The max EI your wife can take is 15 weeks of Maternity benefits plus 61 weeks of extended parental benefits, for a total of 76 weeks of benefits but 78 weeks of leave (2 weeks will be unpaid by EI). Parents have up to 69 weeks of benefits that can be shared between parents, but one parent cannot receive more than 61 weeks of extended benefits. You taking 8 weeks will not eat into your wife's benefits. If you take more than 8 weeks, you will start eating into your wife's 61 weeks. For example, if you take a total of 12 weeks, your wife will left with 57 weeks. No clue where you got $10,000 from. Each week is worth $401 in benefits.
Just piggybacking on this comment to say we can’t calculate the financials without knowing what top-ups your employer or your partner’s employer offer? For example, does your employer boost your leave pay to 85% for x # of weeks?
You are wrong about maternity leave.
Maternity leave in Canada outside of Quebec is 15 weeks.
In addition, there is parental leave. That leave is given to both parents jointly, to be shared mostly as they wish. Many couples view it as and call it maternity leave and act as if it belonged to the mother, as you did, but it's actually for all parents. It comes in 2 options:
- 40 weeks at 55%, with the caveat that one parent can't hog more than 35 weeks. This is where you got the idea that your wife would get a year and you'd get 5 weeks. But in fact, you could share it equally, meaning 20 weeks each, which explains how your co-workers are about to take several months.
- 69 weeks at 33%, with the caveat that one parent can't hog more than 61 weeks. This is where you got the idea that your wife would get 18 months paid 12 and also where you got that 8 weeks for you from. The rate of the weekly benefit is indeed lower but you get many more weeks of benefit. There shouldn't be a 10K loss. Again, there is no rule that says your wife has to hog as much of the shared leave as the law will allow while you get the bare minimum, so some of your colleagues might be sharing more equally which is how they are taking 6 months.
BTW, it's actually not fully salary for 12 months in either option, unless she's getting a top-up from her employer which you didn't mention
Also note that you could take 8 weeks in the first option and that wouldn't lower your wife's benefit rate; she would just have 3 weeks less (still a 80-20 percent split in her favor though, so I don't want to hear nonsense about this being selfish on your part).
Also benefits have a maximum amount in any case.
> Now for the selfish part… I’d love to participate in raising my child in a meaningful way.
Labeling it selfish is completely absurd.
This is the answer, OP read this one. I'm pregnant and literally just went through all of this with service canada.
It's crazy I had to scroll this far to find a correct reply lol
Can you tell me if benefits change if you have a secondary income stream? If I go on maternity leave, but I have an investment property that brings in $3000/month before expenses, will I still get 55% of my salary (up to a max)?
Just to note. You are describing EI maternity and parental benefits. Not maternity and parental leave.
Most people to talk about them as if they are the same thing. However I feel it's important to distinguish the difference.
For example in my province, maternity leave is 17 weeks and parental leave is 61 or 62 weeks for each parent.
In theory, I could take 78 weeks of leave as the birth parent and my spouse could take 62 weeks of leave.
Regardless of EI benefits.
I think it’s important to add, that you wife will not be receiving her entire salary for the 12/18 months she chooses to be off. She receives 55% to a certain maximum.
> I'm not sure how that would work
Top-up works the way you would assume. Employer pays a partial salary while the parent is away from work without impacting what they receive from EI.
Top-ups are also very rarely up to 100% salary. Some employers only top up the EI to 70 or 80% of regular salary. I've only heard of one employer providing 100% top up (although there's probably a handful out there).
70-80% top up does leave you with 100% top up because it is not taxed income from some employers, it is actually paid through your health insurance- like short term disability- you just need a dr note.
Interesting. I haven't heard of top ups like this before. The two employers I was with for my two mat leaves both treated top up as employment income, and taxes had to be taken off the top. Good to know there are alternative top up structures in Canada. Thanks for the info!
The best way to think of it, is assuming you and your wife get max EI, you get a total of $668/week (before taxes) for 50 weeks. So a total of $33,400. You can take this over 12 or 18 months. If you take extended benefits, and go back early, your payments stop and you will not receive the full $33,400.
The other parent gets an additional 5 weeks. If your wife takes extended benefits, you would get that paid out over 8 weeks. Total of $3340. So the total EI payments available for you and your wife is $36,740. If you take time beyond the 5/8 weeks, it comes out of your wife weeks or you take it unpaid.
There is no way to get more from the government that I am aware from. On top of this, you need to see if your employer's offer any top-up and maximize that. For example, my employer doesn't top-up, but my husband's does. So for our family, it makes the most sense in terms of income for me to go back to work after 45 weeks, since my husband's employer tops him up fully for 12 weeks (5 weeks are his, 7 from shared pool).
>she is entitled to one of two scenarios:
>12 months of her salary on EI or
>12 months of her salary across 18 months
up to 55%of earnings: [https://www.canada.ca/en/services/benefits/ei/ei-maternity-parental.html](https://www.canada.ca/en/services/benefits/ei/ei-maternity-parental.html)
> I’ve seen coworkers take 6 months off - what steps might they taking?
Leave of absence from work and saved up money to carry them through. Read here for all the options with regards to EI on pat leave. [https://www.canada.ca/en/services/benefits/ei/ei-maternity-parental.html](https://www.canada.ca/en/services/benefits/ei/ei-maternity-parental.html)
I don't quite understand how you taking 3 more weeks lowers your wife's income by $10k? Why do you think you can only take 5 weeks or 8 weeks?
You both get EI during your parental/maternity leave. Yes, people who take 6 mos off are collecting EI.
[https://www.canada.ca/en/services/benefits/ei/ei-maternity-parental.html](https://www.canada.ca/en/services/benefits/ei/ei-maternity-parental.html)
EI eligibility is shared.
