Physician's Guide - Purpose of this Guide
As a physician, you may be asked to provide medical information for a patient who has applied for CPP disability benefits. The information you provide will help Social Development Canada (SDC) assess your patient's eligibility, or continued eligibility. For this, you will be paid a fee.
This publication will help you to provide the best possible service to your patients with disabilities. It provides an overview of the CPP disability program; it clarifies the role and responsibilities of the physician in helping a patient applying for or receiving CPP disability benefits; and it specifies what information you should provide to allow CPP staff to make the best possible decisions without delay. It also provides information on the CPP vocational rehabilitation program, which helps beneficiaries return to regular employment.
This booklet is intended to be used as a guide to applying for and maintaining disability benefits only.
Benefits available from the Canada Pension Plan
Disability benefits are but one type of benefit available under the Canada Pension Plan. People who have worked in Canada and who have made the required contributions to the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) may at some point in their lives be eligible to receive a monthly benefit. These benefits cover almost everyone between the ages of 18 and 70 who has been either employed or self-employed in Canada.
These benefits take many forms:
- retirement pensions for older Canadians and their spouses or common-law partners
- benefits for the survivors of contributors who have died - spouses, common-law partners and children
- benefits for people who have disabilities that prevent them from working at any job - and their children
Please note: The term "common-law" refers to two persons, of the same or opposite sex, who have lived together in a conjugal relationship for a year or more.
All workers in Canada who contribute to the CPP or its sister plan, the Quebec Pension Plan (QPP), are covered. The two plans are coordinated so that all contributors are insured, regardless of where they live. International agreements may also help your patients qualify for CPP benefits if they have worked or lived in another country.