When you’re on disability benefits

“Tomorrow marks one year since I moved in with my partner. It’s a big milestone, and we’re planning a little celebration. One factor we hadn’t considered until a friend mentioned it is how this could impact my disability assistance. He said once you’ve lived with someone for more than 12 months, the ministry may consider you 'spouses.' I looked into it, and it seems that he’s correct. In fact, I learned that I have to submit a report to the ministry notifying them of the change. I dug up the blank report I received with my last assistance cheque and filled it out. I’m going to submit it promptly, as I understand there are deadlines involved.”

– Bethany, Saanich, BC

When you’re on disability benefits, you must tell the Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction about changes to your circumstances by submitting a report. This report is a legal document between you and the ministry. The ministry uses the information in your report to confirm you still qualify for benefits. It’s also used to ensure you receive the right amount and type of benefits to meet your needs.

Reporting obligations for those getting disability assistance

Under the law, those on disability assistance must submit a report to the ministry when they earn income or there’s a change to their circumstances. Changes to any of the following trigger the reporting requirement:

• the amount or type of income your family unit receives

• your family unit’s assets

• your marital status

• the education or work circumstances of members of your family unit

Your family unit includes you and your dependents. A spouse (married or unmarried) who lives with you is a dependent. So is a minor child who lives with you more than half the time and relies on you for necessities, like food and shelter.

You will receive a blank report with your assistance payment. It will be attached as a stub to your cheque or mailed to you with a record of direct deposit. Or the ministry will send it to your My Self Serve account.

You must submit your report by the fifth day of the month following the change. For example, say you start your first year of college in April. You’d need to submit a report explaining this change by May 5. If the fifth day of the month is on a weekend, you must submit your report the next business day (usually Monday).

Reporting obligations for those getting persons with persistent multiple barriers benefits

Under the law, those receiving persons with persistent multiple barriers (PPMB) benefits also have reporting obligations. If you’re on PPMB benefits, your reporting obligations are nearly identical to the obligations of those on disability assistance, described above. The one exception relates to income replacement benefits from WorkSafeBC or ICBC.

The ministry pays most welfare benefits in advance of the month they’re for, except for hardship assistance. You should receive your monthly payment no later than the last Wednesday of the previous month. For example, you should get your February welfare payment no later than the last Wednesday in January. See the ministry’s website for current welfare payment dates.

Hardship assistance for people with the persons with disabilities (PWD) designation is paid after the first of the month. You must complete your monthly report on or after the first of the month to prove your eligibility before the ministry will release your hardship payment.

You can receive your monthly welfare payment by direct deposit, have your cheque mailed to you, or go pick it up at a ministry office. 

Sometimes the ministry withholds a welfare payment. They may do this if they need more information from you to confirm your eligibility for benefits. 

If you don’t receive your monthly payment when you’re supposed to, contact the ministry right away. Ask for the reason and what you need to do to fix it. If the ministry wants information that you can’t access right away, ask if you can get your payment while you look for the information. If you aren’t able to fix the problem, it’s a good idea to contact an advocate. See below, under who can help.

If your cheque is lost or stolen

If your cheque goes missing, the ministry will replace it if it’s unendorsed (you didn’t sign the back of it) and you make certain promises. They’ll also replace a direct deposit payment that didn’t make it into your bank account.

BC’s welfare laws say that some benefits recipients have what are called employability-related obligations. This means that to continue receiving benefits, they must take certain steps to improve their chances of finding work. 

Importantly, those on disability assistance or PPMB benefits don’t have employability-related obligations.

You can enter into a voluntary employability plan

While it’s not a requirement to continue receiving disability benefits, you can choose to enter into an employability plan. This is an agreement between you and the ministry. It’s a tool you can use to help you set work-related goals and identify activities to move you towards employment. 

It’s completely voluntary — there are no consequences if you aren’t able to follow through with the plan.

If you want to become self-employed

The ministry operates a program specifically for disability benefits recipients pursuing self-employment. The self-employment program supports those considering a self-employment career by offering deductions and exemptions for business expenses.

Under BC law, the ministry may ask you to do an eligibility review to confirm that you still qualify for welfare. For those on disability assistance, eligibility reviews may be done every two years. For those getting PPMB benefits, reviews may be done annually. You may also be asked to do an eligibility review if there are changes to your income, assets, or living situation.

Being asked to do an eligibility review doesn’t mean you’ve done something wrong. Most people on welfare are asked to do one at some point.