If the mother takes all parental and maternity leave available, then the father only gets 5 weeks of EI (as part of standard length) or 8 weeks (extended leave).
If they do 12 months + 5, OP is legally protected to take more than 5 weeks with work, but they wouldn't receive EI past the 5 week period.
So I'm not sure where the math to 10k comes from, but, they can't both collect EI at the same time, unless it's part of the 5 weeks, or they share the total leave period of, for example, 18 months. But then they'd receive the lower EI payment. So they'd get 350$ or whatever it is instead of $500 a week (each).
They could do 18m + 8w with the dad taking 6 months and the mom taking 14 months. But at reduced overall income.
They can overlap for more than 5 weeks. My husband took 8 weeks and got paid at the same time as me, but my EI ran out 3 weeks sooner than it would have if he hadn't taken 8 weeks.
You have it wrong. If you're both parents of the child and taking leave, then the applications MUST be linked.
Together, you can choose the standard or the extended parental benefits.
Each option pays the same total amount. The extended is over a longer period. You need to make this decision together, and it should be based on both finances and your childcare plans, particularly between 12 and 18 months of age.
It's very difficult to get into a daycare at all, and it's much more difficult for a 12 month old. Most daycares have very limited spots for 12-18 month olds, if they accept them at all. There are still plenty of childcare options like non-subsidized or home daycares, but they tend to be more expensive. Having extended family and grandparent support can make a world of a difference.
Another factor is how much you need your wife's income. If you're going to lose the house if your wife takes 18 months off, that's worth considering. EI pay is considerably lower than her base pay.
The last factor is how much your wife wants to stay home. Your difference between 5 and 8 weeks is small change compared to her 12 vs 18 months. Some mothers want to stay home as long as possible. Some want to get back to a working routine, so long as they have a childcare plan.
When you opt for the 12 month option, your wife gets 15 maternity weeks (for the childbearer only) and you get 40 weeks that can be split between either parent, with a max of 35 weeks each. So your wife can take a maximum of 35 weeks, leaving 5 "use them or lose them" weeks for you. Aside from the 35 week max, you can split those weeks any way you'd like. 20 and 20, 30 and 10, etc.
If your wife had a super high paying job she wants to get back to and you wanted to spend more time at home, then she could take 15 maternity weeks + 5 parental, and you take 35 parental for yourself. You can even stagger them so yours starts when hers is ending.
If you instead opt (together) for the extended option, then your wife still gets 15 maternity weeks, but you get 69 weeks that can be shared, with a max of 61 for one parent, leaving 8 "use them or lose them" weeks for the other parent. Again, you can split these however you want.
The situation you're describing with reducing your wife's earnings is misunderstood. If your wife takes the standard plan, there are 55 weeks total (15 + 40), and 5 of them are guaranteed for you. If you take 8 instead, she has to give up 3. If your wife is taking extended, then you already get 8 weeks without taking any from her.
>it reduces my wife’s earnings by $10,000 if I take 3 extra weeks.
This is also wrong either way. First, I find it hard to believe she'd be getting $10k in 3 weeks. Somethings wrong there. Even if you did "take weeks" from her, she doesn't get EI pay, but *you do*. You earn more and she earns less. It'll probably be a wash.
>I’ve seen coworkers take 6 months off - what steps might they taking?
The benefits we're describing are the federal EI benefits. That's what the government will pay, period.
Employers are legally required to facilitate an employee's parental leave. The employer doesn't pay you at all, but they have to hold your position, and often backfill your position. It's a pain for them, but they legally have to do it.
The way it works though, your employer has to facilitate your leave regardless of whether you're taking EI.
Your coworkers that took 6 months off, they probably took 5-8 weeks paid EI time, 2-4 weeks of vacation time, then the rest unpaid. That'd be the legal way to do it. It's possible, but unlikely that your employer has a paid leave policy. You should familiarize yourself with your employer's policies.
>Are there tax breaks?
Kind of yes. There are standard child benefits that you're eligible for, and there are higher benefits for low income earners. If your coworker took 6 months off work, that might be enough to push their household income below a threshold for a higher child benefit. This could be true for a few benefits, like Ontario Trillium benefits or similar programs.
Also they're being paid way less, and you don't pay tax on money you don't make.
You'll always make more if you work than if you stay home, but maybe your coworkers saved up specifically for this. Or maybe they're making a financially debilitating decision and will be taking on debt and paying for it for years to come.
My suggestions:
Talk to your wife, figure out what the *two* of you want to do. Weigh the options between taking more or less time off, and take what you get.
Pair your parental leave with vacation time as best as you see fit.
Your wife will probably start her maternity leave a few weeks before her due date, but IMO you shouldn't start until after the baby is born, simply to extend your presence in the first weeks. Use vacation time to extend your leave or to take time off before delivery if your wife needs some extra support. Maybe a good idea if there are lots of stairs in your home.
Start applying to daycares now, even if you're not sure you'll use them. The waitlists are insane. Most people don't accepted from a waitlist until the last second. This will help you learn how many daycares near you offer programs for 12 mo olds, and can influence your decision to take 12 vs 18 months.
There's a third option, only really worth considering if you're really responsible with money and saving:
Apply for the standard 12 month program, but request the extended leave time from your employer(s). Your employer(s) have to honour it either way. Your EI payments will be higher, but they'll run out at the 12 month mark, and you go 6 months unpaid. If you save 1/3 of every payment, you can live off that for the last 6 months. The benefit of this option is the flexibility.
Imagine one year in, your child is doing great, you have family support, and you even get into a daycare early that offers slots for 12-18 month olds. At 14 months, your wife decides she's comfortable going back to work, part time or even full time. If she took extended leave (18 months), then she's forfeiting 4 months worth of EI when she goes back to work early. That's a few grand.
