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AISH Program Policy
Published Date: May 03, 2021
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Overpayments

Overpayments as a Result of Retroactive Payments

AUTHORITY
To ensure the decision to exempt or not exempt repayment is consistently applied for overpayments that result from retroactive income that would have otherwise been received as periodic payments.

POLICY
Program staff must assess an overpayment for each period that duplicate assistance is provided. This includes situations where the duplicate assistance is the result of a retroactive payment (i.e., the client receives AISH and a lump-sum payment of non-exempt income that applies to the same period of assistance (POA)). The AISH program does not exempt the client from the requirement to repay when the overpayment is due to retroactive income issued from another program or source.
 
Section 5(1) of the AISH General Regulation requires AISH applicants and clients to access and claim all income they are entitled to receive, to enhance their financial independence.
 
When a client applies for financial benefits from another program, there may be a delay in approving and issuing those benefits. To account for the delay, the Provider may issue a retroactive lump sum payment. The retroactive payment includes income that the client was eligible to receive in prior months. When the client receives this payment, AISH adjusts prior monthly benefit calculations to include the retroactive income (as if no delay had occurred). The income was intended to be issued as periodic payments, so it would have otherwise been included in AISH benefit calculations. 
 
An overpayment is calculated if a client receives a retroactive payment of non-exempt income that can be attributed to a period when they also received AISH benefits. Program staff must apply retroactive income to each associated period when the client received AISH, but where the client did not have this income reflected in their monthly budget calculations. 
 
Example
Clients awaiting Canada Pension Plan-Disability (CPP-D) benefits may receive a retroactive payment for income that applies to previous months when their CPP-D eligibility was first determined.

Pension income such as CPP-D, is deducted dollar for dollar from AISH benefits. This deduction is applied regardless of whether the client received the income on a monthly basis or as a retroactive payment. 
 
Note
An overpayment is not assessed when retroactive income from another source is paid directly to AISH through a signed agreement (e.g., ISP1613 Consent to Deduction and Payment for CPP-D payments). 
However, if any overlapping POA are not included in the payments reimbursed to AISH, an overpayment should be assessed for those missing months.
 
Depending on the overpayment amount, either the Level Three (Manager) delegated authority or the Statutory Director will generally be accountable for decisions on overpayments that result from retroactive payments. 
 
Program staff should refer to the Notice of Overpayment policy and also apply practices outlined in the Notice of Overpayment-Procedures section. The AISH program must issue written notification(s) to the client advising:
  • That they have the right to provide additional information to AISH that may impact the calculation of the potential overpayment, within 30 days of receiving Letter EMP12201; and
  • Of the director (or delegate) decisions to confirm the assessed overpayment, to require full repayment of the amount owing, and of the client’s  right to appeal each decision to the AISH Appeal Panel with 30 days of receiving Letter EMP12210. 


COVID-19

Canada Emergency Response Benefit (March 15, 2020 - September 26, 2020)

The Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) is a federal financial support for persons whose employment has been affected by COVID-19. The CERB may be paid retroactively and is applied to the period for which it was intended.

Canada Recovery Benefits (September 27, 2020 - September 25, 2021)
Canada Recovery Benefits (CRB) are a federal financial support for persons directly affected by COVID-19 who are not entitled to Employment Insurance benefits. Individuals can receive one of the three types of CRB payments, including the:

    • Canada Recovery Benefit,
    • Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit, and
    • Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit.

When CRB payments are issued retroactively, the corresponding income is applied to the period for which it was intended.

Note
CRB income that applies to periods between September 27, 2020 and June 30, 2021, is fully exempt when received by an existing AISH client or their cohabiting partner.

Effective July 1, 2021, CRB income is treated in the same manner as Employment Insurance benefits.

Staff are required to assess an overpayment for any duplicate assistance provided by the AISH program, when:

    • A client receives a CERB or CRB payment, in addition to their full AISH benefits for the same period of assistance; and
    • The non-exempt portion of CERB or CRB income was not deducted from the client’s monthly AISH benefits.

There is no exemption on repayment; and clients must repay the full amount owing.

All levels of delegation (worker, supervisor, manager) have the authority to assess and review any overpayments that result from the CERB or CRB income.

In these cases, the standard notification process is abbreviated. One letter will be sent to the household to confirm details about the overpayment.