Personal Income Information for Disabilities Assistance Recipients (Calculator BC)
The Personal Income Information for Disability Assistance Recipients project (Calculator BC) was established to develop and evaluate a state‐of‐the‐art income calculator website for British Columbians receiving disability assistance. The website was designed to help recipients of disability assistance and the case managers who advise them to find out about, and apply for, new sources of income including federal and provincial benefits for which they may be eligible.
The site also aimed to help users understand how their income sources would be affected by changes in employment income over time. The intent was to provide users with income estimations for specific job opportunities and to include a personal account where users could keep track of their earnings and see the effect that earnings had on their disability assistance payments. In developing such a tool, the project aimed to
(a) improve participants’ understanding of the effect that earnings and moving in and out of work would
have on their disability assistance benefits and overall income,
(b) raise their confidence in the financial consequences of their employment decisions, and
(c) reduce financial apprehension when moving into employment.
The three‐year Calculator BC project (implemented between February 2016 and January 2019) was designed as an experimental demonstration to quantify the impact of implementation of the Calculator on disability assistance recipients’ financial security, their willingness and motivation to seek employment opportunities, and improvements in their medium‐to long‐term employment outcomes. This final report details the design, development, and implementation of the project, as well as its impacts on its participants.
Project Details
Published: January 2019
Capability: Experimentation - Program Evaluation/ Performance Measurement
Policy Area: Adult Learning - Financial Literacy, Income Security - Welfare and Employment - Social Assistance, Employment - Employment Supports and Services
Population: People with Disabilities - Social Assistance Recipients
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