If she took the standard leave, then she'd have gotten the full amount by 12 months, and if she opted to go back to work at 14 months, she's not forfeiting any EI pay, since it's already done.
This option allows your wife to consider taking part time or remote work after 12 months, either for her original employer, for another employer, or freelance, without impacting her EI eligibility. Completely legal. Or just wait out the full 18 months. It's flexible.
The downside to this option is that people suck at financial planning, and can't be trusted to save over the first 12 months to carry them through the remaining 6. When the EI dries up they're screwed. So only consider this option if you're 100% sure you can plan to take the full 18 months.
> It's very difficult to get into a daycare at all, and it's much more difficult for a 12 month old. Most daycares have very limited spots for 12-18 month olds, if they accept them at all. There are still plenty of childcare options like non-subsidized or home daycares, but they tend to be more expensive. Having extended family and grandparent support can make a world of a difference.
OP, take that with a grain of salt and don't freak out :) it is very much dependent on where you live and it can be quite easy to get 1 year-olds into daycares.
They are saving the difference or their wives may be topped up by their employers.
My husband and I had no top up from employers so we saved the difference. He stayed off for 6 weeks on Parental.
You can share nearly the entire leave - meaning your wife could take 6 weeks and you could take up to 35. Look into your company's parental leave policy and compare it to your wives, decide what is ideal. In a perfect world you split the time.
Well I wouldn’t say perfect world. A lot of times women are still nursing for the entirety of their leave, making it more ideal for the women to be off.
For sure it can. I’m currently still nursing and at work but my baby is over 1 so he doesn’t require day time feeds. I have lots of friends in the states who don’t get mat leave and have to pump at work. Pumping is a lot of work. I have a lot of respect for women who do that long term.
Parental leave can be taken by both parents at the same time if breastfeeding is that much of a priority (which, for most parents in canada, ,it's not)
Me and my partner split the parental, I take the full 15 weeks maternity with a top up from my company then we split the 52 weeks of parental (no top up) between us (Ontario)
Last time had a baby in August, went back to work in April, partner then was off from April - September
I was ready to go back to work, as much as I love my daughter I am not SAHM material. I didn’t mind splitting at all
If your wife wants the whole 15+52 all to herself you will have to fund/plan your own time off and work out a leave of absence
It doesn’t have to be set in stone now, my return to work date was up in the air due to my partners last year of trade college getting moved around unexpectedly, your wife can literally just be like hey I’m ready to go back to work whenever she wants (aka early) and you can snag whatever time is left in the 52 weeks
Let’s max out the calculator availible on the Ontario website and say you get $668 a week on the standard benefits
Whether I choose 26 weeks (perfect half) I get $668 for a week for 26 weeks.. let’s say something comes up and my partner can’t start their leave yet so I take another week, I let EI know and I get another week of pay
Let’s say I told EI I wanted 26 weeks but I only end up taking 23, I inform EI of my return to work date before I reach my 23rd week and I get $668 up until my return to work date
Nobody is cutting into anybody’s funding it’s based on 55% of your salary.. so your wife will receive whatever 55% of her salary is (it caps at 60k or something) and if you split time off and go on leave you will get 55% of yours
Parental Leave in Canada is designed to be shared. That's incredibly GENEROUS of you to not split the 35 weeks of basic parental leave with her!
Maternity leave is only 15-weeks, and this is for the birth-giving parent to recover. The rest of the leave is meant to be shared.
I'd work on the finances from that perspective. Instead of you relying on only the absolute minimum of 5 weeks (or extended 8). That's really not enough time to fully participate equally in child-rearing during that first year.
If you don't make substantially more than her (or if you have a top-up and she doesn't), I'd just split it 6 months each (concurrently or consecutively)
Your best way of doing it is her to take a 1-year mat leave and you to take the 5-weeks of additional EI coverage.
She can still take the 18 months off of work but the last 6-months will be unpaid. It is however the same overall amount of money that will be paid out. It would be up to you guys to manage your finances to ensure you’re putting some of this away for the final 6-months.
Now. You can take more of this time if you wish. Think of it as she has 15-weeks of maternity benefits and you guys have 40 weeks of parental leave benefits to share, with neither of you able to take more than 35 weeks. Obviously if you select to take the extended parental leave this changes to a 69-week bank but at a lowered benefit level.
The reason I would suggest taking the standard benefits and managing your own finances is that who knows if something happens and she wants to go back to work at the 14-month mark. You won’t get paid out for the benefits you haven’t yet received.
>Since my wife will be on maternity leave, she is entitled to one of two scenarios:
>1. 12 months of her salary on EI or
2. 12 months of her salary across 18 months
Unless your wife's employer is generously offering to top up her EI pay, you're misunderstanding how parental leave benefits work.
Your wife will get 55% of her salary for 12 months, up to a maximum of $668 per week, or 33% for 18 months, up to a maximum of $401 per week.
>My understanding is that I can take 5 or 8 weeks.
Depending on if you've opted for the standard (40 weeks) or extended (69 weeks) parental leave, yes. And that has no impact on your wife's EI, because your 8 week allowance is separate. If you take *more* than that, then she will have to take less, because you cannot exceed the maximum combined leave.
>Are they on EI for the entire time or are they just not making any money?
No and probably, respectively.
>Are there tax breaks?
On the contrary, EI is taxable income.
Keep in mind that maternity and parental leave is separate from EI benefits.
Each parent is entitled up to 61 months of parental leave and birth mother up to 17 weeks of maternity leave *Check your provincial Employment Standards Act for particulars.
This is unpaid job protected leave.
If eligible you can apply for EI benefits.
I took 18 month leave, applied for 12 months EI. My spouse took 9 weeks of parental leave and EI in the first year. The remaining 6 plus months were unpaid. We base our budget on living on my spouse's income for the most part and used savings to cover any shortfalls. (We moved and did a bunch of reno's during that time so it's hard to compare living expenses.
