Sask. government moves to simplify income assistance program for people with disabilities

Sask. government moves to simplify income assistance program for people with disabilities

'No current clients will receive less money because of these changes,' Minister Terry Jenson says

The provincial government is moving to "simplify" and "modernize" the Saskatchewan Assured Income for Disability (SAID) program.

As of Sept. 1, the province will be consolidating a series of supplemental benefits, and restructuring the number of family and community benefit tiers. It says this will make it easier for SAID users to receive money from the government.

"I want to be absolutely clear that no current clients will receive less money because of these changes," Social Services Minister Terry Jenson said at a news conference on Thursday.

Approximately 40 per cent of the 18,000 households that access SAID will actually receive higher monthly benefits under the changes, Jenson said.

Individuals could receive an average increase of $46 per month or $552 a year, while families and people living in rural areas could see an average increase of $294 per month or $3,528 a year, he said.

The rest of the households accessing SAID will see no changes to their income, Jenson said.

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Jenson said the changes were driven by feedback from clients and community organizations that help people access benefit programs.

"We have heard time and time again the program is too complicated and we need to make it easier for clients to navigate and simpler to understand," Jenson said.

Ahead of the changes, the ministry is establishing a dedicated phone line to answer questions from people about how they will be affected.

Social services workers will also speak directly with their existing clients, Jenson said.

Jenson said that as part of the changes, the benefits that deal with laundry and telephone services will be integrated into SAID's core benefit, known as the Living Income Benefit, which is delivered on a monthly basis.

That means those who may have previously been required to show their need to access those specific benefits will get them automatically.

The Ministry of Social Services will also be changing the School Expenses and Special School Fees benefit. It has traditionally been delivered as a lump-sum payment, and will again be delivered in that format in August for the 2026-2027 school year, but that will be the last time.

After Sept. 1, 2026, those benefits will also be integrated into the Living Income Benefit, with the goal of giving families more flexibility to access funds throughout the school years.

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The province is also removing some benefits it says were underutilized. Anyone who is currently accessing those streams of funding will continue to receive the same amount of money.

Jenson said a Transitional Provision Benefit will ensure about 20 per cent of SAID users will continue to receive the same amount of money. The program will continue until a person has a change in circumstances, a future rate increase eliminates the need for the benefit or their file is closed.

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SAID's existing program has 32 different family and community benefit tiers. Those tiers will be consolidated and restructured to 12 tiers to reduce disparities between various categories.

Despite all the changes, Jenson said the budget for the program will remain the same.

Opposition says social supports 'in total crisis'

Saskatchewan's Opposition NDP is already crying foul on the SAID modernization effort, saying the party supports any increase in funding to the SAID program, but is skeptical that the changes will function as advertised.

"Social supports in this province have been in total crisis for as long as the Sask. Party has been in power," NDP social services critic Erika Ritchie said in a statement.

Mandla Mthembu, a support worker with the Regina Anti-Poverty Ministry, said the changes announced on Thursday will be welcomed by SAID users, because the minister was clear that no one is going to receive less than they did before.

However, Mthembu said it doesn't solve the broader issues with SAID and the related Saskatchewan Income Support (SIS) program, which he said provide far too little money for clients to deal with the increasing cost of living.

"It doesn't seem like [the changes are] going to have a major change and people are going to be able to afford way more," Mthembu said.

Ritchie said challenges related to the SAID program and SIS program are among the most common concerns Opposition MLAs field at their constituency offices.

"The common horror stories we hear from clients is that their social assistance benefits come late, that they don’t even cover the cost of the basics, and there is so often no one on the other end of the phone when they call for help," Ritchie said.

Alexander Quon is the provincial affairs reporter for CBC Saskatchewan. He has been a reporter with CBC Saskatchewan since 2021 and is happy to be working in his hometown of Regina after half a decade in Atlantic Canada. He has previously worked with the CBC News investigative unit in Nova Scotia and Global News in Halifax. Alexander specializes in freedom of information requests and data reporting. He can be reached at: alexander.quon@cbc.ca.

With files from Julien Sturbois