Saskatoon SAID recipient questions December cheque delay

A Saskatoon woman spent four days with virtually no money in her bank account because she was waiting on her government cheque that arrived later than usual.

Brenda Bush, who is a recipient of Saskatchewan’s Assured Income for Disability (SAID) program, was searching frantically through the mail in the final days of 2019.

When she didn’t find it, she phoned employees at the Ministry of Social Services right away.

“I waited for an hour and when I finally got someone on the phone, her only suggestion was to wait for the mail,” Bush told Global News.

She said the cheque generally arrives in her mailbox around the 27th of each month. But since it was sent on Dec. 23, she didn’t receive it until Dec. 31. The delay caused several days of financial and physical hardship.

“I was feeling sick and depressed and scared. My son was off school and I couldn’t even send him to the store with a couple of bucks to get some chips or to do anything,” she said.

The ministry said cheques are sent out so they arrive around the final day of the month.

“We set our payment schedule so that it allows enough time for the mail to be received typically on the first of the month. Occasionally it comes before the end of the month,” said the service delivery director of income assistance and provincial services Ellen McGuire.

SAID funding can be made available through electronic transfer, but Bush was unable to have that set up because she left the program and re-entered it.

According to the province, around 16,000 households received SAID benefits last month, with about 70 per cent of them opting for electronic transfers.

Bush said there is an easy solution.

“They can mail them earlier because we can’t cash them until the day they’re dated. Getting them early, it wouldn’t be a factor. It would eliminate this problem. And again, common sense – who mails anything on Dec. 23?” she asked.

The ministry recommends anyone who is part of the program sets up an account to receive payment through electronic transfer so funds come through at regular times every month.