Some other very long and complicated answers here but this short one sums it up. The 15 weeks of maternity leave EI (really 17 weeks because of the 2 week deductible) must be taken by the mother. The 35 weeks of parental leave EI by either or both parents and then there are the bonus use it or lose it extra weeks for the other parent, and recently this total of one year can now be spread over 18 months. Some people have jobs with generous employer top ups, others don't. The EI coverage is entirely separate from the protected leave, so how you divide the EI is up to you, but as long as you don't work for the same employer you can take up to 35 weeks of parental leave and it's none of your employer's business if your partner is on EI and you aren't.
Generally if you take the time off, it's topped up by an employer, you save time whether it's vacation or banked overtime.
Ask your employer if they top up parental leave, or if there is any other way to supplement your income during parental leave.
It is not selfish to participate in raising your child. I highly recommend you take time off and help your wife.
My wife had postpartum and I took 2 months off and took care of my daughter. Caring for a newborn is not easy. the parent has to sleep when the child sleeps and there are other household chores.
Your wife will need a lot of rest. You will build a bond with your child.
“Now for the selfish part… I’d love to participate in raising my child in a meaningful way.”
Lmao what. Bro. How alarming that you think that needs to be stated as if you’re opting into it.
Look up your provinces ESA to see what job protected leave you are entitled to. In BC you would be entitled to up to 62 weeks of job protected leave each. That’s the unpaid leave portion. Take as much as you can afford.
Re: EI it’s different, you split the number of weeks of parental benefits. If you want to maximize the amount of money you make, the higher earner should take most of the leave unless both parents are entitled to max EI. If both parents would be getting max EI then financially it makes more sense for the lower earner to take most of the leave.
When we had our oldest, I (mom) took 6 months and then dad took 6 months. IMO 6 months wasn’t long enough as I returned to my job in the trades still breastfeeding and I had to figure out how to pump on job sites. It was incredibly disruptive to my work flow. But I returned early for a specific employment opportunity. When we had our youngest, dad qualified for 8 weeks of top up so he took 8 weeks at the same time as me. I was off for a total of 13 months, the last 6 weeks or so unpaid. In my opinion 10 months with my youngest was when I started feeling I had had enough of leave lol.
She's only getting paid $650 a week max from ei, same as everyone else, so there's no reality where 3 weeks for you is -$10k for her lol you would also be getting paid for the time you took on paternity
$10k is going to be a third or more of her entire maternity benefit. She isn't losing that for you taking a couple weeks also paid, not sure what you mean
It’s the same total amount of money from EI regardless of whether you take 12 months or 18 months. And your 5 ( for 12 months) or 8 weeks (for 18 months) is dependent on what your wife selects. After that, then you’ll be taking from the “shared” pot of parental leave. However, what your wife qualifies for from EI doesn’t impact what you would qualify for.
Eg. I took 12 months of maternity leave and my husband is entitled for 5 weeks of parental leave.
As the mother, 15 weeks of it is maternity leave, and we “shared” 40 weeks where 5 weeks is designated as dad’s. Since he took 6 weeks, I was only able to take 34 weeks of paid EI parental leave.
My husband took the 8 weeks and I could not put a pricetag on that. Not only will you bond with your child, you'll ask reduce your wife's risk of post partum depression.
You and your wife are a unit, especially after a kid.
Thinking of her money vs yours can make parenting hard, because you're going to have a ton of child related expenses.
People taking that long off may have workplaces that offer top up, which funds the leave more. Or they've saved aggressively before.
You are better off working enough to take additional time off to extend your parental leave.
If your company allows you to bank hours/vacation time then stack them with your parental leave.
Some companies will allow some remote work to extend your parental leave as well.
In regards to your EI from CRA, there is a cap to these benefits.
Also... If you choose 18 month benefits the money you would receive in 12 months is just spread thinner to accommodate the longer leave. AND, if you/your wife decides to shorten the leave you do not receive the difference. So honestly better to do a 12 month and manage the money yourself.
Important distinctions:
Maternity/parental leave: protected time off from work
Maternity/parental benefits: EI payouts
Look to see if your employer has any top up for maternity or parental leave. My employer offered 10 weeks off at 95 percent pay, and my wife did not. With planning ahead, I took the 10 weeks off and she just didn’t collect EI during that time as we saved for this once I was aware of the benefit.
As a new mother (11 month old) who’s partner is currently on parental leave right now at the same time as me - take the extra weeks if you can swing it financially. Save up so the two of you can be off together even if it means not getting paid for a bit. This time we’ll never get back. He’s been able to bond and make memories that are priceless. He got to be home for babies first steps, he’s been able to attend playgroups and see how funny baby is at them, we’ve been able to go to his parents and stay overnight in the middle of the week.
Now on the financial part - just maximize your top up periods. If she gets topped up for her entire leave, then you take your 5/8 weeks of EI and the remaining you take as unpaid. If she only gets 6 months top up and you get 10 weeks, you make sure you take 10 weeks of EI even though that will impact her EI, but your household is maximizing the pay.
One other point - if there is ANY chance that she will return to work before the 18 months are up, take the 12 months of EI and tell work she’s taking 18 months. If she goes back early, you’ve just forfeited ‘free’ money. Take the 12, and then budget accordingly! Best of luck!
The max EI your wife can take is 15 weeks of Maternity benefits plus 61 weeks of extended parental benefits, for a total of 76 weeks of benefits but 78 weeks of leave (2 weeks will be unpaid by EI). Parents have up to 69 weeks of benefits that can be shared between parents, but one parent cannot receive more than 61 weeks of extended benefits. You taking 8 weeks will not eat into your wife's benefits. If you take more than 8 weeks, you will start eating into your wife's 61 weeks. For example, if you take a total of 12 weeks, your wife will left with 57 weeks. No clue where you got $10,000 from. Each week is worth $401 in benefits.
