Employment Insurance and overpayments
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About overpayments
If you receive benefits you're not entitled to, the amount of the overpayment counts as a debt and you must repay it.
According to the Employment Insurance Act, we can review benefit claims up to 36 months after benefits were paid or became payable. However, if in our opinion you made a false or misleading declaration, the review period extends to 72 months.
Note that, if fraud is committed, you may be penalized or liable to prosecution.
Causes of overpayment
An overpayment may occur for different reasons. For example:
- you made a mistake or a false declaration when you submitted your application for benefits or Employment Insurance (EI) report
- your employer made a mistake or a false declaration when issuing your record of employment (ROE)
- we made a mistake when processing your application
- you, your employer or a third party provided new facts due to an inquiry, investigation or other verification measure
- the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) made decisions regarding the insurability of your employment
Mistakes can happen
A mistake is an unintentional act. If you notice a mistake on a completed report or form, or if there is a change in your circumstances that could affect your EI claim, it's important that you contact us as soon as possible.
This will help prevent any future problems with your claim. If you intentionally conceal or falsify information, you're committing fraud.
Repaying an overpayment
Service Canada issues a notice of debt when the overpayment is established and sends monthly statements of account with details of your EI debt. When you receive your notice of debt or statement of account, you must repay your debt as specified in the payment instructions.
If you can't pay the full amount of your debt, you're expected to make the minimum monthly payment listed on the statement. However, you can request a repayment arrangement with the CRA, which is responsible for the recovery of EI debts, by calling 1-866-864-5823.
When applicable, interest will accumulate until your account is paid in full.
Recovery of debts from your payments
If you are receiving benefits and you have a debt, your debt will be recovered from your EI payments at 50% of your weekly benefit rate. However, you can request that a different amount be withheld from your benefits.
To request a repayment arrangement, contact the CRA at 1-866-864-5823.