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Automatic
annual indexation of social assistance benefits
To
maintain the purchasing power of social assistance recipients,
the benefits paid under the Employment-Assistance Program
will be automatically indexed each year beginning January
1, 2003. This measure, which applies to persons with a severely
limited capacity for employment as well as persons who are
able to work, will affect approximately 360 000 households.
The
indexation rate used will be the same as that used for the
personal income tax system and related tax credits, i.e. the
rate based on growth in the Québec consumer price index
for the 12-month period ending September 30 of the previous
year. This rate will also be used to index the benefit paid
to persons in residential care who are eligible for employment
assistance.
Based
on the predicted inflation rate of 1.1%, this measure will
result in the following increases in annual disposable income
in 2002 compared with 2003:
- $72
for an independent adult who is able to work;
-
$96 for an independent adult with a severely limited capacity
for employment;
-
$108 for a couple who is able to work;
-
$144 for a couple with a severely limited capacity for employment.
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