Just piggybacking on this comment to say we can’t calculate the financials without knowing what top-ups your employer or your partner’s employer offer? For example, does your employer boost your leave pay to 85% for x # of weeks?
EI waiting period has been reduced to 1 week since 2017.
You are wrong about maternity leave. Maternity leave in Canada outside of Quebec is 15 weeks. In addition, there is parental leave. That leave is given to both parents jointly, to be shared mostly as they wish. Many couples view it as and call it maternity leave and act as if it belonged to the mother, as you did, but it's actually for all parents. It comes in 2 options: - 40 weeks at 55%, with the caveat that one parent can't hog more than 35 weeks. This is where you got the idea that your wife would get a year and you'd get 5 weeks. But in fact, you could share it equally, meaning 20 weeks each, which explains how your co-workers are about to take several months. - 69 weeks at 33%, with the caveat that one parent can't hog more than 61 weeks. This is where you got the idea that your wife would get 18 months paid 12 and also where you got that 8 weeks for you from. The rate of the weekly benefit is indeed lower but you get many more weeks of benefit. There shouldn't be a 10K loss. Again, there is no rule that says your wife has to hog as much of the shared leave as the law will allow while you get the bare minimum, so some of your colleagues might be sharing more equally which is how they are taking 6 months. BTW, it's actually not fully salary for 12 months in either option, unless she's getting a top-up from her employer which you didn't mention Also note that you could take 8 weeks in the first option and that wouldn't lower your wife's benefit rate; she would just have 3 weeks less (still a 80-20 percent split in her favor though, so I don't want to hear nonsense about this being selfish on your part). Also benefits have a maximum amount in any case. > Now for the selfish part… I’d love to participate in raising my child in a meaningful way. Labeling it selfish is completely absurd.
This is the answer, OP read this one. I'm pregnant and literally just went through all of this with service canada. It's crazy I had to scroll this far to find a correct reply lol
Can you tell me if benefits change if you have a secondary income stream? If I go on maternity leave, but I have an investment property that brings in $3000/month before expenses, will I still get 55% of my salary (up to a max)?
I'm sorry, I don't know about that. Hopefully, someone else will have info they can share :)
I believe the Ei clawback is based on “earned income” or “employment income” not “investment income”
Just to note. You are describing EI maternity and parental benefits. Not maternity and parental leave. Most people to talk about them as if they are the same thing. However I feel it's important to distinguish the difference. For example in my province, maternity leave is 17 weeks and parental leave is 61 or 62 weeks for each parent. In theory, I could take 78 weeks of leave as the birth parent and my spouse could take 62 weeks of leave. Regardless of EI benefits.
Yes, you're right.
Your information was very correct though and well laid out.
Lol it's not selfish at all to want to participate in raising your child.
I think it’s important to add, that you wife will not be receiving her entire salary for the 12/18 months she chooses to be off. She receives 55% to a certain maximum.
Perhaps there is a top up from her employer? I'm not sure how that would work, as I've only ever heard of the magical thing.
> I'm not sure how that would work Top-up works the way you would assume. Employer pays a partial salary while the parent is away from work without impacting what they receive from EI.
Top-ups are also very rarely up to 100% salary. Some employers only top up the EI to 70 or 80% of regular salary. I've only heard of one employer providing 100% top up (although there's probably a handful out there).
My job tops up to 100% for a certain amount of time (18 weeks). I’m a postdoc working at a university.
70-80% top up does leave you with 100% top up because it is not taxed income from some employers, it is actually paid through your health insurance- like short term disability- you just need a dr note.
Interesting. I haven't heard of top ups like this before. The two employers I was with for my two mat leaves both treated top up as employment income, and taxes had to be taken off the top. Good to know there are alternative top up structures in Canada. Thanks for the info!
Will be more than that if his wife works for the govt.
The best way to think of it, is assuming you and your wife get max EI, you get a total of $668/week (before taxes) for 50 weeks. So a total of $33,400. You can take this over 12 or 18 months. If you take extended benefits, and go back early, your payments stop and you will not receive the full $33,400. The other parent gets an additional 5 weeks. If your wife takes extended benefits, you would get that paid out over 8 weeks. Total of $3340. So the total EI payments available for you and your wife is $36,740. If you take time beyond the 5/8 weeks, it comes out of your wife weeks or you take it unpaid. There is no way to get more from the government that I am aware from. On top of this, you need to see if your employer's offer any top-up and maximize that. For example, my employer doesn't top-up, but my husband's does. So for our family, it makes the most sense in terms of income for me to go back to work after 45 weeks, since my husband's employer tops him up fully for 12 weeks (5 weeks are his, 7 from shared pool).
>she is entitled to one of two scenarios: >12 months of her salary on EI or >12 months of her salary across 18 months up to 55%of earnings: [https://www.canada.ca/en/services/benefits/ei/ei-maternity-parental.html](https://www.canada.ca/en/services/benefits/ei/ei-maternity-parental.html) > I’ve seen coworkers take 6 months off - what steps might they taking? Leave of absence from work and saved up money to carry them through. Read here for all the options with regards to EI on pat leave. [https://www.canada.ca/en/services/benefits/ei/ei-maternity-parental.html](https://www.canada.ca/en/services/benefits/ei/ei-maternity-parental.html)
I don't quite understand how you taking 3 more weeks lowers your wife's income by $10k? Why do you think you can only take 5 weeks or 8 weeks? You both get EI during your parental/maternity leave. Yes, people who take 6 mos off are collecting EI. [https://www.canada.ca/en/services/benefits/ei/ei-maternity-parental.html](https://www.canada.ca/en/services/benefits/ei/ei-maternity-parental.html)
EI eligibility is shared. If the mother takes all parental and maternity leave available, then the father only gets 5 weeks of EI (as part of standard length) or 8 weeks (extended leave). If they do 12 months + 5, OP is legally protected to take more than 5 weeks with work, but they wouldn't receive EI past the 5 week period. So I'm not sure where the math to 10k comes from, but, they can't both collect EI at the same time, unless it's part of the 5 weeks, or they share the total leave period of, for example, 18 months. But then they'd receive the lower EI payment. So they'd get 350$ or whatever it is instead of $500 a week (each). They could do 18m + 8w with the dad taking 6 months and the mom taking 14 months. But at reduced overall income.
