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There are several eligibility requirements for income support. There are also certain documents that you will need to include with your application.
To apply, you must:
A disability is enduring if a medical profession has provided a report saying that it is permanent. This means the person will not recover from it. A disability is significant if it has a substantial impact on the person’s daily activities and they need the support of:
Social Services will decide if the disability is significant. To decide this, Social Services uses a Disability Impact Assessment (DIA). A DIA is done by people Social Services hires, not Social Services. These are usually done in your home. There is a different process for assessing a disability if the person is living in a place where they receive care.
You must show that you have tried to get support in any other way you can. This could be another government program like a GST rebate. If you are 65 or older, there are benefits specifically for seniors like Old Age Security and the Seniors Income Plan. If you are disabled, you may be able to get the Canada Pension Plan Disability benefit. If you have a sponsor for your immigration to Canada, they may be responsible for supporting you.
If you have a child and are not receiving child support, you will be expected to try to get a child support order or enforce an existing order. The Maintenance Enforcement Office can enforce a support order or agreement. Information about this service is available by calling 306-787-8961.
Some people cannot apply for income support. This includes people who:
You apply for support as a household (called a family unit if you are applying for SAID). Your household or family unit includes you and, if you have them, your spouse and children.
A spouse is the person you are married to or a common law spouse. Someone is your common law spouse if you have lived together for at least two years. It can also be someone you have lived with for less than two years if you have children together. If you are not a spouse as described above, or are living separate and apart from them, a spouse also includes someone who:
Child means:
It does not include children who do not live with you or your spouse or children who do not depend on you and your spouse for support.
To receive income support, you must first apply for it. There are several things that you must include in your application. For your application to be successful, it is important to provide the necessary information.
Applications can be made:
To apply online, you must have or create a Government of Saskatchewan Account. There are step-by-step instructions for applying online. These include Saskatchewan Income Support How to Apply Online Guide or Apply for SAID Online.
To apply for SIS by phone, call: 1-866-221-5200 or TTY: 1-866-995-0099, Monday to Friday from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm
To apply for SAID by phone, call: 1-888-567-SAID (7243) or TTY: 1-866-995-0099, Monday to Friday from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm
You can use a computer or phone at a Social Services office and staff there will be able to help you. These offices are in cities and some towns and villages across Saskatchewan. If someone completes the application over the phone for you, you must consent to the application. Someone with the authority to provide consent for you, like a Power of Attorney, can consent for you.
When you apply, you must provide:
If you do not have a SIN or HSN, you will need to confirm that you have applied to get one. For SIS, you have 30 days after you apply to provide these numbers. For SAID, you have 60 days. If you do not have a SIN because you are a refugee, you can provide documentation from Citizenship and Immigration Canada instead. If you cannot provide these numbers within the time allowed, contact Social Services.
You must be living in the area where you apply. A person or family just passing through the area may be able to receive emergency assistance or health services for a maximum of four days.
Within 30 days of applying, you must give Social Services any information they need to determine your income and assets and those of your spouse (if you have one). You must allow Social Services to access any information they need to decide if you are eligible.
You must fill out a direct deposit form within 30 days of applying. If your application is approved, this is how benefits are paid. You can ask to be paid another way if:
Within 30 days of applying, you and your spouse, if you have one, must also complete a service questionnaire.
To receive income support, the income of you and your spouse, if you have one, must be less than what you would receive while on income support. Some of your assets will count as income.
You will need to provide information about your income. Income includes all money that you and your spouse or partner have received in the 30 days before your application. This includes earned income, benefit payments, pension income, support payments, loans, inheritances, and cash gifts or donations. You must provide documents to verify your income, such as:
There is some income that is not used to decide if you can get benefits or how much you will receive.
Some of the money you earn from work is exempt. For SIS, it is:
For SAID, the income exemption is per year. It is:
Some other income is exempt, including:
With SAID, some income that would not be exempt can be paid into a Registered Disability Savings Plan. Once this is done, it is no longer considered income. This includes payments from an investment and payments from a trust.
Any income you earn that is not exempt will be deducted from your income support benefits.
If the amount of your non-exempt income in any month is more than what you would get from income support in the next month, you need to use the income first before you will get benefits. How long you will need to support yourself depends on the amount of non-exempt income you have. This includes income you have from selling or cashing in a non-exempt asset. For example, if you cashed in an RRSP or sold some property that was not your home.
Unless exempted, the net value of any assets owned by you or your spouse or partner is considered available income. Assets include cash, investments, real estate and inheritances. You must provide documents for any property you own and money that you have on hand including:
Each person in the household can have up to $2,000 at the time of your application. Money that comes in after your application is submitted must be included as income when it is received.
Your primary residence is an exempt asset. This includes the home and the land or the home quarter if the home is a farm residence. All other real estate is non-exempt.
Personal items like vehicles, computers, furniture, jewelry and tools are generally exempt. With SIS, however, if you have secondary and recreational vehicles, they are only exempt up to $5,000 in total value.
Money held in a RDSP and RESP are exempt.
With SAID, there are a few more exemptions. This includes:
Within 180 days of your application, you must sell any non-exempt assets that you have. If you receive money from selling or cashing in any of these assets, it is considered income. This amount will be deducted from any income benefits you are eligible for or may result in a period of self-support. If you still have excess assets after 180 days, you cannot get income support.
Once your application is received and you have provided all required documents, your application for assistance will be approved or denied. If your application is approved, you will be notified about the amount of your benefits and how the amounts were determined. You will also be told what is needed to remain eligible for benefits. If your application for benefits is denied, the decision will explain why.
You have the right to appeal a decision respecting your benefits. This may be because you believe your application was improperly denied or that you should receive more benefits. You must file your appeal within a certain amount of time after receiving the decision. For SIS, this is 15 days. For SAID, you have 30 days to appeal. For more information, see our page on Appealing Support Decisions.
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