- Board Directives and Guidelines (interest)
- Interest (pre-1990 accident) (rate)
The Board granted the worker supplementary benefits under s. 147(4) of the pre-1997 Act from 1990 to 1992, but failed to conduct the 24-month and 60-month reviews. In 2008, after a reassessment of his pension, the worker requested review of his supplementary benefits. The Appeals Resolution Officer referred the matter to the operating area. The operating area found that the worker was entitled to the supplementary benefits retroactive to 1992. Specifically, in 2010, the Board granted retroactive supplementary benefits from 1992 to 1994, and, in 2011, the Board granted retroactive supplementary benefits from 1994 to 2011.
In Decision No. 908/13, the Tribunal found that the worker was entitled to payment of interest on the retroactive supplementary benefits. The Board then paid interest at the rate of 2% on the retroactive benefits from 1992 to 1994, and at the rate of 3% on the retroactive benefits from 1994 to 2011.The worker now appealed regarding the rate of interest.The worker submitted that the rate of interest should be the rate that was current on the date Decision No. 908/13 was released in 2013.Board Operational Policy Manual, Document No. 18-01-08, on interest payments, provides that the interest rate applied to retroactive benefit payments is the rate which is current on the date: of the ARO or WSIAT decision; the decision is made to grant entitlement to compensation benefits.The Vice-Chair found that "the ARO or WSIAT decision" referred to in the policy does not refer to the decision granting entitlement to interest but, rather, to the decision that grants entitlement to the retroactive benefits for which interest is payable. For claims registered before 1990, interest is payable only if the delayed benefit was the result of an overruling by an ARO or WSIAT, in which case, the interest rate would be the rate current on that date. For claims registered after 1990, delayed interest is payable in any event, in which case the interest rate would be the rate current on the date of the decision to grant entitlement.The clear intent of the policy is to determine the interest rate based on the date supplementary benefits were first granted and not on the date of a subsequent decision to allow interest on those supplementary benefits.The supplementary benefits were first granted in 2010 for the period from 1992 to 1994, and in 2011 for the period from 1994 to 2011. The Board correctly determined the interest rate based on the dates in 2010 and 2011 when the supplementary benefits were granted. The appeal was dismissed.