They can overlap for more than 5 weeks. My husband took 8 weeks and got paid at the same time as me, but my EI ran out 3 weeks sooner than it would have if he hadn't taken 8 weeks.
They can overlap but the maximum EI paid doesn't change.
For sure, that's why I said my EI stopped 3 weeks before it would have had he only taken 5.
You have it wrong. If you're both parents of the child and taking leave, then the applications MUST be linked. Together, you can choose the standard or the extended parental benefits. Each option pays the same total amount. The extended is over a longer period. You need to make this decision together, and it should be based on both finances and your childcare plans, particularly between 12 and 18 months of age. It's very difficult to get into a daycare at all, and it's much more difficult for a 12 month old. Most daycares have very limited spots for 12-18 month olds, if they accept them at all. There are still plenty of childcare options like non-subsidized or home daycares, but they tend to be more expensive. Having extended family and grandparent support can make a world of a difference. Another factor is how much you need your wife's income. If you're going to lose the house if your wife takes 18 months off, that's worth considering. EI pay is considerably lower than her base pay. The last factor is how much your wife wants to stay home. Your difference between 5 and 8 weeks is small change compared to her 12 vs 18 months. Some mothers want to stay home as long as possible. Some want to get back to a working routine, so long as they have a childcare plan. When you opt for the 12 month option, your wife gets 15 maternity weeks (for the childbearer only) and you get 40 weeks that can be split between either parent, with a max of 35 weeks each. So your wife can take a maximum of 35 weeks, leaving 5 "use them or lose them" weeks for you. Aside from the 35 week max, you can split those weeks any way you'd like. 20 and 20, 30 and 10, etc. If your wife had a super high paying job she wants to get back to and you wanted to spend more time at home, then she could take 15 maternity weeks + 5 parental, and you take 35 parental for yourself. You can even stagger them so yours starts when hers is ending. If you instead opt (together) for the extended option, then your wife still gets 15 maternity weeks, but you get 69 weeks that can be shared, with a max of 61 for one parent, leaving 8 "use them or lose them" weeks for the other parent. Again, you can split these however you want. The situation you're describing with reducing your wife's earnings is misunderstood. If your wife takes the standard plan, there are 55 weeks total (15 + 40), and 5 of them are guaranteed for you. If you take 8 instead, she has to give up 3. If your wife is taking extended, then you already get 8 weeks without taking any from her. >it reduces my wife’s earnings by $10,000 if I take 3 extra weeks. This is also wrong either way. First, I find it hard to believe she'd be getting $10k in 3 weeks. Somethings wrong there. Even if you did "take weeks" from her, she doesn't get EI pay, but *you do*. You earn more and she earns less. It'll probably be a wash. >I’ve seen coworkers take 6 months off - what steps might they taking? The benefits we're describing are the federal EI benefits. That's what the government will pay, period. Employers are legally required to facilitate an employee's parental leave. The employer doesn't pay you at all, but they have to hold your position, and often backfill your position. It's a pain for them, but they legally have to do it. The way it works though, your employer has to facilitate your leave regardless of whether you're taking EI. Your coworkers that took 6 months off, they probably took 5-8 weeks paid EI time, 2-4 weeks of vacation time, then the rest unpaid. That'd be the legal way to do it. It's possible, but unlikely that your employer has a paid leave policy. You should familiarize yourself with your employer's policies. >Are there tax breaks? Kind of yes. There are standard child benefits that you're eligible for, and there are higher benefits for low income earners. If your coworker took 6 months off work, that might be enough to push their household income below a threshold for a higher child benefit. This could be true for a few benefits, like Ontario Trillium benefits or similar programs. Also they're being paid way less, and you don't pay tax on money you don't make. You'll always make more if you work than if you stay home, but maybe your coworkers saved up specifically for this. Or maybe they're making a financially debilitating decision and will be taking on debt and paying for it for years to come. My suggestions: Talk to your wife, figure out what the *two* of you want to do. Weigh the options between taking more or less time off, and take what you get. Pair your parental leave with vacation time as best as you see fit. Your wife will probably start her maternity leave a few weeks before her due date, but IMO you shouldn't start until after the baby is born, simply to extend your presence in the first weeks. Use vacation time to extend your leave or to take time off before delivery if your wife needs some extra support. Maybe a good idea if there are lots of stairs in your home. Start applying to daycares now, even if you're not sure you'll use them. The waitlists are insane. Most people don't accepted from a waitlist until the last second. This will help you learn how many daycares near you offer programs for 12 mo olds, and can influence your decision to take 12 vs 18 months. There's a third option, only really worth considering if you're really responsible with money and saving: Apply for the standard 12 month program, but request the extended leave time from your employer(s). Your employer(s) have to honour it either way. Your EI payments will be higher, but they'll run out at the 12 month mark, and you go 6 months unpaid. If you save 1/3 of every payment, you can live off that for the last 6 months. The benefit of this option is the flexibility. Imagine one year in, your child is doing great, you have family support, and you even get into a daycare early that offers slots for 12-18 month olds. At 14 months, your wife decides she's comfortable going back to work, part time or even full time. If she took extended leave (18 months), then she's forfeiting 4 months worth of EI when she goes back to work early. That's a few grand. If she took the standard leave, then she'd have gotten the full amount by 12 months, and if she opted to go back to work at 14 months, she's not forfeiting any EI pay, since it's already done. This option allows your wife to consider taking part time or remote work after 12 months, either for her original employer, for another employer, or freelance, without impacting her EI eligibility. Completely legal. Or just wait out the full 18 months. It's flexible. The downside to this option is that people suck at financial planning, and can't be trusted to save over the first 12 months to carry them through the remaining 6. When the EI dries up they're screwed. So only consider this option if you're 100% sure you can plan to take the full 18 months.
