1 person on odsp other applying . is there 2 checks or 1 check

[sue perrault]

does anyboby no how odsp works . if a married couple was on odsp the husband
..and the wife was apply for it . do they get 2 checks or 1 check .does the
money go up on the husbands checks . how does this work .thank you sue

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[jbkeh]

The spouse is already part of the "benefit unit" of the one already on
ODSP - his/her status simply is changed to "also on ODSP" and the
amount (one check) for the "benefit unit" is increased accordingly. Due
to the vagarities of rounding, the last time I checked, this resulted
in a $1 shortfall from the amount that would be received if they were
separate "benefit units".

Interestingly, wives seem unconcerned about being part of their
husband's "benefit unit" whereas husbands are royally upset to discover
they are to be part of their wife's "benefit unit"......

[sue perrault]

thank you carmaine .my husband gets 1460 a month .wood the check go up if i
get on odsp or does it go down .will the money stay the same at 1460 a month
..thanks sue

>From: "Charmaine Voisine" <charmain...@gmail.com>
>Reply-To: odspfi...@googlegroups.com
>To: <odspfi...@googlegroups.com>
>Subject: Reply: Re: 1 person on odsp other applying . is there 2 checks or
>1 check/ Sue Perrault
>Date: Sun, 28 May 2006 23:46:19 -0400
>
>
>Actually there will be one cheque only Sue on ODSP.
>
>In my case of my husband and I. The cheque went into my name, because I
>was
>grandfathered over.
>If I were not grandfathered over , more than likely would had gone in my
>husbands name.
>
>Charmaine

>
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "sue perrault" <sue_per...@msn.com>
>To: <odspfi...@googlegroups.com>
>Sent: Sunday, May 28, 2006 6:52 PM
>Subject: Reply: 1 person on odsp other applying . is there 2 checks or 1
>check
>
>
>
>does anyboby no how odsp works . if a married couple was on odsp the
>husband

[abrowne]

Sue, your cheque will go up by almost a couple hundred dollars;

you'll get approx. $1640 (maximum, assuming you pay full rent).

A

sue perrault <sue_per...@msn.com> wrote:

thank you charmaine .my husband gets 1460 a month .wood the check go up if i get on odsp or does it go down .

---

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[jar...@sympatico.ca]

Angela how do you get above the 1460 which is the maximum for a couple
is it not.

[Malcolm53]

I do not usually jump in here but there has been some incorrect /
misleading posts submitted. If you made a reply to this subject it may
not appear as many have been denied.

Simply, as others have stated, ODSP only issues one cheque per benefit
unit. If both spouses qualify for ODSP the ODSP account is generated
in the name of the first member approved. While we were on OW waiting
for ODSP the OW account was in my name. When Maggie was accepted for
ODSP that account was generated in her name. I became the dependant
spouse of the benefit unit. When I was finally approved for ODSP our
benefit totals were modified but eveything else remained the same.

On the subject of maximum entitlements...
This is an area of great contention for us. Two individuals on ODSP
sharing accomodations are entitled to receive up to the maximum
benefits as printed. However a couple where both are disabled are
denied receipt of the maximum benefits as printed in the regulations by
a small sub-clause that states the maximum allowable is fixed at
$1,607.00 even if on paper they are entitled to receive up to
$1.785.00. It seems like no one is willing to challenge this
sub-clause on a discrimination basis. Currently Maggie and I are not
eligable to challenge the situation as we are in subsidized housing and
do not qualify for the paper maximum.

Section 30 (2) The total amount paid under paragraphs 1 and 3 of
subsection (1) with respect to a recipient and his or her spouse shall
not exceed $1,607. O. Reg. 222/98, s. 30 (2); O. Reg. 33/00, s. 7 (3);
O. Reg. 416/04, s. 1 (2); O. Reg. 291/05, s. 8 (3).

Maximum Benefits as stated in the regulations for a couple where both
are recipients of ODSP are:
Basic Benefits = $1,063.00
Shelter costs = 672.00
Total allowable = $1,735.00

Reg. ceiling = $1,607.00
amount denied = $ 128.00

Malcolm

[Malcolm53]

ODSP is designed to build up the amount of assistance given to a family (benefit unit) based on the size of the family (benefit unit).  It is also designed to ensure that recipients only receive the minimum amount possible in order to prevent abuse and lighten the financial burden to governments while allowing the government to present a good social face to the electorate.

