EI Monitoring and Assessment Report 2012/13 VII.EI Finances

The EI program is financed entirely by contributions from employees and employers, via premiums paid on insured earnings up to the maximum insurable earnings threshold (MIE). Under the Employment Insurance Act, the MIE is indexed annually based on the average industrial earnings published by Statistics Canada. The MIE also represents the maximum amount considered in applications for EI benefits. The EI program is based on the principle of universal coverage of all employees in insurable employment, which helps ensure that premiums remain low and relatively stable over time.

Employee premiums apply to every $100 of insurable earnings, up to the MIE. Employers pay premiums that are 1.4 times those of employees. Employee premiums increased in 2013 to $1.88 per $100 of insurable earnings, from $1.83 in 2012 and $1.78 in 2011. Accordingly, employer premiums increased in 2013 to $2.63 per $100 of insurable earnings, increasing from $2.56 in 2012. ^{Footnote 133}

According to the 2013 Public Accounts of Canada, in 2012 /13, EI revenues ($20.872 billion) exceeded EI expenditures ($18.887 billion) resulting in a surplus of $1.985 billion. The cumulative deficit in the EI Operating Account was reported to be $5.964 billion as of March 31, 2013. Annex 5 summarizes EI expenditures and revenues, as credited to the EI Operating Account and consistent with the financial statements in the Public Accounts of Canada.