|
Man’s pension seized by Family Maintenance Program
Family Maintenance Enforcement Program
2006 Annual Report
We were contacted by Mr. M who said he had been left penniless
because all of his pension income was being seized by the Family
Maintenance Enforcement Program (FMEP)....more
Letters to survivors of WCB pensioners improved
Workers’ Compensation Board
2005 Annual Report
Ms E disagreed with the Workers’ Compensation Appeal Tribunal’s
decision that the Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB) was correct
in making her survivor’s pension effective the date she applied
for the pension instead of the date when her husband passed
away....more
Corporation amends
pension
BC Pension Corporation
2005 Annual Report
Ms J contacted the office and
said that when she worked at a care facility, she received two
retroactive wage increases in two lump sum payments. Ms J said
she was notified by the BC Pension Corporation that these
amounts were not included in the calculation of her pension....more
Pension plan equalizes benefits for people
Ministry of Health Services (Medical Services Plan)
2004 Annual Report
In 2002, (Ombudsman Howard Kushner) initiated an investigation
into the policy of two of the four public sector pension plans
(Public Service and Municipal), to deny certain benefits to
pensioners living outside BC. At that time, retirement benefits
included health benefits and a dental plan. These benefits were
available on retirement for those retirees living in BC, but
ceased if the pensioner left BC.This begged the question “why?”
...more
Mobile intake clinic assists senior citizen
Ministry of Health Services (Medical Services Plan)
2004 Annual Report
People often feel it’s no use to disagree when a government
agency tells them that they have to follow a certain process.
Sometimes, our office is able to advise and assist people in
obtaining results they seek. At one of our recent mobile intake
clinics, a senior citizen came to us because she was told that
the only way she could challenge a redlight camera ticket was to
appear in court....more
Waiting period waived for reimbursement to 90 year old
PharmaCare
2004 Annual Report
A man called on behalf of his 90-year-old mother in June after
she had been told that an overpayment she made to PharmaCare
could not be reimbursed until after the end of the year. The
woman felt, considering her age, it was unfair to have to wait
to recover the overpayment.
When PharmaCare became aware of
the woman’s age, they agreed to reimburse her immediately.
PharmaCare advised that it was unfortunate that when she had
called to request reimbursement the women had not been advised
she could apply for early retroactive payment.
Vancouver Island Health
Authority
Mr K complained about the
residency requirements of the
Vancouver Island Health
Authority (VIHA) for obtaining
subsidized placement of his
93-year-old mother in a
long-term care facility. He
explained that he and his wife
had moved to British Columbia
from Ontario several months
previously....more
Health Authority
An elderly woman, Ms C,
complained that her local health
authority failed to provide her
with adequate home-support
services. She said that her
husband was recently placed in a
care facility, but she remained
at home with a number of
different medical problems that
made it increasingly difficult
for her to cope on her own....more
The Ombudsman investigates complaints about a public agency when
it appears that the agency has not met its duty of care in
ensuring the accuracy of the information it provides. The public
has a right to expect that information provided by public
agencies is accurate....more
BC Pension Corporation
Mr. P worked in Alberta as a public servant for 18 years before
taking a job with the public service in British Columbia in
1990. The reciprocity agreement in place between the two
provinces at the time (now defunct) allowed an employee to
transfer pension credits to B.C. rather than collect a pension
from Alberta at retirement. Mr. P enquired about this transfer
option and received and signed a transfer application. This
application indicated that the transferred money might or might
not be adequate to purchase the same years of pension credit in
B.C. Mr. P signed without asking for more details....more
BC Pension Corporation
Mrs. V, a widow and pensioner,
complained to this office that the British Columbia Pension
Corporation had temporarily discontinued her pension payments
following the death of her husband, causing her unnecessary
hardship....more
Ministry of Health
2001 Annual Report
Residents of care facilities pay a user fee to the Ministry of
Health. The fee, set annually, is based on residents’ income.
Over the years, the ministry has
used various methods to determine income. For example, the
ministry has used Medical Services Plan premium rates as a
reference point, assuming that residents receiving assistance
with premiums were likely to have the lowest incomes, while
those not on premium assistance must have a level of income that
would justify higher user fees. However, in some cases, these
assumptions were incorrect...more
Ministry Replaces
Wheelchair
Ministry of Social
Development and Economic Security
1999 Annual Report
The Ministry of Social Development and Economic Security (MSDES)
denied Ms. C’s application for a new manual wheelchair for her
husband. He had been confined to a wheelchair for 22 years....more
Funds Returned
Ministry of Social
Development and Economic Security
1999 Annual Report
Ms. T’s Seniors Supplement payments were suspended for several
months to recover an overpayment that had been made to her
deceased husband. She did not receive a clear explanation of how
the debt had arisen or why she was responsible, rather than her
husband’s estate....more
Ambulance Service
Apologizes
Emergency Services
Commission
1999 Annual Report
Ms. R was a widow whose husband had recently died of cancer.
During his illness, he had episodes of severe pain. On one such
occasion, Ms. R called an ambulance to take him to hospital.
When the ambulance attendants
arrived, Mr. R was lying in bed in a basement room reached by a
narrow corridor. The attendants told Ms. R that, because of the
narrowness of the corridor and tight corners, they could not
bring a stretcher into the room. Ms. R believed that it was
possible to bring a stretcher into the room, but could not
convince the attendants of this....more
Estate Dispute Settled
Educational
Institution
1999 Annual Report
Mr. W’s late wife had
been employed by an educational institution and she had named
him the beneficiary of her pension in the event of her death.
When she died, Mr. W received monies payable under the plan.
Later, plan administrators determined that supplemental pension
benefits should also be paid. Instead of paying those additional
monies to Mr. W, the named beneficiary, the pension plan paid
them to his wife’s estate....more |