If you’re on disability assistance, an eligibility review doesn’t revisit whether you still have a disability. It only looks at other eligibility criteria, like financial details. As of April 2026, the ministry is not reviewing recipients for the PWD designation.

Eligibility reviews are conducted in person, over the phone, or by filling out and submitting a review form. Before your review, the ministry will send you a letter or message on My Self Serve asking for certain documents. Once you provide the requested documents, the ministry will schedule an interview for you.

You may be asked to do a compliance review

The ministry may ask you to do a type of eligibility review called a compliance review. This means you’ll have to speak to an investigative officer with the ministry’s compliance and debt management department.

Reasons the ministry may ask for a compliance review include:

• the ministry overpaid your welfare

• other government agencies think you have income that you didn’t report

• your file shows “risk factors,” such as your rent being higher than your reported monthly income

There are a few scenarios where you may end up owing the ministry money.

Benefits you have to pay back

Some types of welfare and supplements are repayable, meaning that you need to pay the ministry back. This includes some types of hardship assistance. For example, hardship assistance you receive while waiting for employment insurance or other income is repayable.

Certain supplements are also repayable. Examples include:

• security deposit supplements

• co-op share purchase supplements

• reconsideration and appeal supplements, if you lose the appeal

Before you get repayable benefits, the ministry usually asks you to sign an agreement saying you’ll pay them back. If you’re unsure whether a benefit is repayable, or you need help understanding an agreement, it’s a good idea to speak to an advocate. 

If you get benefits you weren’t eligible for

An overpayment is where you get welfare benefits or supplements you don’t qualify for. This could happen if you miscalculate your income or forget to report a change to your circumstances. If an overpayment happens due to your mistake, or because you weren’t aware of the rules, you have to pay it back.

Sometimes an overpayment results from a mistake made by the ministry. You may be able to argue that you don’t have to pay it back if you have an estoppel defence. Under BC law, an estoppel defence protects someone who, through no fault of their own, receives benefits they weren’t eligible to receive.

If the ministry thinks you received an overpayment, a staff member will investigate. You’ll receive a letter or message on My Self Serve explaining their position. It’ll include a chart of the months they think it happened, the reason, and the amount for each month. If you don’t agree that there’s been an overpayment, you can request a reconsideration. If you want support with a reconsideration, or you need help understanding something, it’s a good idea to contact an advocate. 

Dealing with the ministry can be hard, but it’s important to remember that you have the right to get help. It’s not your fault that you’re struggling to meet your needs. Be persistent, and don’t hesitate to reach out to a friend or advocate for support if you need to.

You have the right to fair treatment from the ministry. Ministry staff must treat you with respect and take seriously any concerns you have. They must follow BC’s human rights laws in their dealings with you. This means they have a duty to accommodate your needs. If you’re treated unfairly because of your unique needs or characteristics, it could be discrimination. 

To continue to get the support you need, it’s important to understand your rights and responsibilities. 

Your responsibilities while on disability benefits

While you’re receiving disability benefits, you must tell the ministry about changes to your situation by submitting a report. This ensures that you continue to get the benefits you qualify for. It also helps prevent potential overpayments. See above under what you should know for more on the reporting requirement.

When you’re on welfare and you get money from other sources, the ministry considers it income in the month you receive it. If you’re on disability benefits, you must submit a report to the ministry when you receive earned income. (Below, we explain what earned income is.) You must also submit a report when you receive any other income if it’s the first time you’re receiving it, if you’ve stopped receiving it, or if the amount has changed.

The income reporting obligations for those on disability assistance and PPMB benefits are nearly identical. The only difference relates to income replacement benefits from WorkSafeBC or ICBC. Disability assistance recipients have to report this type of income every month, whereas PPMB benefits recipients only have to report this income the first month they receive it, or if the amount changes.

When filling out your report, write the dollar amount on each line. Write “0” if you didn’t earn that type of income. Gather proof for each amount, such as a pay statement or receipts. If you have a spouse, they must complete this section as well.

Some types of income can impact your welfare payments. To know whether income you get affects your welfare, understand there are different categories of income.

If you get earned income

The first category is called earned income. The main source of earned income is any wages you earn from working. Other sources of earned income include money you receive from renting rooms in your home or providing room and board.

You can collect some earned income while you’re on disability benefits without having it deducted (taken) from your monthly payment. This is called an earnings exemption. 

Disability assistance earnings exemption

Those on disability assistance get an annual earnings exemption. This is the amount you can earn before the ministry deducts money from your assistance payment. The amount of your earnings exemption depends on the size of your family unit. As of April 2026, the maximum annual earnings exemption for a single person on disability assistance is $16,200. 

