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AISH

Eligibility

Age requirement

To apply, you must be at least 18 years old and must not be eligible to receive Old Age Security pension.

Financial requirements

AISH will look at all of your sources of income and your assets. If you have a spouse or partner, their income will be considered as well.

To be eligible to receive AISH, you must:

  • Apply for all other sources of income that you could be eligible for, such as employment insurance (EI) or Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB) benefits.
  • Not have a total income that is greater than allowed by AISH. This income is usually determined by the reported amount on your income tax forms.

Income

All sources of income will be divided in three categories: exempt income, partially exempt income, and non-exempt income. For a single person, you will be able to keep all financial support received from exempt income sources as well as the first $1,072 of your non-exempt or partially exempt income. You can also keep 50% of any amount above $1,072 up to $2,009.

Exempt income

Exempt income will not be counted when considering your eligibility to receive AISH. Some examples of exempt income include:

  • Cash gifts
  • Income tax refunds
  • Income for a dependent child that is a child support agreement or is under the Child, Youth, and Family Enhancement Act
  • Benefits received through the AISH or the Alberta Seniors and Housing Ministry
  • Registered Disability Savings Plan payments
  • Registered Retirement Savings Plan payments

Partially exempt income

Partially exempt income will be counted in part when determining if you are eligible to receive AISH benefits. This means that a portion of your partially exempt income will be counted as non-exempt income and a portion of your partially exempt income will be counted towards your total non-exempt income. Some examples of partially exempt income include:

  • Income paid to you by an employer, such as wages
  • Self-employment income, such as from a business
  • Passive income, such as from a hobby
  • Income received by your spouse, such as the Canada Pension Plan Disability benefit

Non-exempt income

Non-exempt income will be counted in full when considering if you are eligible to receive AISH. Some examples of non-exempt income include:

  • Spousal support payments
  • Canada Pension Plan Disability benefit
  • Canada Pension Plan retirement pension
  • Canada Pension Plan survivor’s pension
  • Canada Pension Plan children’s benefits
  • Employment insurance (EI) income

Assets

All assets must be reported to the AISH. Like your income, your assets will also be divided into three categories: exempt assets, non-exempt assets, and temporary assets exemptions.

Exempt Assets

Exempt assets will not be counted when considering your eligibility for AISH, but must still be reported. Some examples of exempt assets are:

  • Your main home where you live
  • Your main vehicle
  • A Locked-in Retirement Account
  • A Locked-in Retirement Income
  • A Life Income Fund

Non-exempt Assets

Non-exempt assets will be counted when considering your eligibility for AISH benefits. To be eligible to receive the AISH, all of your non-exempt assets cannot total more than $100,000. Some examples of non-exempt assets include:

  • Chequing or savings accounts
  • Guaranteed Investment Certificates (GICs)
  • Term deposits
  • Registered Retirement Savings Plans (RRSPs)
  • Stocks

Temporary Asset Exemption

At certain times, you may receive money that AISH does not count as income. If you would like this money to be considered an exempt asset, you will have a year (365 days) to invest this money into an exempt asset. If you do not, it will be considered a non-exempt asset. Some examples of temporary assets include:

  • An inheritance
  • A gift
  • Funds from selling your home, which AISH has already considered exempt
  • Funds from selling your vehicle, which AISH has already considered exempt

Medical Eligibility

To be eligible to receive AISH benefits, you must provide documentation that shows you have a severe handicap. There are three criteria you must meet to be considered severely handicap:

  • Your mental and/or physical functioning is impaired
  • Your impairment substantially limits your ability to earn a living
  • Your impairment is likely permanent and there is no therapy available that would improve your ability to earn a living.

Ability to Work

To be eligible to receive AISH benefits, you will need to demonstrate your effort to find and keep employment. You will be expected to do this by:

  • Looking for, accepting, and maintaining reasonable employment
  • Making use of suitable training or rehabilitation

What province are you from?

Knowing your province helps us make this tool the best experience for you.

Important information about benefits for Indigenous Peoples

If you are Indigenous there are many things that affect the benefits you can get and the dollar amounts you can get from them. These include the agreements your band or governing body has with provincial, territorial, and federal governments. Before applying to any benefits, you should speak with your governing body, if applicable.

AFOA Canada and Prosper Canada are currently seeking funding to develop an online tool that serves the needs of Indigenous people living in Canada.