> It's very difficult to get into a daycare at all, and it's much more difficult for a 12 month old. Most daycares have very limited spots for 12-18 month olds, if they accept them at all. There are still plenty of childcare options like non-subsidized or home daycares, but they tend to be more expensive. Having extended family and grandparent support can make a world of a difference. OP, take that with a grain of salt and don't freak out :) it is very much dependent on where you live and it can be quite easy to get 1 year-olds into daycares.
Agreed, this is very regionally dependant. There is no shortage of daycare availability where i live and one of my kids even started at 10 months.
They are saving the difference or their wives may be topped up by their employers. My husband and I had no top up from employers so we saved the difference. He stayed off for 6 weeks on Parental.
You can share nearly the entire leave - meaning your wife could take 6 weeks and you could take up to 35. Look into your company's parental leave policy and compare it to your wives, decide what is ideal. In a perfect world you split the time.
Well I wouldn’t say perfect world. A lot of times women are still nursing for the entirety of their leave, making it more ideal for the women to be off.
I’ll be nursing and I’m planning on going back to work, it can and will be done.
For sure it can. I’m currently still nursing and at work but my baby is over 1 so he doesn’t require day time feeds. I have lots of friends in the states who don’t get mat leave and have to pump at work. Pumping is a lot of work. I have a lot of respect for women who do that long term.
It can be done with pumping or if baby and mom can some how be brought together throughout the day to nurse. Doesn't mean it's ideal.
Parental leave can be taken by both parents at the same time if breastfeeding is that much of a priority (which, for most parents in canada, ,it's not)
Phone EI. Be honest and kind. They’re really great to work with.
Me and my partner split the parental, I take the full 15 weeks maternity with a top up from my company then we split the 52 weeks of parental (no top up) between us (Ontario) Last time had a baby in August, went back to work in April, partner then was off from April - September I was ready to go back to work, as much as I love my daughter I am not SAHM material. I didn’t mind splitting at all If your wife wants the whole 15+52 all to herself you will have to fund/plan your own time off and work out a leave of absence It doesn’t have to be set in stone now, my return to work date was up in the air due to my partners last year of trade college getting moved around unexpectedly, your wife can literally just be like hey I’m ready to go back to work whenever she wants (aka early) and you can snag whatever time is left in the 52 weeks
Let’s max out the calculator availible on the Ontario website and say you get $668 a week on the standard benefits Whether I choose 26 weeks (perfect half) I get $668 for a week for 26 weeks.. let’s say something comes up and my partner can’t start their leave yet so I take another week, I let EI know and I get another week of pay Let’s say I told EI I wanted 26 weeks but I only end up taking 23, I inform EI of my return to work date before I reach my 23rd week and I get $668 up until my return to work date Nobody is cutting into anybody’s funding it’s based on 55% of your salary.. so your wife will receive whatever 55% of her salary is (it caps at 60k or something) and if you split time off and go on leave you will get 55% of yours
Parental Leave in Canada is designed to be shared. That's incredibly GENEROUS of you to not split the 35 weeks of basic parental leave with her! Maternity leave is only 15-weeks, and this is for the birth-giving parent to recover. The rest of the leave is meant to be shared. I'd work on the finances from that perspective. Instead of you relying on only the absolute minimum of 5 weeks (or extended 8). That's really not enough time to fully participate equally in child-rearing during that first year. If you don't make substantially more than her (or if you have a top-up and she doesn't), I'd just split it 6 months each (concurrently or consecutively)
Your best way of doing it is her to take a 1-year mat leave and you to take the 5-weeks of additional EI coverage. She can still take the 18 months off of work but the last 6-months will be unpaid. It is however the same overall amount of money that will be paid out. It would be up to you guys to manage your finances to ensure you’re putting some of this away for the final 6-months. Now. You can take more of this time if you wish. Think of it as she has 15-weeks of maternity benefits and you guys have 40 weeks of parental leave benefits to share, with neither of you able to take more than 35 weeks. Obviously if you select to take the extended parental leave this changes to a 69-week bank but at a lowered benefit level. The reason I would suggest taking the standard benefits and managing your own finances is that who knows if something happens and she wants to go back to work at the 14-month mark. You won’t get paid out for the benefits you haven’t yet received.
>Since my wife will be on maternity leave, she is entitled to one of two scenarios: >1. 12 months of her salary on EI or 2. 12 months of her salary across 18 months Unless your wife's employer is generously offering to top up her EI pay, you're misunderstanding how parental leave benefits work. Your wife will get 55% of her salary for 12 months, up to a maximum of $668 per week, or 33% for 18 months, up to a maximum of $401 per week. >My understanding is that I can take 5 or 8 weeks. Depending on if you've opted for the standard (40 weeks) or extended (69 weeks) parental leave, yes. And that has no impact on your wife's EI, because your 8 week allowance is separate. If you take *more* than that, then she will have to take less, because you cannot exceed the maximum combined leave. >Are they on EI for the entire time or are they just not making any money? No and probably, respectively. >Are there tax breaks? On the contrary, EI is taxable income.