Usually, you become eligible for an earnings exemption after receiving disability assistance for one month. But if you received income assistance in one of the previous six calendar months, the exemption takes effect right away. As well, if you have the persons with disabilities (PWD) designation and you’ve received disability assistance before, there’s no waiting period.

PPMB benefits earnings exemption

Those on PPMB benefits get a monthly earnings exemption. As of April 2026, the monthly earnings exemption for a single person on PPMB benefits is $1,080.

Your monthly earnings exemption takes effect after you’ve been getting PPMB benefits for one month, unless a member of your family unit has received income assistance or disability assistance in the last six months. In this case, there is no waiting period.

If you get money from other sources

The second category of income is called unearned income. This includes most money you get that isn’t earned income. Sources of unearned income include:

• employment insurance

• money received from a trust or inheritance

• spousal support

Usually, the ministry deducts (takes off) unearned income from your welfare payment. If you get non-exempt unearned income that’s more than your total monthly welfare payment, you won’t get a payment the following month. That’s because the ministry says you have “income in excess” of your usual welfare payment.

Some types of unearned income don’t get deducted from your welfare payment. This is called exempt income. Exempt unearned income is money you can keep. Examples include tax refunds and EI maternity and parental benefits.

Some types of money are not considered income under BC’s welfare law. For example, payments received through Indigenous financial settlements are not considered income, and will not impact your eligibility for assistance. 

When the ministry is deciding if you can stay on welfare, they look at the total value of your assets. They sort your assets into two categories: exempt and non-exempt. Exempt assets are things you own that the ministry doesn’t count towards your asset total. Non-exempt assets are everything you own other than exempt assets.

To continue receiving welfare, the value of your non-exempt assets must be below a certain amount, called your asset limit. As of April 2026, the basic asset limit for a family unit with one person with a PWD designation is $100,000. The asset limit for a single person on PPMB benefits is $5,000. See the ministry’s website for current asset limits.

You have to tell the ministry if you received or sold any assets by submitting a report. This is so they can confirm that the value of your non-exempt assets is still below your asset limit. If your non-exempt asset total rises above your asset limit, you may cease to qualify for benefits.

When income becomes an asset

It’s important to understand how the ministry distinguishes between income and assets. When you get money, the ministry calls it income in the month you receive it. But in the following months, they refer to that money as an asset. This can be confusing, so let’s look at an example. 

Say you’re on disability assistance. In July, you get a $400 disbursement from your registered retirement savings plan. The ministry calls that $400 of unearned income in the month of July. Now, say you hold onto $100 of that disbursement as cash and spend the other $300 on medication and groceries. In August, the ministry says you have an asset worth $100 (cash is considered an asset).

If you give away or sell assets

Those receiving welfare have an obligation to pursue and use assets that could help them become self-supporting. This means that you’re not supposed to give away money or assets while you’re on welfare. Similarly, you mustn’t sell an asset for less than it’s worth. If you do either of these things in order to maintain your eligibility for welfare, the ministry may reduce or stop your payments.

Setting up a disability trust

If you have the PWD designation, you may have extra costs related to your disability. For example, the cost of making changes to your home or money to pay a support worker. Trusts offer a way for those on disability assistance to safeguard their assets to meet disability-related costs.

Under the law, a person on disability assistance can put certain types of assets into a discretionary trust (or a non-discretionary trust under certain conditions) without it affecting their eligibility for assistance. In other words, the assets transferred into the trust can become exempt assets. As long as money from the trust is spent on your disability-related costs, the ministry won’t reduce your assistance payments.

A trust usually isn’t necessary if you have less than $100,000 in assets. That’s because you’re not at risk of exceeding your asset limit. You may consider setting up a trust if you’re going to get a lump sum of money that is over your asset limit. For more on how trusts work and how to set one up, see this help sheet. 

Opening a registered disability savings plan

A registered disability savings plan (RDSP) is a federal savings plan for people with disabilities. Under the law, any money you contribute to an RDSP is an exempt asset. Similarly, the law says that withdrawals from an RDSP are exempt income.

By opening an RDSP, you may also be eligible to receive government grants and bonds. This is money the government pays directly into your account based on your net income and your own contributions. See this help sheet for more on the topic.

An example of how the income and asset rules fit together

Consider this example scenario, which shows how the income and asset rules work in practice.

Sarah is a single person on disability assistance with no savings. Her monthly assistance payment is $1,200 (a $983.50 support allowance and a $216.50 shelter allowance). 

