How Long-Term Benefit Payments are Calculated

When a workplace injury has a permanent impact, you may be eligible for one or more long-term benefits — a Permanent Impairment Benefit (PIB), an Extended Earnings Replacement Benefit (EERB), or both. This page explains how those benefits are calculated and how they're paid.

Permanent Impairment Benefit (PIB) calculation

When a medical examination determines that your injury has resulted in a permanent medical impairment, you may be entitled to receive a Permanent Impairment Benefit (PIB). The amount of this benefit is determined by something called a Permanent Impairment percentage (PI%). Your PI% is determined by a medical examiner and by using a standardized rating system.

This benefit is paid as a lump sum or monthly payment which you may be eligible to receive for the rest of your life.

WCB uses your PI% to calculate your benefits using this formula:

Example of PIB calculation

This is how PIB is calculated based on a $50,000 annual salary:

• Convert to weekly gross pay: $50,000 ÷ 52 weeks = $961.54 per week (gross)
• Estimate net weekly earnings (after deductions): Net is about $750/week
• Apply 85% wage replacement: 85% × $750 = $637.50
• Apply impairment rating: assume doctor sets a 10% permanent impairment (PI)

Using the PIB formula: PIB = ($637.50 × 30%) × 10% = $19.13 per week

PIB benefits are paid monthly, so multiply the weekly payment by 4.333 (52 weeks ÷ 12 months):

Monthly PIB benefit = $19.13 × 4.333 = $82.89

When PI ratings are combined

Some workplace injuries affect more than one part of the body — for example, a shoulder injury with a related nerve injury, or two separate injuries at different points in time. When this happens, WCB may need to combine more than one impairment rating into a single, final rating for your whole person — a way of looking at your impairment as a share of your entire body's function, not just one part.

You might expect two ratings to simply add together, but that's not how it works. WCB uses the AMA Guides' Combined Values Chart instead.

Why ratings don't just add up

Think of your whole-person function as 100%. Your first impairment rating is applied against that 100%. Your second impairment rating is then applied only to what's left — not to the original 100%.

Example: Say you have two impairments, each rated at 10% of whole-person function.

• The first impairment takes 10% away from your whole-person function (100%), leaving 90%.
• The second impairment also takes 10% — but only 10% of what's left (90%), which is 9%.
• Combined: 10% + 9% = 19% whole-person impairment, not 20%.

Your PMI Assessor uses the Combined Values Chart to calculate your final whole-person rating for you.

PIB payment types

A Permanent Impairment Benefit (PIB) can be paid either as monthly payments or as a one-time lump sum. How it’s paid depends on several factors, including your impairment rating (PI%), whether you also receive an EERB, and the circumstances of your claim.

If your PI% is 30% or less:

• If you also receive an EERB, your PIB is generally paid monthly, on the same schedule as your EERB.
• If you do not receive an EERB, your PIB is paid as a lump sum.

If your PI% is over 30%:

• PIB is paid monthly—usually paid on the 1st Wednesday of each month—by the end of the day. Signing up for direct deposit is the fastest way to get your payments.
• If you do not also receive an EERB, you may apply to have your PIB paid as a lump sum instead of monthly payments. This is called a commutation.

If you’re unsure which payment type applies to your situation, contact your case manager for clarification.

How lump-sum PIBs work

A lump-sum PIB is a one-time payment that replaces the monthly PIB you would have received over time.

A lump-sum PIB is not your monthly amount multiplied by the number of years you might receive it. It’s the present value—the today value—of those future monthly payments, calculated using standard actuarial methods.

Why it’s less than “monthly × years”

When turning future payments into one amount today (a commutation), the amount is adjusted for how money works over time:

• A dollar today can grow. Money you have now can earn interest or be invested. A dollar you get later can’t grow because you don’t yet have it.
• Prices rise over time. Inflation reduces buying power, so a dollar received in the future is worth a bit less in today’s terms.

Because of this, future payments are discounted to today’s dollars. The calculation also builds in: your age when the benefit was awarded, expected cost-of-living increases to PIB (indexing), expected interest rates, and life-expectancy assumptions (based on 1983 Group Annuity Mortality Table).

These inputs produce a commutation factor—an actuarial “exchange rate” that tells us how much $1 of monthly PIB is worth today if paid at once. Your lump sum is your monthly PIB × that factor.