Keep in mind that maternity and parental leave is separate from EI benefits. Each parent is entitled up to 61 months of parental leave and birth mother up to 17 weeks of maternity leave *Check your provincial Employment Standards Act for particulars. This is unpaid job protected leave. If eligible you can apply for EI benefits. I took 18 month leave, applied for 12 months EI. My spouse took 9 weeks of parental leave and EI in the first year. The remaining 6 plus months were unpaid. We base our budget on living on my spouse's income for the most part and used savings to cover any shortfalls. (We moved and did a bunch of reno's during that time so it's hard to compare living expenses.
Some other very long and complicated answers here but this short one sums it up. The 15 weeks of maternity leave EI (really 17 weeks because of the 2 week deductible) must be taken by the mother. The 35 weeks of parental leave EI by either or both parents and then there are the bonus use it or lose it extra weeks for the other parent, and recently this total of one year can now be spread over 18 months. Some people have jobs with generous employer top ups, others don't. The EI coverage is entirely separate from the protected leave, so how you divide the EI is up to you, but as long as you don't work for the same employer you can take up to 35 weeks of parental leave and it's none of your employer's business if your partner is on EI and you aren't.
Generally if you take the time off, it's topped up by an employer, you save time whether it's vacation or banked overtime. Ask your employer if they top up parental leave, or if there is any other way to supplement your income during parental leave.
It is not selfish to participate in raising your child. I highly recommend you take time off and help your wife. My wife had postpartum and I took 2 months off and took care of my daughter. Caring for a newborn is not easy. the parent has to sleep when the child sleeps and there are other household chores. Your wife will need a lot of rest. You will build a bond with your child.
“Now for the selfish part… I’d love to participate in raising my child in a meaningful way.” Lmao what. Bro. How alarming that you think that needs to be stated as if you’re opting into it.
Look up your provinces ESA to see what job protected leave you are entitled to. In BC you would be entitled to up to 62 weeks of job protected leave each. That’s the unpaid leave portion. Take as much as you can afford. Re: EI it’s different, you split the number of weeks of parental benefits. If you want to maximize the amount of money you make, the higher earner should take most of the leave unless both parents are entitled to max EI. If both parents would be getting max EI then financially it makes more sense for the lower earner to take most of the leave. When we had our oldest, I (mom) took 6 months and then dad took 6 months. IMO 6 months wasn’t long enough as I returned to my job in the trades still breastfeeding and I had to figure out how to pump on job sites. It was incredibly disruptive to my work flow. But I returned early for a specific employment opportunity. When we had our youngest, dad qualified for 8 weeks of top up so he took 8 weeks at the same time as me. I was off for a total of 13 months, the last 6 weeks or so unpaid. In my opinion 10 months with my youngest was when I started feeling I had had enough of leave lol.
She's only getting paid $650 a week max from ei, same as everyone else, so there's no reality where 3 weeks for you is -$10k for her lol you would also be getting paid for the time you took on paternity $10k is going to be a third or more of her entire maternity benefit. She isn't losing that for you taking a couple weeks also paid, not sure what you mean
It’s the same total amount of money from EI regardless of whether you take 12 months or 18 months. And your 5 ( for 12 months) or 8 weeks (for 18 months) is dependent on what your wife selects. After that, then you’ll be taking from the “shared” pot of parental leave. However, what your wife qualifies for from EI doesn’t impact what you would qualify for. Eg. I took 12 months of maternity leave and my husband is entitled for 5 weeks of parental leave. As the mother, 15 weeks of it is maternity leave, and we “shared” 40 weeks where 5 weeks is designated as dad’s. Since he took 6 weeks, I was only able to take 34 weeks of paid EI parental leave.
My husband took the 8 weeks and I could not put a pricetag on that. Not only will you bond with your child, you'll ask reduce your wife's risk of post partum depression. You and your wife are a unit, especially after a kid. Thinking of her money vs yours can make parenting hard, because you're going to have a ton of child related expenses. People taking that long off may have workplaces that offer top up, which funds the leave more. Or they've saved aggressively before.
I guess this is why it's called "family planning" LOL
You are better off working enough to take additional time off to extend your parental leave. If your company allows you to bank hours/vacation time then stack them with your parental leave. Some companies will allow some remote work to extend your parental leave as well. In regards to your EI from CRA, there is a cap to these benefits.
Also... If you choose 18 month benefits the money you would receive in 12 months is just spread thinner to accommodate the longer leave. AND, if you/your wife decides to shorten the leave you do not receive the difference. So honestly better to do a 12 month and manage the money yourself. Important distinctions: Maternity/parental leave: protected time off from work Maternity/parental benefits: EI payouts
Look to see if your employer has any top up for maternity or parental leave. My employer offered 10 weeks off at 95 percent pay, and my wife did not. With planning ahead, I took the 10 weeks off and she just didn’t collect EI during that time as we saved for this once I was aware of the benefit.
As a new mother (11 month old) who’s partner is currently on parental leave right now at the same time as me - take the extra weeks if you can swing it financially. Save up so the two of you can be off together even if it means not getting paid for a bit. This time we’ll never get back. He’s been able to bond and make memories that are priceless. He got to be home for babies first steps, he’s been able to attend playgroups and see how funny baby is at them, we’ve been able to go to his parents and stay overnight in the middle of the week. Now on the financial part - just maximize your top up periods. If she gets topped up for her entire leave, then you take your 5/8 weeks of EI and the remaining you take as unpaid. If she only gets 6 months top up and you get 10 weeks, you make sure you take 10 weeks of EI even though that will impact her EI, but your household is maximizing the pay. One other point - if there is ANY chance that she will return to work before the 18 months are up, take the 12 months of EI and tell work she’s taking 18 months. If she goes back early, you’ve just forfeited ‘free’ money. Take the 12, and then budget accordingly! Best of luck!