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Two-Year Financial Independence


Policy

Eligibility: July 31, 2008

Signed Declaration in the Absence of Verification: January 23, 2007

Exemptions: July 31, 2008

Application for Discretion: December 1, 2009

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Eligibility: July 31, 2008
July 31, 2008

To be eligible for income assistance, at least one applicant in a family unit must demonstrate that he or she has been financially independent for at least two consecutive years prior to applying for assistance.

If one person in the family unit meets this requirement or one of the exemptions, the entire family unit is considered eligible for assistance.

The two-year period of financial independence must be consecutive, but does not have to be the two consecutive years immediately prior to applying for assistance. The two-year period does not have to be two calendar years; the two-year count can start when the applicant started working.

Applicants are considered to have been financially independent if they meet at least one of the following criteria:

  • have worked for at least 840 hours in each of two consecutive years

  • have earned at least $7,000 in gross income in each of two consecutive years

  • have been employed for a portion of two consecutive years, and for the balance of the two years, either:

    • have served a waiting period for or received Employment Insurance (EI)

    • have received income from a private or public income replacement program (for example, Workers’ Compensation Board, Canada Pension Plan, Disability Insurance)

Unearned income, such as student loans, training allowances, or income assistance (from any jurisdiction), does not satisfy the requirement. 

Individuals have to meet the two-year financial independence requirement only once in their lifetime.  If recipients have met this requirement once, it is not applied again if they reapply for assistance in the future.  However, applicants previously exempted from meeting the two-year financial independence requirement must be reassessed upon reapplication to determine if they continue to meet the exemption criteria.

Applicants who supply false documents to satisfy the financial independence requirement and who do not otherwise meet this requirement will be denied further assistance.

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Signed Declaration in the Absence of Verification: January 23, 2007
January 23, 2007

In cases where all indications are that the applicant has been financially independent and meets the eligibility criteria, but has exhausted all avenues for direct or indirect verification (rent receipts, etc.), signed declarations from the applicant are acceptable.

To be a declaration, it is sufficient to have a signed and dated letter or note from the applicant to the ministry providing details of how the applicant meets the financial independence requirement.

Declarations must describe previous employment history, employment earnings, and employment duration, as well as details of attempts to obtain verification documents.  The original declaration must be placed on the physical file, and a copy must be provided for the applicant.

For the purposes of verifying two-year financial independence, signed declarations for earnings from illegal activities are not accepted.  However, other earnings not reported for income tax purposes may be accepted.

Applicants who declare income not reported for income tax purposes should be monitored to ensure the practice of not reporting earnings does not continue when requesting continued assistance.

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Exemptions: July 31, 2008
July 31, 2008

Persons with disabilities are exempt from the two-year financial independence requirement. In addition, if either an applicant or the spouse (if applicable) is in one of the following categories, the entire family unit is exempt from this requirement:

  • applicants under age 19

  • applicants who are pregnant, have dependent children, have a foster child, or have a child in the home of a relative (CIHR)

  • applicants who have or had a medical condition that either:

    • will prevent them from working for a total of at least 30 days from the date of application

    • prevented them from working for at least six months during the two years immediately prior to applying for assistance

  • applicants who were either:

    • supported by an employed spouse for at least two consecutive years

    • supported for part of the two years and, during the remainder of the two years, met the financial independence requirement (on a pro-rata basis) on their own

  • applicants who were incarcerated in a provincial or federal correctional institution for at least six months during the two years immediately prior to applying for assistance

  • regardless of the applicant’s current age, applicants who were in the care of the Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD), including those with youth agreements, when they turned 19 years of age (this includes persons in the care of the state in another province of Canada)

  • applicants who have, within the past six months, separated from an abusive spouse or fled an abusive relative with whom they resided, and as a result, their ability to work is impaired

  • applicants with a two-year diploma or certificate, bachelor’s degree, or higher from a post-secondary institution

  • applicants who have persistent multiple barriers to employment

  • applicants who reside with and care for a spouse who has a physical or mental condition that precludes them from leaving home for the purposes of employment

  • applicants who are providing full-time care for a non-dependent child under an agreement with MCFD

The following categories are not exempt from this requirement:

  • applicants who are former CIHR clients

  • applicants who were supported by MCFD under the terms of a youth agreement with their care providers, where the youth agreement ended before they turned 19 years of age

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Application for Discretion: December 1, 2009
December 1, 2009

A supervisor may use discretion to authorize the issuance of assistance in cases where, due to circumstances beyond an applicant’s control:

  • the applicant has been prevented from searching for, accepting or continuing employment and could not have achieved two consecutive years of financial independence prior to applying for income assistance, and

  • the family unit would otherwise experience undue hardship if eligibility were denied.

Factors beyond an applicant's control could include the following examples:

  • long term incapacitating physical, social or mental health problems, such that two consecutive years of financial independence would not have been possible

  • long term dependency upon government assistance, such that two consecutive years of financial independence would not have been possible

  • chronic medical problems or addictions, which prevent two consecutive years of financial independence.

  • extended periods of caring for dependent or disabled family members such that two consecutive years of financial independence would not have been possible

  • previously restricted to living in a community, or country, where the economic and/or social conditions prohibited or precluded the possibility of two consecutive years of financial independence

AND

Possibility of undue hardship:

  • The family unit will be unable to secure basic food, shelter and/or required medical attention if denied income assistance.

Reapplication

  • Applicants previously granted assistance as a result of discretion provided in policy must again meet the two-year financial independence requirement upon application.

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