Offer your thoughts or opinion on the input financial query or topic using your financial background.

Is the contribution towards Employment Insurance (EI) wasted if I never get fired, or are my premiums refunded?
Sorry, even if you never file a claim for Employment Insurance (EI), you don't get your premiums back. So, yes, if you paid into EI and never filed a claim, your contributions are, as you put it, "wasted" – insofar that your premiums provided no direct benefit to you. However, your premiums may have provided a benefit to society, perhaps even your previous colleagues.  Yet, some would point out that a good chunk of EI premiums are likely wasted on excessive administration of the program itself.  That's government. A couple of cases I'm aware of where you may be refunded some of the EI premiums paid are: Meaning, a legal way to avoid paying into the EI system altogether is to run your own business.  Of course, you won't be able to file an EI claim if your business evaporates overnight.  Other kinds of claims unavailable to those who don't pay into EI include maternity, parental*, and sickness benefits .. although they recently made some changes to permit the self-employed to opt-in for some special benefits. * except in the province of Quebec, where there is a separate Quebec Parental Insurance Plan (QPIP) that also covers the self-employed.