I'm posting a question to any mama's out there who can help me with a few questions regarding social assistance in Canada. A friend of mine is currently on assistance, and I'm wondering..... if she gets child support does she get to keep it or is it deducted? I know if the cheque is made out to her, it'll most likely be taken.... but if it's made out to the baby and put into the baby's own account? Also, is Child Tax Benefit Deducted???
I'm trying to understand this hoopla of a system, and it appears to take everything that could help a person get ahead!!!!!!
child support payments are deducted from your cheque.
oops hit submit too soon,
CCTB is not, you keep that.
A portion of the Child Tax benefit is "clawed back", as people like to say. You are allowed to keep $135 of the $266 that is given to you.
There is no way to avoid child support from being taken. Any income the baby receives is taken aswell. On the slips you must complete every month, you must report yours, your partners and your childs income. If you are on O.W. and you know where the man is, you must get support from him.
Things might be different in Saskatchewan than Ontario. The clawback etc is Harris' brainchild, but I don't know.
I've been on assistance in Ontario and BC, but I'm not 100% sure about Saskatchewan. In ON, the "NCBS" (National Child Benefit Supplement)portion of the CCTB is taken off you cheque. The actual amount that it would be depends on the child's age, the province you live in and the declared income for the previous year. I just looked it up, and in SK, it is taken http://www.handsoffnow.ca/campaigns/documents/Canadian_Clawback_Chart_jan05_eng.pdf#search='NCBS%20and%20welfare'
In both provinces, and I would think any others as well, you are required to take the BD for support (In Ontario, a welfare worker was actually present in court, in BC I think it would have been the same). Any support you receive is taken off your cheque. In ON, I was not even allowed to open up a bank account for my son. Anywhere I know of, any income or assets of the child can be held against you. Even a teenager with a part time job.
She is actually in Nova Scotia, but I think the programs are all pretty much the same. I just don't see how they should be able to take her baby's money...... what a system???? If the system is this bad to begin with, wait till Harper gets ahold of it! I just think that it's wrong for a person not to be allowed to build savings for thereselves or their children, what if something ever happened????
Exactly. That is what is messed up about our system.
It just appears to me that the system keeps you on the system, and never allows you to get ahead. It's like they worry about people abusing it too much. As a tax payer, I'd cut my losses, just to see someone be able to better their situation.
Yep. It is definitely very hard to get off the system. It is ridiculous.
unless she gets audited, she may be able to just cash it under a dif account than the one they know about. if they aren't getting paid through maintenance enforcement or whatever its called in NS, then the govt doesn't actually have a record of it. if she tells them she gets X amount of dollars from bd tho, then they'll deduct that amount of dollars from her cheque whether he pays or not.
in sask you keep all your ctb. as well, you can claim child support as "income" (even though it isn't really, and isn't taxable either) and report it to sask employment supplement and get an extra bit of money. i had a job then lost it, but the worker told me i could continue to report each month if i was getting child support.
but i dont think the rest of the country has employment supplements. which sucks. cuz they rule.
I told her to build savings for the baby, or herself in an emergency, but she won't do it, because she feels that she's not being honest.
In Nova Scotia, it looks like they take some, but not all, of the NCBS.
It is not being honest for her to build up savings. That's not to say that it isn't necessary. It's also almost impossible with the amount of money the give you. If she gets caught, she could be cut off of assistance. Will she get an income tax return this year? Maybe she can put that money away. If she's going to do that, tell her to either keep the money in cash, or put in into a bank account in someone else's name. I've had them find bank accounts that I didn't report to them (that was almost empty and I had forgotten about). I've also had a calls from my worker asking why I had so much money in my account. Is she still really good friends with her bd? Because if she tries to hide the child support payments and they get into a fight or something, he could report her.
They aren't friends really, he wants to be in the baby's life, and her's.... and she considers him the sperm donation that allowed her to have a baby!
I asked her about the tax refund, she's not sure. But she says even if she gets one, it'll have to go towards bills. What erks me is that she smokes!!! It's so expensive!!!!!
Then I would tell her to be really careful taking support money from him and not reporting it. It really works both way, if he is giving her cheques, or she is writing receipts, then he has paper proof of the money her gave her, and could bring it to welfare at any time. Say, if she flat out told him she wants nothing to do with him. But, he may not want to give her cash with no paper trail because then she could turn around and say he's never paid support.
Just so everyone knows, all cash money received as childsupport will be deducted from social assistance, as well as half the baby bonus. Right, ok you guys already know that. However, if a father supplies a baby with clothing, diapers, formula, toys, etc. It's not child support, it's a gift. You don't have to claim any "gifts" given to you child by relatives. Also, if her mother were to open an account in trust for the baby, none of that money has to be claimed either. The account is not technically in her name, or the baby's name. Until "grandma" decides the child is old enough to get the money from the "trust" account, it doesn't exist. :D It's also tax deductible for grandma, and it earns good interest while it's there.
AmberG