In a recent announcement, the Canada Employment Insurance Commission revealed key details about the 2024 Employment Insurance (EI) premium rate, affecting millions of Canadian workers and employers.
The maximum insurable earnings (MIE), which sets the limit for EI premium payments and benefits, will rise to $63,200 starting from January 1, 2024, up from $61,500 in 2023. This increase will also impact workers’ and employers’ maximum annual EI contributions.
The new premium rate for employees will be $1.66 per $100 of insurable earnings, a three-cent increase from the 2023 rate of $1.63. Employers who pay 1.4 times the employee rate will contribute $2.32 per $100 of insurable earnings, up from $2.28 in 2023.
Credit: Summary of the 2024 Actuarial Report on the Employment Insurance Premium Rate/Canada.ca
Residents of Quebec, covered under the Québec Parental Insurance Plan, will experience a slightly lower premium rate, set at $1.32 per $100 of insurable earnings for employees and $1.85 for employers. The maximum annual contribution for workers in Quebec will increase by $53.19 to $834.24, with a $74.47 increase for employers to $1,167.94 per employee. This adjustment is due to Quebec administering its own parental insurance plan.
Per the news release, the rate adjustments aim to balance the EI Operating Account, which has been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Actuarial Report forecasts a cumulative deficit of $18.8 billion on December 31, 2024. However, the seven-year break-even premium rate of $1.66 per $100 of insurable earnings in 2024 aims to bring the account closer to balance by 2030.
Randy Boissonnault, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Official Languages, noted in a statement that 983,000 more Canadians are employed compared to when the pandemic began, with Canada experiencing the strongest economic growth in the G7 in 2022.
He said, “This EI premium rate will be 22 cents lower than it was between 2013 and 2016 ($1.88). This reflects the continued strength in Canada’s labour market and is in keeping with the Government’s work to ensure that the EI Operating Account is on track to balance over the course of its mandated seven-year break-even horizon.”