See how a disability policy's waiting and benefit periods mesh with EI sickness benefits over time, and why EI stacks with a personally-owned policy but is clawed back against a group one.
When you can't work, several payors may help, but they're layered, not simultaneous. Under the 2026 rules, EI sickness pays 55% of insurable earnings to a maximum of $729 a week, starting after a one-week unpaid waiting period (day 8) and lasting up to 26 weeks. (A temporary measure waives that waiting week for claims starting between March 30, 2025 and October 10, 2026.) Your private DI policy only begins after its waiting/elimination period, then runs to the end of its benefit period. Each week's bar is your pre-disability weekly income, split into what EI replaces (amber), what DI replaces (blue), and the unreplaced portion you self-fund (grey).
The catch: EI sickness is a "second payor." It's clawed back dollar-for-dollar against group and government disability benefits, but not against a policy you pay for personally. Toggle ownership and watch the amber EI band during the overlap weeks: it stacks on top of DI when personally-owned, and gets offset (shrinks or vanishes) under a group plan. CPP/QPP disability sits behind both: "severe and prolonged," ~4-month wait, payable to 65.