# Alberta EI calculator



## Fraser19 (Aug 23, 2013)

Hey guys,

I am in a bit of a situation. The place I work at has been going though a financial struggle for the past three years and they have said that another round of lay off's is probably coming. Since everyone under me has been laid off in the last round I am concerned that I might be next.

So I am looking at what my EI would be and I am wondering if someone can review this to see if I am close to determining what I would get?

Based off this past I believe I am eligible for the maximum amount of 525 per week. My annual salary is 51,780
http://www.servicecanada.gc.ca/eng/ei/types/regular.shtml#much


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## 0xCC (Jan 5, 2012)

I would think that you are pretty close. You might end up being off by $50. I think if you take a look at your T4 from last year you should have a good idea of what your EI Insurable Earnings are.

I think that the more variable part of the equation is how long you will be able to collect those benefits. The formula for determining that seems to be a little murky involving the unemployment rate in your area as well as whether you have collected EI in the past (and how long ago).

Edit:
The calculation details for the benefit amount are here:
http://www.servicecanada.gc.ca/eng/ei/types/regular.shtml#calculate 

It looks like it is based on your earnings for the "best weeks" of the last year. The number of "best weeks" changes based on the unemployment rate in your area. So if you have been working at roughly the same earnings level for the last 22 weeks it seems like you should be in the range for the max amount.


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## Fraser19 (Aug 23, 2013)

I guess I would be at 524 or very close.
And my next question was how long it would last, as I agree it is very unclear. In some ways getting laid off could be good for me. If I ended up getting 524 weekly I would probably try to take three months off, get all my school done, then move to Calgary.

Anyone else who can make a guesstimate as to how long my entitlement would be?


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## 0xCC (Jan 5, 2012)

Fraser19 said:


> I guess I would be at 524 or very close.
> And my next question was how long it would last, as I agree it is very unclear. In some ways getting laid off could be good for me. If I ended up getting 524 weekly I would probably try to take three months off, get all my school done, then move to Calgary.
> 
> Anyone else who can make a guesstimate as to how long my entitlement would be?


Careful with that "three months off" statement. There may be other programs available in Alberta for allowing you to go back to school but EI probably isn't it. If you look at this section: http://www.servicecanada.gc.ca/eng/ei/types/regular.shtml#ready "being in school" may not meet the criteria there.

As for how long the benefits may last I think that is dependent on a few things like whether you have claimed EI in the last few years (which might get covered by the hours of insurable earnings calculation) and the unemployment rate in your area. If you can figure out the unemployment rate in your area and you know your hours of insurable earnings then you can use the table here: http://www.servicecanada.gc.ca/eng/ei/types/regular.shtml#ready to figure out how many weeks of benefits you should get.

You might also want to look up the "waiting period" stuff on that page. There might be a bit of a gap between when your employment income ends and when the EI payments start.


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