Note:  All legislation quotes refer to the Ontario Disability Support Program Act, 1997,  ontario REGULATION 222/98, Amended to O. Reg. 29/06.

Sections 30 and 31 set out the base benefit rates that are given to a benefit unit. 

Section 30 deals with what ODSP calls 'Basic Needs'.  This amount is fixed and set out in a table. It is based on the number of people in the benefit unit, ages of benefit unit members and the number of disabled members in the benefit unit.  Basic Needs is the amount the government makes available to provide food, clothing, basic transportation and everyday basic needs.  The sub-sections of section 30 provide extra funds for special additional costs that not every benefit unit requires but a large number may need.  They also set limitations on how much funds will be paid in total for basic needs.

Section 31 deals with Shelter.   Shelter costs are designed to cover basic shelter such as rent  (mortgage/taxes), heat, hydro, insurance and public services (water).  The amounts available for shelter are also set out in a table based  on the number of members in the benefit unit.  These amounts are listed as a maximum amount payable as opposed to section 30 where the amounts are automatic.  As an example the table lists $672.00 as the amount for a benefit unit of two (2).  If your actual shelter costs are only $600.00 then you only receive $600.00.

Shelter costs are the biggest area of contention in the ODSP legislation.  The rates available only represent about 50% of what if actually costs to rent an apartment in todays market.   People living in assistive housing (rent geared to income) will  be able to receive enough money to cover their shelter costs but the limited amount of assistive housing available in Ontario leaves the majority of ODSP recipients severely underfunded. Those recipients paying market rates must use their basic needs (food money) to pay shelter costs.  The Ontario Government must update the shelter allowance to reflect current market rent costs to end this situation.  This would also free up assistive housing for those who are most in need (people working for minimum wage with no other assistance available). 

In the table in section 30 ODSP recognizes that a benefit unit where both spouses are disabled requires extra funding.  The table provides an extra $275.00 to the benefit unit where both spouses are disabled.  This is great,  is needed and presents a great front to the public.  In section 30 part 2 ODSP then removes almost half of this amount with an arbitrary maximum of $1,607.00 being placed on disabled couples.  Further compounding the situation is the fact that only couples living in market rent units are really affected by the benefit limit.

Section 30  (2)  The total amount paid under paragraphs 1 and 3 of subsection (1) with respect to a recipient and his or her spouse shall not exceed $1,607.  O. Reg. 222/98, s. 30 (2); O. Reg. 33/00, s. 7 (3);
O. Reg. 416/04, s. 1 (2); O. Reg. 291/05, s. 8 (3).

Using the above information I created a sample to use.  The first part is quite easy.  The second part is how section 30(2) effects the benefit amount paid by leaving disable couples facing a penalty of $128.00 just because they are a couple who must live in market rent.

Maximum Benefits as stated in the regulations for a couple where both are recipients of ODSP:
Basic Needs     =  $1,063.00
Shelter               =        672.00
Total allowable  =  $1,735.00

max benefit       =    $1,607.00 - this is the maximum amount limitation as set by section 30(2)
benefit loss       =    $   128.00 - this is how much a disabled couple could lose

In actual fact a disable couple on ODSP is only allowed a maximum shelter benefit of $544.00 instead of the $672.00 as stated in Section 31.

I hope I have explained this problem area so most can understand it.  If you are still confused please let me know.

Malcolm

[abrowne]

Malcolm,

This is also a major problem when the couple also has kids,

because you need a bigger place to accommodate kids and

kids - particularly older ones like my son, need lots of food,

clothes, etc.  My son is one of only two kids left behind from

the year end class trip to camp because I can't afford the $95

to send him there. My son is already a major issue here; the

other night he took off saying everybody hates him and walked

far into the next neighbourhood that his father had to go find

him and drag him back.  He doesn't have a lot of friends,

spends a lot of time online and this is not how I wanted things

to be for him - the school just looks at parents who can't afford

things like it's our fault or something.

Angela

Malcolm53 <malc...@gmail.com> wrote:

Shelter costs are the biggest area of contention in the ODSP legislation.  The rates available only represent about 50% of what if actually costs to rent an apartment in todays market.   People living in assistive housing (rent geared to income) will  be able to receive enough money to cover their shelter costs but the limited amount of assistive housing available in Ontario leaves the majority of ODSP recipients severely underfunded. Those recipients paying market rates must use their basic needs (food money) to pay shelter costs.  The Ontario Government must update the shelter allowance to reflect current market rent costs to end this situation.  This would also free up assistive housing for those who are most in need (people working for minimum wage with no other assistance available). 

