Transitioning off of ODSP or OW

If you are receiving income support from the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) or Ontario Works (OW), it may be your goal to obtain another source of income, such as employment. Within both programs, there are supports in place to help accomplish this. For people receiving OW, there are many activities that you are expected to partake in as per your Participation Agreement. Some of these that can help you find a job can be found on this page.

For people receiving ODSP, there are some benefits and incentives that could help you when you obtain employment. For example, you could receive the Employment Transition Benefit, which could give you $500 to help you with employment costs like uniforms. You could also qualify for rapid reinstatement if you need to return to ODSP again.

When your income exceeds your maximum entitlement (the highest amount of money you can get from ODSP or OW), you are considered to have excess income. For example, if your entitlement is $1000 and your income from other sources is counted as $1100, you have excess income. You will no longer be able to receive benefits within the programs as you did previously; however, both ODSP and OW offer other benefits that could help with medical costs and coverage after you stop receiving support.

You can read about these benefits, split up according to their respective programs, below.

Transitioning out of Ontario WorksExpand Transitioning out of Ontario Works Section

Two benefits that can help you transition out of Ontario Works are called the Extended Health Benefit and the Extended Employment Health Benefit.

Who is eligible?
Extended Health Benefit (EHB)
You might be eligible if:

  • You have received OW income support in the previous month
  • The reason you’re leaving OW is because you have excess income (from any source), and
  • The costs of your health costs are greater than your excess income

Extended Employment Health Benefit (EEHB)
You might be eligible if:

  • You received OW income support in the last 6 months
  • You are leaving OW because of income from a job or training program
  • You don’t qualify for EHB in Ontario Works
  • Your job or training program’s health benefits are less than that of the EEHB

How to apply
Talk with your OW case worker about whether you might be eligible for these benefits as you move out of the system. If you are not eligible for the EHB, your worker should also see if you’re eligible for the EEHB.

What else?
How do these benefits differ?

The EHB is for people who have excess income from any source – whether it is from employment or from other government programs such as the Canadian Pension Plan – but their health costs are still higher than their income. On the other hand, the EEHB is for people who have obtained employment, but the health benefits they get are not as good as those offered through OW.

You can also obtain EHB as long as your health-related costs are higher than your excess income, but if you begin to receive EEHB then you can only have the benefit for 6 months and, if there are exceptional circumstances (e.g., if cutting off EEHB could harm your health or make it hard for you to keep your job), up to a full 12 months.

For more in-depth information, you can visit these links:

Transitioning out of the Ontario Disability Support ProgramExpand Transitioning out of the Ontario Disability Support Program Section

There are two benefits that can help you with health costs and coverage if you’re moving out of the ODSP system – the Extended Health Benefit and the Transitional Health Benefit.

Who is eligible?
Extended Health Benefit (EHB)
You might be eligible if:

  • You no longer qualify for ODSP income support because your income is too high (from any source)
  • You and your family have high health costs

Transitional Health Benefit (THB)
You might be eligible if:

  • You are leaving the ODSP for paid work (a job or training program)
  • You don’t qualify for the ODSP EHB
  • Your job/training program doesn’t provide you with benefits equal to the THB

How to apply
Talk with your ODSP case worker about whether you might be eligible for these benefits as you move out of the system. If you’re not eligible for the EHB, your worker should check to see if you’re eligible for the THB.

What else?
How do these benefits differ?

The EHB is for people who have excess income from any source – whether it is from employment or from other government programs such as the Canadian Pension Plan – but their health costs are still higher than their income. On the other hand the THB is for people who have obtained employment, but the health benefits they get are not as good as those offered through ODSP.

You can receive EHB benefits for as long as your health costs are greater than your income. For the THB you can receive it until your employer provides similar health benefits, but you will need to apply to it again every year.

For more in-depth information, you can visit some of the following links: