Albertans on disability payments receive wrong amounts for August

Albertans on disability payments receive wrong amounts for August

Province says technical issue related to new payment processing software to blame for errors

Some Albertans with disabilities who receive monthly paycheques from the province say heading into August, they’re being shortchanged.

Many recipients have reported getting hundreds of dollars less than they normally do, with some reporting that they didn’t get any money at all.

Don Slater, who’s received the Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH) since he was injured in a workplace accident around 2011, said he got about $250 less on this payment.

“It's just a big screw up,” Slater said in an interview Tuesday. “The fact that they couldn't even get the payments right when … really the most important thing to people is having a sense of security and knowing that their well-being is intact, it’s not.”

It's the first month the province’s new two-tiered program takes effect, which switches recipients from AISH to the Alberta Disability Assistance Program (ADAP), a program meant to encourage people who can work, to find work and keep more of their paid earnings.

People on ADAP will receive $200 less a month than they received under AISH, after the transition period is complete on Jan. 1, 2028.

On Wednesday, the Assisted Living and Social Services ministry said a technical issue related to the rollout of the new payment processing software was the cause of the payment problems.

The government is working to fix the technical system error to support smooth benefit payments moving forward, said ministry press secretary Jonah Pickle in a written statement to CBC News on Wednesday.

Pickle said approximately two per cent of AISH and ADAP recipients were affected by the technical issue.

“We know how important these benefits are to the people who depend on them, which is why we're ensuring all payment issues are corrected in full by July 31, 2026,” Pickle said in the statement.

The ministry ensured all payments would be corrected in full, by Friday, he added.

‘I still haven’t received anything’

Lynda Huseby lives in Rocky Mountain House and has been on AISH for more than 20 years, suffering from rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, depression and vestibular migraines.

“I still haven’t received anything,” Huseby told CBC News on Wednesday afternoon.

Normally, payments are deposited four business days before the following month, she said, leaving her wondering what’s coming for August.

"Am I going to get it tomorrow, am I going to get it in two weeks when they finally find out what the problem was?” Huseby said. “Can I pay my mortgage? Can we buy groceries? I don't know, there's a lot of stress."

Huseby said she hadn’t been able to contact a local AISH or ADAP office for assistance.

The Alberta opposition NDP took aim at the changes and called for the UCP to scrap ADAP, in light of recent technical failures.

Marie Renaud, Shadow Minister for Community and Social Services, said AISH had been working for 47 years before the changes.

Recipients of Alberta’s new disability assistance program worry it will be detrimental

“The AISH-to-ADAP rollout has been a disaster,” Renaud said. “Months of UCP government incompetence have led to one error after another. Now severely disabled Albertans are receiving underpayments, overpayments, or no payments at all.”

Albertans unable to meet their basic needs are encouraged to call the 24-hour Income Support Contact Centre at 1-866-644-5135, the ministry said in the statement.

Natasha Riebe landed at CBC News in Edmonton after radio, TV and print journalism gigs in Halifax, Seoul, Yellowknife and on Vancouver Island. Please send tips in confidence to natasha.riebe@cbc.ca.