Income and Employment Supports Act, section 5(1)(b) and the Schedule, section 10
Income Support, Training and Health Benefits Regulation, Schedule 4, section 25

INTENT

To describe the assets that are exempt for determining eligibility for funeral benefits for low income Albertans.

Policy

For Responsible Survivors and Estate of the Deceased:

In addition to the liquid asset exemptions set out in the Funeral Benefits for Low Income Albertans General Policy, the following assets are exempt:

• A home of any value in which the individual lived (or lives), including the home quarter section for farmers;
• Clothing, personal jewelry, children’s toys, and other common household goods;
• Household furnishings and appliances;
• Business assets required for the operation’s viability and farm machinery required for the operation’s viability;
• Vehicles where the total combined equity of the vehicles is less than $10,000;
• Any vehicle specially adapted to accommodate a disability of an individual in the household unit; and
• Money in trust for a child.

For Responsible Survivors

The following are also exempt assets for Responsible Survivors:

• Locked-In Retirement Accounts;
• Registered Education Savings Plan;
• Registered Savings Plan up to $5,000 per adult member of the household;
• Registered Disability Savings Plan;
• Life insurance policy with a cash surrender value of less than $1,500; and
• Prepaid Funeral.
  

 
The following payments and any asset bought with money from the payment are also exempt for the Estate of the Deceased and Responsible Survivor:

• Japanese Canadian Redress Agreement
• Extraordinary Assistance Plan
• Compensation for HIV infection through the blood supply
• Financial benefits under the Victims of Crime Act, other than funeral benefits issued under the Act
• Common Experience Payments (CEPs) and Independent Assessment Process Payments (IAPs) under the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement
• Hepatitis C Settlement Agreement
• Roth/Fifield Class Action Settlement Agreement from the Government of Alberta
• A Slave Lake Wildfire Relief Payment or a payment under the Emergency Accommodation Program to persons subject to the mandatory evacuation order issued by the Alberta Emergency Management Agency in May 2011.
• Compensation issued by the Government of Alberta pursuant to a Disaster Recovery Program for the June 2013 floods.
• Compensation issued by the Government of Alberta for damage or loss caused by a disaster as determined by the Government of Alberta.
• Payments issued by a charitable organization for a disaster as determined by the Government of Alberta.
• Alberta Child Welfare Class Action Settlement from the Government of Alberta
• Clegg Class Action Settlement (2017)
• A non-recurring per capita distribution or compensation payment received from the First Nation and paid equally to each band member, from the following agreements:
  • Agricultural Benefits Settlement Agreements;
  • The Piikani Nation Grazing Leases Specific Claim Settlement Agreement (2017);
  • The Lubicon Lake Band No. 453 Treaty Lands and Benefits Claim Settlement Agreement (2018);
  • The Blood Tribe Mismanagement of Assets Specific Claim Settlement Agreement (2019);
  • The Missanabie Cree First Nation Treaty Land Entitlement Settlement Agreement;
  • The Enoch Cree Nation Yekau Lake Practice Bombing Range Specific Claim Settlement Agreement (2020);
  • Mosquito Grizzly Bear’s Head Lean Man Specific Claim Settlement Agreement (2021); and
  • The Peepeekisis First Nation Specific Claim Settlement Agreement (2021).
  • The Siksika Nation Global Settlement Agreement (2022)
    Note: this exemption is for the per capita distribution payment provided in July 2022.
• Veterans Affairs Canada Pain and Suffering Compensation payments received from the Government of Canada (formerly known as the Disability Award).
• Compensation payments made under the Sixties Scoop Settlement Agreement (2020).
• Compensation payments made under the Final Settlement Agreement between Ross, Roy and Satalic and Her Majesty the Queen for policies and actions against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) federal public servants (2020).
• Compensation payments made under the Raymond Michael Toth v. Her Majesty the Queen Class Action Settlement Agreement for policies that resulted in reduced pension benefits of disabled Veterans (2020).
• Compensation payments made under the Federal Indian Day Schools (McLean) Settlement Agreement (2020).
• Payments issued by the Government of Alberta from the Heroes Fund.
• COVID Self-Isolation payments issued by the Government of Alberta, after the person completes their required isolation/quarantine period in hotel, as required by Alberta Health Services.
• Working Parents Benefit payments provided by the Government of Alberta (2021).
• Critical Workers Benefit payments provided by the Government of Alberta and the Government of Canada.
• Memorial Grant Program payments from the Government of Canada.
• Affordability payments received from the Government of Alberta.
• COVID-19 Vaccine Incentive payments received from the Government of Alberta.
• Compensation payments made under the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) – Department of National Defense (DND) Sexual Misconduct Class Action Settlement Agreement (2023).
• Canada Housing Benefit.
• Canada Dental Benefit.
• Compassionate payments from the Government of Alberta to individuals impacted by the September 2023 E. coli outbreak in Calgary childcare facilities.
• Compensation payments made to a class member under the Manitoba Developmental Center Class Action Settlement Agreement (Weremy v Manitoba) (2023).