Making it easier for people to get the government benefits and services they need

By Carolyn Ali

Why do people who are eligible for public benefits not take advantage of them? UBC political scientist Vince Hopkins works to help people overcome the barriers that reduce uptake of EI, CPP, immigration settlement assistance and more

Imagine you were missing out on thousands of dollars of benefits and didn’t even know it. That’s more common than you might think. In addition to unclaimed tax refunds, many people don’t tap into programs they qualify for, such as childcare benefits, employment insurance and immigrant settlement services.

“Low uptake of government programs is a huge problem, and it’s all around us,” says Dr. Vince Hopkins, an Assistant Professor in the UBC Department of Political Science.

For example, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) reported that it was holding an estimated 8.9 million uncashed cheques in 2022. Other examples include federally funded settlement services: nearly 30 per cent of newcomers to Canada go six months without accessing these services, which could help them find meaningful employment faster.

The government also reports a low uptake of the Canada Learning Bond, an educational savings incentive for low-income families. And hundreds of millions of dollars remain unclaimed in the Canada Pension Plan—money to which those who paid into CPP through pay stub deductions are entitled.

So why would people forgo such benefits? The government doesn’t have a clear picture but has identified groups of people who face significant barriers. These include people with disabilities, people with insecure housing, seniors, youth and Indigenous peoples.

According to a federal government report, these vulnerable groups might not be accessing services for reasons including complex application processes, literacy levels, the requirement to file a tax return to access benefits or the need to have a bank account for automatic deposits.

“These benefits promote economic efficiency and reduce inequality,” says Dr. Hopkins. “So when people can’t access government programs, it should worry us because it means that some of our key instruments to reduce inequality aren’t working as they should.”

Dr. Hopkins is working to change that through his research with the Department of Political Science, UBC’s Centre for Migration Studies and as a faculty affiliate at the Stone Centre on Wealth and Income Inequality. Located at UBC’s Vancouver School of Economics, the Stone Centre was funded by a $5.4-million gift from the James M. and Cathleen D. Stone Foundation. It’s one of 11 such centres worldwide, and the first in Canada, with the purpose of supporting research on the causes and consequences of wealth and income inequality—and finding solutions.

Overcoming barriers to benefits

Dr. Hopkins leads the Behavioural Public Policy Lab at UBC, working closely with students and postdoctoral researchers such as Christian Schimpf. He also works closely with governments to improve access to public services, especially employment and immigration programs. He talks to people such as job seekers who are eligible for certain services to find the pain points for accessing them.

From a social science perspective, there are three broad explanations. First, there are “learning costs”: the time and effort to find out a program exists and whether or not you’re eligible for it. Second, there are “compliance costs”: the hassle it takes to get a benefit, such as filling out long forms, wait times, fees or gathering and submitting the required documents. And third, there are psychological costs, which include stress and feelings of stigma for accessing certain programs.

These barriers are not equal for everyone. For example, people with lower incomes may not have the time or resources to access programs meant to support them. “A 30-minute wait in line for someone who has a large cash savings, their house is paid off and they’re retired is one thing,” says Dr. Hopkins. “But if you’ve got two kids, you don’t have enough money to make rent for that day and you’re trying to squeeze in naptime for baby, a 30-minute wait is huge.”

For people who are marginalized or have lower incomes, “if you don’t have a lot of savings and you lose your job, you don’t have a lot of time to read What Colour is My Parachute?” he notes, referencing the popular career handbook. “Say you have rent to pay. You’re more likely to take the first job that comes along, even though there might be a better job for you if you had some skills training or job counselling.”

Thus, not being able to access public services quickly compounds inequality by limiting upward mobility.

Changes to encourage better uptake

Ensuring people can access the programs they’re eligible for can be challenging. “Often there’s a catch-22 to these programs,” he explains. “They’re designed so that we can target resources where they’re most needed. But how do we find out who those people are?”

Tax credits are an easy way for governments to deliver income-tested benefits, because they are linked to your tax return. However, about 10 per cent of Canadians don’t file a tax return, with even higher rates for youth, renters, low-income families and recent newcomers. These people miss out on benefits such as the Canada Child Benefit (for low‑income families with children under 18), and the Canada Workers Benefit (for low‑income employed people).

Dr. Hopkins recently partnered with the BC government to explore how relatively small tweaks to how programs are delivered can increase participation. Their team designed a new application process for employment services and skills training and looked at the most effective way to communicate it to potential participants. “If you’re not telling people that these programs exist, if you’re not communicating to them how to apply, they’re much less likely to do so,” he said. The team found that certain emails with motivational messaging increased engagement and were two to three times more likely to increase enrolment than no email at all.

Overcoming the intention-action gap

Part of behavioural science, explains Dr. Hopkins, is understanding the reasons why people who have a strong intention to do something that could benefit them don’t follow through. A good example is people who resolve to go to the gym in January and end up on the sofa by February. Behaviour change such as habit stacking can help.

When it comes to accessing government benefits, Dr. Hopkins offers a few tips.

Tap into community

“People with your lived experience who’ve applied for a program can be a great resource,” he says. Talking to others about benefits helps normalize them and remove stigma. If you don’t have a community, check out forums such as Reddit.

Organize your documents

It’s helpful to have all your documents, such as a scan of your driver’s license and passport, in one secure place. Setting up direct deposit with CRA and applying for an online BC Services Card can also help expedite services.

Designate time to check for benefits

While everyone’s lives are different, “setting aside time can be really powerful,” says Dr. Hopkins. So can bundling tasks, such as checking for new benefits at the same time you do your taxes.

Here are a few resources you might not know about:

• Canada Benefits Finder to help navigate federal programs
• BC Housing Rental Assistance Calculator
• Free employment services and app from WorkBC
• Fair PharmaCare
• Child and family benefits calculator, provincial child-care fee reduction calculator, and for families earning under $110k per year, the Affordable Childcare Benefits program

And don’t forget to check if you have an uncashed cheque from the CRA.

Learn more about the Stone Centre on Wealth and Income Inequality

Carolyn Ali is a writer for UBC Brand and Marketing. This article was published on November 4, 2024. Feel free to republish the text of this article, but please follow our guidelines for attribution and seek any necessary permissions before doing so. Please note that images are not included in this blanket licence.