AUTHORITY
Income and Employment Supports Act (IESA), sections 14, 15, 16 and 35 
Income Support, Training and Health Benefits (ISTHB) Regulation, section 99

INTENT 
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 a client receives duplicate assistance as a result of a retroactive payment. Duplicate assistance occurs when a client receives IS benefits and a lump-sum payment of non-exempt income that applies to the same periods of assistance (POA).

The IS program does not exempt the client from the requirement to repay when the overpayment is due to retroactive (non-exempt) income issued from another program or source.

• An example of retroactive income from another program may include income from Workers’ Compensation Board, Canada Pension Plan (CPP) or Old Age Security (OAS).
• An example of retroactive income from another source may include replacement income received as part of an insurance settlement.
  
  

Section 15(1) of IESA requires IS applicants and recipients to access and claim all sources of income they are entitled to receive. The IS program considers all income available to a household unit when determining financial eligibility, with the exception of income specified as exempt under Schedule 2 of the ISTHB Regulation.

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. As the income was intended to be issued as periodic payments, it would have been included in IS monthly benefit calculations. When the client receives this payment, IS adjusts prior monthly benefit calculations to include the retroactive income (as if no delay had occurred). 

An overpayment is calculated if a client receives a retroactive payment of non-exempt income that can be attributed to the same POA they also received IS benefits. Program staff must apply retroactive income to each associated period when the client received IS, but where the client did not have this income reflected in their monthly budget calculations. 

Example
Clients awaiting Canada Pension Plan (CPP) or Old Age Security (OAS) benefits may receive a retroactive payment for income that applies to prior months when their eligibility was first established. The IS program deducts non-exempt pension income (CPP/OAS) dollar for dollar from IS benefits. The program applies this deduction regardless of whether the client received the income on a monthly basis or as part of a retroactive payment. 

Note
If the IS program becomes aware that a client is awaiting income from another program or source, and the amount that the client will receive is known, program staff should apply the procedures specified in the Repayment Agreements policy.  This prevents the need to assess an overpayment after a retroactive payment is received.

An overpayment is not assessed if the client has previously signed a Repayment Agreement (EMP 0976B), agreeing to repay the IS program for any duplicate assistance that results from the retroactive payment. 

• That they have the right to provide additional information to the IS program 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 Income and Employment Supports Appeal Panel within 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 is intended.

Note
CRB income that applies to periods between September 27, 2020 and June 30, 2021, is fully exempt when received by an existing IS household member.

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

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

• A client receives a CERB or CRB payment, in addition to their full IS 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 IS 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.