks of treatment for rectal cancer, he began more aggressive treatments for stage IV lung cancer.
McClure, a former fitness and aquafit instructor and founder of the Edmonton Hikers Group, soon developed serious complications. The week after the first chemotherapy session, McClure was sent to the emergency room and doctors discovered a massive blood clot in his femoral artery, leading to a 10-day hospital stay.
McClure’s doctor told him he wouldn’t be able to return to work. He stopped working on April 23, 2013, and after relying on savings, he applied for disability benefits on Aug. 1, 2013. His application was denied the next day, in a form letter stating while he met the contribution requirements, he did not meet the CPP disability rule.
“You do not have a disability that is both severe and prolonged as defined under the CPP legislation,” the letter stated.
A
reconsideration of the decision — another denial — was given about a
month later. McClure appealed the reconsideration decision with the
Social Security Tribunal, which wrote to him to advise him of
“unavoidable delays” because of a significant volume of files.
The tribunal has a backlog of more than 11,000 appeals, mostly from people seeking disability benefits. Last November, more staff was added to deal with the backlog.
Service Canada’s media relations office said in an email that to switch from retirement benefits to disability benefits, the date of disability must be prior to the first monthly payment of the retirement pension.
McClure started receiving his retirement pension in December 2012, meaning he must be found to have been disabled prior to November 2012. His condition did not prevent him from working until April 2013.
But McClure said the rule was never made clear to him when he applied. Had he known, he would have waited until his condition changed in April — just five months after his initial pension application — and applied for disability then, avoiding the bureaucratic mess that ensued.
McClure wonders where in the system there is room to accommodate changes in medical conditions.
Frustrated by the delays, he questions if he’ll live to see the issue resolved. He currently receives palliative chemotherapy, intended to prolong his survival and ease his symptoms, but not cure the cancer.
“This whole process seems to be intended to be difficult,” McClure said, surrounded by a thick stack of papers, his correspondence with Service Canada since August 2013.
“I paid into CPP all my working life. Why is it not there when you need it? We should be doing a better job than this.”
cklingbeil@edmontonjournal.com
twitter.com/cailynnk
The tribunal has a backlog of more than 11,000 appeals, mostly from people seeking disability benefits. Last November, more staff was added to deal with the backlog.
Service Canada’s media relations office said in an email that to switch from retirement benefits to disability benefits, the date of disability must be prior to the first monthly payment of the retirement pension.
McClure started receiving his retirement pension in December 2012, meaning he must be found to have been disabled prior to November 2012. His condition did not prevent him from working until April 2013.
But McClure said the rule was never made clear to him when he applied. Had he known, he would have waited until his condition changed in April — just five months after his initial pension application — and applied for disability then, avoiding the bureaucratic mess that ensued.
McClure wonders where in the system there is room to accommodate changes in medical conditions.
Frustrated by the delays, he questions if he’ll live to see the issue resolved. He currently receives palliative chemotherapy, intended to prolong his survival and ease his symptoms, but not cure the cancer.
“This whole process seems to be intended to be difficult,” McClure said, surrounded by a thick stack of papers, his correspondence with Service Canada since August 2013.
“I paid into CPP all my working life. Why is it not there when you need it? We should be doing a better job than this.”
cklingbeil@edmontonjournal.com
twitter.com/cailynnk
© Copyright (c) Edmonton Journal
Source: http://www.edmontonjournal.com/touch/story.html?id=10797822
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