Parental Benefits
Parental Benefits Questions to ask your employer about maternity or parental leave continued
Can I still make employer pension and / or group Register Retirment Savings Plan( RRSP) contributions?( if you are interested in doing this). If your employer has a pension plan and you pay into it, you could ask:
� How much money you will lose in pension / group RRSP contributions, while you are on leave?
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How you can continue to make pension / group RRSP contributions while on leave( if you wish to)?
How you can make up for lost pension / group RRSP contributions once you return to work( if you wish to)?
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What to Do If You Are Self Employed
If you are eligible, you can pay into the Employment Insurance( EI) program. There are specific rules on how long you must pay into EI before you are able to collect EI, and how long you must continue to pay into EI afterwards. As well, those that are self-employed are only eligible for some EI benefits. It’ s worth taking the time to see whether it would be worthwhile for you to pay into EI. More information on this can be found at: http:// www. servicecanada. gc. ca / eng / ei / information / self _ employed. shtml
If you are self-employed and you have not or will not contribute to the EI program, you will not receive EI maternity or paternity benefits.
If you are self-employed, you may want to make a financial plan to prepare for the time you will be unavailable to work after your child is born.
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