On March 7, Sarah receives an inheritance of $150,000 which she deposits into her bank account. She lists this amount as income in her report to the ministry, which she submits on April 3. For the month of March, Sarah’s exempt income is $150,000. Because this income is exempt, the income limit rules don’t kick in. Sarah receives her May assistance cheque at the end of April as usual. 

After the month of March, Sarah’s inheritance becomes an asset. By mid-April, Sarah has spent a chunk of the money on living expenses, but there is still $145,000 in her bank account. This is above her $100,000 asset limit. In this case, the asset limit rules would kick in to stop her assistance payment for the month of June. She would remain ineligible for disability assistance until the value of her assets fall back below her asset limit.

Sarah has options to make her inheritance exempt

There are a couple of ways Sarah could avoid having her inheritance impact her eligibility for disability assistance. First, she could set up a trust. Under the law, money held in a discretionary trust (or a non-discretionary trust under certain conditions) is exempt for a person with a PWD designation as long as it is used to pay for their disability-related expenses. By moving her inheritance into a disability trust, that money could become an exempt asset. This could prevent the asset limit rules from kicking in to stop her assistance payment.

Sarah could also make her inheritance exempt by putting it into a registered disability savings plan (RDSP). By moving her inheritance into an RDSP account, that money would become an exempt asset. Any future disbursements from the account would be exempt income.

While you’re on disability benefits, the ministry needs to know who you’re living with and your relation to them. That’s because the amount of your monthly payment depends on the size of your family unit. A spouse (married or unmarried) who lives with you is a dependent. So is a minor child who lives with you more than half the time and relies on you for necessities, like food and shelter.

If your living arrangements change, you must tell the ministry about it by submitting a report.

Report changes in your dependents

If the number of dependents in your family unit changes, you must report it. For example, tell the ministry right away if you have a newborn child. This adds a new member to your family unit and will likely increase your assistance payment. It may also affect your eligibility for other supports, such as the child benefit top-up supplement.

Tell the ministry if a dependent child is no longer living with you. For example, if they move in with another family member or into a place of their own. You should also report if your child is placed in the care of the Ministry of Children and Family Development. If you're actively trying to have your child returned to you, the welfare ministry may continue to pay you your regular shelter allowance.

Report changes in your spousal relationship

You must report any changes to your relationship with your spouse (or your child’s parent). For example, tell the ministry if you separate or divorce. This could change the number of dependents in your family unit and impact your benefits payment. The ministry may also agree to help you defend a maintenance order or an agreement for child or spousal support. If you need help with this, ask for family maintenance services.

Sometimes the ministry says the person you’re living with is your spouse even though they’re not. If this occurs, ask the ministry what information they used to make their decision. For the ministry to consider you spouses, they must believe that you share your money, social life, and family life like a married couple. They must also believe that you’ve lived together for at least the previous 12 months. The ministry should be able to provide you with reasons they believe you are in a marriage-like relationship. Learn more here.

If you disagree with the ministry’s characterization, be ready to show how you both live separate lives. The ministry may require that you join your files as spouses. If you aren’t living together as spouses, don’t agree to this. Instead, ask for a reconsideration of their decision. We walk you through the steps to request a reconsideration.

Report changes to your shelter costs

Tell the ministry about any changes to the amount you pay for housing. This includes changes to any of the following expenses:

• rent

• mortgage payments

• utilities

• property taxes

Your monthly shelter allowance is based on your actual housing expenses. So any change in these expenses will impact the amount of welfare benefits you receive. 

Tell the ministry as soon as possible if you move. You may qualify for a supplement to cover some of your moving expenses. It’s important to tell the ministry your new address as well. This ensures that if you get your welfare cheque by mail, it gets sent to the right residence. It also ensures that your rent goes to the right person if the ministry pays your rent directly to your landlord.

If you leave BC

To receive disability benefits, you must be ordinarily resident in BC. If you leave the province often, or for more than 30 days, the ministry can stop your payments and close your file. In some cases you can ask for permission from the ministry to leave BC for an extended period without it affecting your eligibility. For example, to attend an education program or get medical therapy.

If you’re on disability assistance or PPMB benefits, you must submit a report to the ministry whenever there’s a change to your circumstances. You must submit your report by the fifth day of the month following the change. For example, if you move in with your spouse on May 12, you must submit a report explaining the change by June 5. 

If you receive hardship assistance, you must complete your monthly report on or after the first of the current month to prove your eligibility before the ministry will release your payment.

You can send your report by mail or drop it off at a ministry office.

If you don’t submit your report on time, the ministry may withhold or delay your welfare payments until they receive your report.