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AISH amendments not enough

AISH payments need to be increased
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Alberta Minister of Community and Social Services Irfan Sabir announced the proposed Act to Strengthen Financial Security for Persons with Disabilities on Monday. (File photo by Advocate staff)

New proposed legislation to allow more Albertans with disabilities to receive Assured Income for Severely Handicapped (AISH) benefits does not go far enough say some parents.

On Monday the province introduced Bill 5 to allow Albertans with disabilities to be eligible for AISH even if they have a trust fund set up for their care. However, income from a trust could still reduce how much a person was eligible to receive under Bill 5.

Janet Schmidt, of Red Deer with two adult children with severe disabilities, said it’s not right to deduct trust money from AISH earnings.

“My kids can’t work at all so they aren’t able to make any more money. My son and daughter still live with me. If we didn’t save money for them, if something happened to us, they wouldn’t be able to live,” Schmidt said on Tuesday.

Her children each receive $1,588 per month on AISH, she said.

“There’s no way they can go and live on their own with that. It’s a very, very limited budget.”

Schmidt said AISH recipients have not received an increase in funding since 2011. Minimum wage is increasing and so should AISH.

Lily Breland, who also has two adult children with disabilities, said increasing AISH would have more impact by far.

“We’re kind of low on the pecking order. I don’t see (AISH) changing until the economy switches around,” Breland said.

The province said existing policy allows for an exemption of non-discretionary trusts as an asset on a case-by-case basis, but if a person with a disability holds a discretionary trust asset, regardless of whether they are receiving payments from that trust, they are ineligible for AISH.

Under proposed legislation, a one-year grace period would allow people time to move an inheritance or other lump sum payment into a trust or other exempt asset. It would provide time to make financial decisions so they will not become ineligible for AISH.

With files from THE CANADIAN PRESS



szielinski@reddeeradvocate.com

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