[jbkeh]

I'd think that this could be an interesting challenge for Angela - it
should be argued that when the word "spouse" is used, it is implicit
that the "spouse" is NOT also an ODSP recipient.

ODSP can "combine" cohabiting ODSP recipients as an administrative
convienience - to utilize this as a mechanism to deny full benefits to
a pair of ODSP recipients would seem a clear discriminatory violation
of human rights.

Malcolm53 wrote:
> *Section 30 (2) The total amount paid under paragraphs 1 and 3 of

> subsection (1) with respect to a recipient and his or her spouse shall

> not exceed $1,607. * O. Reg. 222/98, s. 30 (2); O. Reg. 33/00, s. 7 (3);

[abrowne]

Charmaine,

The act of actually combining the cheques is not an issue,

because we have this little thing called the Family Law Act.

The act of cutting two people with disabilities just because

the two of them have disabilities is discriminatory.  Your

husband is still a client of ODSP; it is just that if two ODSP

clients marry, one cheque is created in the original recipient's

name.  For example, if something happened to you, your

husband can call the ODSP office and he will immediately

have his own file created and he will be on his own again.

A

Charmaine Voisine <charmain...@gmail.com> wrote:

Well as soon as we got married, you know what happened - they closed my
husbands file as a ODSP client. He is no longer a client of ODSP. (this to
this day still upsets him, afterall he worked his butt off to get on it),
but he is now apart of my ODSP as a Spouse. I do not feel it is fair that
ODSP does this. I feel it should be as it is with those that are over 65
how they get to keep their own CPP and Old Age Security Cheques. I do not
feel it is fair that my husband got cut off of ODSP after being a client for
5 years. I would have been p*ssed if I lost my grandfather status after all
these years too.

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[abrowne]

Charmaine,

Whoever told you that is lying or doesn't know the answer -

my husband and I split up a few times and he went off to

live elsewhere; he was able to apply and almost immediately

get his ODSP reinstated to him as a single person.  This is

what I always despised, because at that time, I was stuck on

what was then called "mother's allowance" and my husband,

because he doesn't know how to live with anybody except his

parents if he weren't with me, had a lot of disposable income

and I had none (e.g. his parents didn't charge him any rent).

 

Rapid reinstatement will even be available to those who got off

ODSP for employment or other reasons and in Niagara, this

has always taken less than a month, sometimes if it's the

last week or two, even before the end of a month.  As he is also

deemed to be disabled, he will not be required to seek work

(as non-disabled spouses do) and he still has access to all of

ODSP's health and employment supports benefits, similar to the

way he would if he were on his own.

 

If this situation should arise, your spouse would be eligible for

rapid reinstatement as a client in his own name.

Angela

Charmaine Voisine <charmain...@gmail.com> wrote:

Within about 2 weeks after we got married, my husband received an email that his ODSP had been suspended and that he was no longer a client of ODSP.  In fact when he moved into my town, and we went for an interview to my local office, they in fact even told him that his ODSP was suspended and that he was no longer listed as a client of ODSP - but only as a dependent spouse of the

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[jbkeh]

Suspended simply means "payments stopped until the current situation
changes"; it does not mean he is cancelled or terminated.

Should the day come that he is no longer part of your "benefit unit"
(which would "change" the current situation) and again becomes a
"benefit unit" unto himself, the payments will resume.

Charmaine Voisine wrote:
> David received a letter from ODSP that his ODSP has been suspended, and it indicated because he has gone on to some other method of benefits or something along those lines. But it actually said the words SUSPENDED.

[jbkeh]

I'd expect that that was simply her sloppy use of terminology -
"client" meaning "active benefit unit"; you can't lose your status as a
'person with disability' simply by being married.

Charmaine Voisine wrote:
> the worker came out and told my husband that he was part of my ODSP benefit
> as a "disabled spouse" only and she actually used the words "you are no
> longer a client of ODSP"?

[Patrick Cavanaugh]

> I believe it was a couple months or so you first mentioned about amount
on paper and actual amount not being the same. A week or so later after
having deleting all the emails I asked how to go about challenging this
and received no response. My wife and I would be willing to challenge
this but not sure how to.
Pat

> It seems like no one is willing to challenge this
> sub-clause on a discrimination basis.