The Social Assistance Summaries series tracks the number of recipients of social assistance (welfare payments) in each province and territory.
In this section you will find:
Saskatchewan’s social assistance program (description)
Social assistance is the income program of last resort. It is intended for households who have exhausted all other means of financial support. Every province and territory has its own social assistance program(s), and no two are the same. For modelling of total incomes available to social assistance recipients, visit the Welfare in Canada report.
In Saskatchewan, there are two core income assistance programs:
- Saskatchewan Income Support (SIS); and
- Saskatchewan Assured Income for Disability (SAID).
The Saskatchewan Assistance Program (SAP) and Transitional Employment Allowance (TEA) ended August 31, 2021.
Saskatchewan Income Support (SIS)
SIS was introduced on July 15, 2019. The SIS program supports people by meeting their basic needs as they work to become more self-sufficient to the best of their abilities. Basic benefits include the Adult Basic Benefit and Shelter Benefit; additional benefits may be available in some situations to address specific needs. SIS clients are nominated for Supplementary Health benefits administered by the Ministry of Health.
Saskatchewan Assured Income for Disability (SAID)
Designed in collaboration with the disability community, the SAID program was established on October 1, 2009, for individuals in residential care settings. In June 2012, SAID was expanded to include people who live independently. SAID is a needs-based income assistance program that gives Saskatchewan citizens with significant and enduring disabilities access to long-term income support and greater choice of services, and supports their participation in the community.
Eligibility for the SAID program is determined by verification of financial eligibility, medical confirmation of an enduring disability, and assessment of the impact of disability.
SAID benefits include a Living Income benefit for basic needs, a Disability Needs benefit, and an Exceptional Needs benefit. As well, SAID recipients may receive additional ongoing or one-time benefits to address a variety of needs, such as utilities, laundry, travel, and special diets as applicable. SAID clients are also nominated for Supplementary Health benefits through the Ministry of Health.
For a person with a disability to be eligible for SAID, their disability must be assessed to be permanent, assessed as either periodically or continuously having a substantial impact on the individual’s daily living activities, and causing the individual to require support in the form of an assistive device, the assistance of another individual, a service animal, a modified environment, or other accommodation.
How many people claim social assistance?
On average, there were 35,875 cases (family units and unattached single adults) and 55,582 beneficiaries (individual claimants, their partners, and dependent children) receiving Saskatchewan’s social assistance programs during 2022-23.
Among cases, on average, about 48 per cent (17,316) received support through the Saskatchewan Income Support (SIS) and about 52 per cent (18,559) received support through the Saskatchewan Assured Income for Disability (SAID). Among beneficiaries, just under 59 per cent (32,547) received support through SIS, and just over 41 per cent (23,035) received support through SAID.
The total number of social assistance cases in Saskatchewan increased by almost 9 per cent (2,850) and beneficiaries increased by about 8 per cent (4,158). While both programs saw increases, SIS accounted for over two thirds of the increases to both cases and beneficiaries.
To access data on cases and beneficiaries of social assistance in Saskatchewan, including Saskatchewan Assistance Program and Transitional Employment Allowance data, and disaggregated data, download the spreadsheet here.
Saskatchewan Income Support (SIS)
In 2022-23, on average, there were 17,300 cases and more than 32,500 beneficiaries of SIS, an increase of over 34 per cent (4,400) for cases and 32 per cent (7,900) for beneficiaries.
SIS was launched on July 15, 2019, and has seen increases in the number of cases and beneficiaries every year since. This is in part because it has gradually replaced the Saskatchewan Assistance Program (SAP) and the Transitional Employment Allowance (TEA) as they ceased in August 2021. These programs’ historical numbers of cases and recipients are represented in figure 1SK below.
Figure 1SK – Yearly cases and beneficiaries of SIS, SAP, and TEA, 1996-97 to 2022-23
Saskatchewan Assured Income for Disability (SAID)
In 2022-23, on average, there were almost 18,600 cases and about 23,000 beneficiaries receiving SAID. These numbers rose sharply in the two years after eligibility was expanded in 2012 and have risen at a slower pace since then.
Figure 2SK – Yearly cases and beneficiaries of SAID, 2009-10 to 2022-23
What proportion of the population receives social assistance?
In 2022-23, on average, 5.7 per cent of people in Saskatchewan under 65 received one of Saskatchewan’s social assistance programs, which is 1 in 18.
Since it was introduced in 2019-20, the proportion of SIS beneficiaries has increased rapidly, reaching 3.3 per cent on average in 2022-23. The proportion of SAID beneficiaries increased consistently since 2009-10, with a high of 2.4 per cent in 2022-23.
The proportion of SAP and TEA beneficiaries decreased to 0 in 2022-23 after the programs ended in August 2021.
Note: The total population under 65 is estimated on July 1 of the fiscal year (e.g., July 1, 2022, for 2022-23), whereas social assistance beneficiary data is a fiscal year average (April to March).
Figure 3SK – Yearly beneficiaries of SIS, SAID, SAP, and TEA as a proportion of the under-65 population of Saskatchewan, 1996-97 to 2022-23
Who is receiving social assistance (disaggregated data)?
This section examines the following disaggregated data:
- Cases and beneficiaries by household type;
- Beneficiaries (SAID) and cases (SIS) by gender;
- Heads of household by gender for unattached singles and single parents;
- Adult beneficiaries by age category; and
- Cases reporting employment income
Note that the figures below represent percentages but total numbers are available. Disagregated data for SAP and TEA for 2020-21 and 2021-22 is also available.
