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Retirement and life insurance benefits

A retirement annuity may be set aside for you after wage loss benefits have been paid for a period of at least 24 months, depending on the pension arrangements that continue with your accident employer. You may also be entitled to coverage under the Workers Compensation Board group life insurance plan. Both of these benefits are funded by the WCB.

Retirement annuities

The WCB sets aside funds for eligible workers in a retirement annuity account. This fund is intended to assist workers with their retirement income if it is affected by a work-related injury or illness. Generally, the annuity is payable at the earlier of age 65, or when the WCB determines that a worker has retired from the workforce, but not before age 55.

You may be eligible for a retirement annuity if:  

  • you have received wage loss benefits for a minimum of 24 months, and 
  • your employer pension was affected by the compensable injury or your injury employer had no pension plan 

Benefit amount

The amount the WCB sets aside depends on the amount (if any) your employer was contributing before the injury, and the amount they are still contributing to your pension plan when you become eligible.

The annuity is funded by the WCB, however, workers may also elect to make contributions to the fund. You can contribute any percentage up to the same percentage the WCB is contributing. Once you have made the decision to contribute or not, this decision cannot be changed and percentage amount cannot be changed.

The amount the WCB sets aside is not deducted from your wage loss benefits. If you choose to make contributions to your annuity, the amount you choose to contribute will be deducted from your wage loss benefit payments.

WCB group life insurance

The WCB funds a group life insurance plan. Workers are automatically covered by the WCB group life insurance plan if the workplace injury occurred on or after January 1, 1992 and wage loss benefits are received for more than 104 weeks following the injury. This benefit is not available to you if you have an active life insurance plan through your employer at the time of your death.

The WCB group life insurance does not prevent a worker from having additional life insurance policies through private carriers. This insurance coverage will continue while you are in receipt of wage loss benefits and for up to 90 days after your final wage loss benefit cheque. WCB group life benefits are paid to a worker’s estate. The benefit is paid regardless of the cause of death.

For 2025, the benefit entitlement is $15,720 if you have no dependants or $61,280 if you have one or more dependants. These amounts are adjusted annually. When authorizing the level of benefits payable the WCB relies upon The Workers Compensation Act to determine if there is an eligible dependant.

In most cases, the WCB will contact your dependants or the person representing your estate. However, they can contact the WCB to determine your eligibility.

FAQs

The retirement annuity account earns interest at the same rate of return as WCB investments.

Annuities are paid as a lump sum at the time of your retirement. However, a monthly payment option is available if your annuity balance has reached a certain level. In 2025, this level is $20,900.

The monthly amount you will receive from your retirement annuity account will depend on your circumstances. Factors considered when calculating the monthly payment of an annuity are:

  • the type of annuity you’ve selected
  • the amount of contributions made
  • your age
  • future interest rates

If you die before you reach retirement age, your surviving spouse or common-law partner will receive the full value of your retirement annuity account up to the date of your death (your contributions and interest plus the WCB’s contributions and interest).

If you die before you reach retirement age and you do not have a spouse or common-law partner at the time of your death, your estate will receive the value of your retirement annuity account up to the date of your death, based on the date of your injury.

Yes, you will receive a statement in June of each year. The statement details the balance in your retirement annuity account as of December 31 of the previous year. This statement shows your total contributions (if any), the WCB’s contributions and the amount of interest earned in the previous calendar year. You should notify the WCB of any change in your address so that the WCB can continue to send you retirement annuity account statements. 

Related links

Workers compensation benefits