PIB and the maximum amount payable

The workers' compensation system sets a maximum amount of benefit that can be paid in respect of a single workplace injury, based on the worker's earnings in the year of injury. When a worker receives both PIB and EERB, the PIB is included in the calculation of what counts toward the maximum payable — it isn't added on top of EERB. In practice, this means that EERB and PIB together cannot exceed the overall maximum amount payable for the worker's year of injury. The maximum amount payable changes each year, based on the Yearly Maximum Insurable Earnings figure set under the Act. The figure that applies to a worker's claim is the one in effect in the year their injury occurred.

Extended Earnings-Replacement Benefit (EERB) calculation

The EERB is a long-term income loss benefit paid when a worker cannot return to their pre-injury earnings because of a permanent workplace injury (physical or psychological). The EERB ensures you still have an income, even if you can’t go back to your old job or earn the same income again.

Example of EERB calculation

Worker earning $800/week before injury, now earns $300/week after injury:

• Pre-injury = $800/week
• Post-injury = $300/week
• Difference = $500
• 85% × $500 = $425 per week (this payment is ongoing, and is subject to review, as long as reduced earnings ability continues, up until the age of 65)

How PIB and EERB work together

You may receive both benefits at the same time if your injury is permanent and it reduces your ability to work.

Together, the PIB recognizes the lasting impact of the injury, while the EERB helps replace lost wages.

Example of PIB and EERB calculation

Worker’s weekly earnings (after deductions): $800 | Permanent impairment rating (PI): 20% | Current earning ability after injury: $300 net per week

PIB: PIB = (20% × 30%) × (85% × $800) = 6% × $680 = $40.80 per week (paid for life) 
EERB: 85% × ($800 – $300) = $425 per week  
Total weekly support: $40.80 (PIB) + $384.20 (EERB –PIB) = $4425 
Total monthly support: $425 × 4.333 = $1841 (paid while eligible and up to the age of 65)

Canada Pension Plan Disability Benefits

You may also be eligible for Canada Pension Plan Disability Benefits (CPPDB) on top of your PIB. Getting CPPDB will not affect what you receive through a PIB. PIB is a recognition of the permanent impairment of an injury (physical or psychological), not earnings replacement. Please be aware that receiving the federal disability benefit will affect the amount you receive on an EERB.

How CPP-D affects EERB

If you start receiving CPP-D, your EERB is reduced by 50% of the amount you receive from the federal benefit. This is because EERB is designed to replace lost income up to a maximum (85% of net pre-injury earnings). If CPP-D is paying part of that lost income, WCB makes up the difference—not the full amount.

Example:

• Monthly EERB without CPP-D = $2,000
• Monthly CPP-D = $1,000
• Minus 50% of CPP-D = $500
• New WCB EERB = $2,000 – $500 = $1,500
• Total monthly income (CPP-D + EERB) = $2,500

As you can see in this example, the person will have more income after they apply for CPP-D, even though their WCB EERB was reduced by $500.00

Visit Canada Pension Plan for more information.

Yearly Long-Term Benefit Increases

Long Term WCB benefits are adjusted each year to help keep pace with the cost of living. This is called indexing.

How indexing works until the end of 2026

Under the current rules, benefits are increased by half the rate of the consumer price index (CPI) for Nova Scotia each year. For example, if CPI goes up 4%, your benefit goes up 2%.

How indexing works starting in 2027

Starting in 2027, benefits will be increased by the full CPI rate, up to a maximum of 3% per year.

• If CPI goes up 2%, your benefit goes up 2%.
• If CPI goes up 4%, your benefit goes up 3% (the cap).
• If CPI goes up 3% or less, your benefit matches it exactly.

This change applies to both EERB and Permanent Impairment Benefits (PIB).

Stay in touch

You might have more questions about long-term benefits, so please contact us for further answers. If you have an assigned case worker, please contact them directly. They are here to support your recovery and are committed to providing quality service in a timely manner.

Log in to WCB Online to quickly and easily access claim info, submit forms, and communicate securely with us.

Call us: We are also available at 1-800-870-3331.

Appealing a Benefit Decision

Any decision about benefit payments can be appealed within 90 days from receiving a written decision.  

Workers can find out more about appeals here.  

Employers can find out more about appeals here.