Household type
In 2022-23, on average, unattached singles were the majority household of social assistance cases for both SIS, representing over 62 per cent, and SAID, representing over 86 per cent. Single parents had the second largest percentages of cases in each program, representing 31 per cent for SIS cases and 8 per cent for SAID.
Single parent households were, on average, the majority of beneficiaries for SIS in 2022-23, representing just under 54 per cent, followed by unattached singles with about 33 per cent. For SAID, unattached singles were the majority beneficiaries with almost 70 per cent, followed by single parent households with more than 17 per cent.
Figure 4SK: Percentage of cases and beneficiaries of SIS by household, 2020-21 to 2022-23
Cases
Beneficiaries
Figure 5SK: Percentage of cases and beneficiaries of SAID by household, 2020-21 to 2022-23
Cases
Beneficiaries
Beneficiaries (SAID) and cases (SIS) by gender
In 2022-23, females, on average, made up the majority of the SAID beneficiaries with about 52 per cent. Female-led households made up the majority of SIS cases with 57 per cent.
Note that the “undeclared/other” gender category is not included in the figures below because fewer than 1 per cent of SIS heads of household identified as such.
Figure 6SK – Percentage of cases of SIS by gender of primary applicant, 2020-21 to 2022-23
Figure 7SK – Percentage of beneficiaries of SAID by gender, 2020-21 to 2022-23
Gender of heads of household
In 2022-23, on average, the majority of unattached singles receiving SIS were male, representing just under 59 per cent. In contrast, the majority of heads of single parent households were female, representing over 89 per cent.
The gender distribution is similar for SAID in 2022-23. On average, 56 per cent of unattached singles were male and almost 86 per cent of heads of single parent households were female.
Note that the “undeclared/other” gender category is not included in the figures below because fewer than 1 per cent of SIS heads of households identified as such.
Figure 8SK: Percentage of heads of unattached single and single parent households receiving SIS by gender in Saskatchewan, 2020-21 to 2022-23
Figure 9SK: Percentage of heads of unattached single and single parent households receiving SAID by gender in Saskatchewan, 2020-21 to 2022-23
Age of adult beneficiaries
In 2022-23, on average, the most common age group of adult beneficiaries receiving SIS was 18-29, representing over 34 per cent, followed by 30-39, representing almost 29 per cent. The least common age group was people over 60, representing under 6 per cent.
For adult beneficiaries receiving SAID, on average, the most common age group in 2022-23 was 50-59, representing almost 26 per cent. The least common age group was people over 60 with under 17 per cent.
Figure 10SK: Percentage of adult beneficiaries of SIS by age category in Saskatchewan, 2020-21 to 2022-23
Figure 11SK: Percentage of adult beneficiaries of SAID by age category in Saskatchewan, 2020-21 to 2022-23
Employment income
In Saskatchewan, employment income is defined as all self-declared net incomes from employment and self-employment, after mandatory deductions and, in the case of self-employment, subtracting allowable business expenses, received during the reference periods.
In 2022-23, on average, 2.1 per cent of SIS cases had employment income. Cases receiving SAID were more likely to have employment income at 5.9 per cent. Both numbers have steadily increased since 2020-21.
Figure 12SK: Percentage of SIS and SAID cases with employment income in Saskatchewan, 2020-21 to 2022-23
Access to data
The data on social assistance recipients in Saskatchewan is available for download, including:
- Total cases and beneficiaries;
- Percentage of beneficiaries relative to the total under-65 population;
- Cases and beneficiaries by household type;
- Beneficiaries (SAID) and cases (SIS) by gender;
- Heads of household by gender for unattached single and single parent households;
- Adult beneficiaries by age category; and
- Percentage of cases reporting employment income.
Data notes
Acronyms
- SAP: Saskatchewan Assistance Program
- TEA: Transitional Employment Allowance
- SAID: Saskatchewan Assured Income for Disability
- SIS: Saskatchewan Income Support
Key dates and timelines
- Transitional Employment Allowance was introduced in February 2003.
- Saskatchewan Assured Income for Disability was introduced in 2009 and expanded in June 2012.
- Saskatchewan Income Support was launched on July 15, 2019.
- The intake of new SAP and TEA applications was suspended on July 15, 2019. Both were closed on August 31, 2021.
Notes on program data
- For 2002-03, the averages for TEA were calculated as average over the fiscal year (12 months) while the program was operational for two months.
- For 2009-10, the averages for SAID were calculated as average over the fiscal year (12 months) while the program was operational for five months.
- For 2019-20, the averages for SIS were calculated as average over the fiscal year (12 months) while the program was operational for nine months.
- For 2021-22, the averages for SAP and TEA were calculated as average over the fiscal year (12 months) while the programs were operational for five months.
General data notes
- The data reflects the average number of cases and beneficiaries over the fiscal year (April 1 to March 31).
- The subtotals may not add up to equal the total number of cases (households), adults, and beneficiaries due to rounding errors, missing and/or incorrect data.
- The numbers do not include First Nations living on reserves.
- SIS data disaggregated by gender is only available for cases, not beneficiaries. This is in part because this data is not collected for children under the SIS program.
- SIS applicants and spouses/partners can choose not to specify gender, or select an option other than “male” or “female” as their preferred gender identity.
- Data for cases by gender reflects the gender of the primary applicant.
- Adults by age is calculated as the average monthly number of adults falling within the specified age groups.
- The percentage of cases reporting employment income is calculated as the distinct (unique) count of households within each quarter reporting incomes (self-declared) from employment, farming and/or self-employment divided by the total distinct (unique) count of households within each quarter.
- Click here for more information about how the data is gathered.