Wage Exemption for More Income Assistance Clients

With changes to wage exemption rules, clients receiving income assistance who are self-employed or who receive tips, gratuities and commissions, will now have more money in their pockets. As of May 1st, people are able to keep more of this income before seeing a reduction in their income assistance payments.

“For some people with disabilities, self-employment is the best option for earning income and maintaining independence,” said Brian Aird, Teamwork Cooperative, Self-Employment Services. “This change means that self-employed individuals can keep more money to invest in making their businesses successful.”

Wage exemptions were first introduced in the fall of 2018 to allow Employment Support and Income Assistance clients to keep more of their income assistance while working.

“I know my strengths and weaknesses and how my disabilities impact them, and self-employment allows me to manage them successfully,” said Sue Chessell, In-Thread-Able Designs. “Traditional employment hasn’t been able to meet my needs, but self-employment allows me to be a contributing member of society and improve my standard of living. This change will help me grow my business.”

For information on other measures to support income assistance clients, visit https://novascotia.ca/coms/employment/index.html .