Correction note, Re; The Perfect Storm

Seems I was initially misinformed with regards to one of the statements I made in my last blog.

The situation with regards to having to "sell" my pre-paid funeral arrangements is false. In fact pre-paid funeral arrangements are considered an "exempt asset"  with regard to claiming assets which you may or may not have to "sell"

The "exempt asset" limit in our case would be $7.500.00. I have copied the actual statement with regard to assets and exempt assets directly from the Ontario Disability Supports program page and here it is;

"Examples of assets


Assets are property, possessions or money that belong to you or your family. Here are some examples:


cash
money you have in bank accounts
stocks and bonds
Registered Retirement Savings Plans (RRSP)
vehicles
property (for example, land or a house)
trust funds
any other assets that you or your family own.


Some assets are exempt


Some assets are "exempt" - this means they do not affect your eligibility for Income Support. Here are some examples of exempt assets:


the home you own and live in
your primary vehicle (the one you use the most, if you have more than one)
trust funds derived from an inheritance or life insurance policy, up to allowable limits
the cash surrender value of life insurance policies, up to allowable limits
pre-paid funerals
Registered Education Savings Plans (RESP)
Registered Disability Savings Plans (RDSP)
necessary household and personal items, such as furniture and clothing.
These are only a few examples. There are many rules about the treatment of assets while you are receiving Income Support.


Your Ontario Disability Support Program worker can help you figure out which of your assets are exempt. That's why it is important that you report all of your assets to your worker.


Asset limits


There are limits to the amount of non-exempt assets you can have and still remain eligible:


for a single person, the limit is $5,000
for a person with a spouse, the limit is $7,500
the limit increases by $500 for each child.
When you can go over the limit


In some cases, you can get approval to save money over and above your asset limit. For example, you may save money to buy an item or service that you need for your health or for your disability. Talk to your Ontario Disability Support Program worker."


The fact remains however that I believe that the step of having to apply for Ontario Disability Support via Ontario Works is a wasted step in the case of an obviously documented disability and is a was of Government money. Unnecessary wages and time for all those involved at Ontario Works.

Their case loads are overloaded now, and to add this "unnecessary" step is just more stress on them not to mention the wasteful spending on the Governments part.

My apologies for any inconvenience the misinformation may have caused.

Tim.