Do I need a MyBenefits account when I apply for or get income assistance?
MyBenefits is an online service for people who are applying for Ontario Works (OW) or getting benefits from either OW or the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP). You can choose if you want to use MyBenefits or not.
If you're applying for OW, you can use MyBenefits to:
- save and continue your application
- send and receive messages
- submit documents that OW asks for
- report changes to your address or phone number
- check the status of your application
If you're getting OW or ODSP, you can use MyBenefits to:
- send messages to your caseworker
- report your monthly
- report changes to your address or phone number
- check the status of each benefit payment and what it includes
- look at your letters
What you need to use MyBenefits
While MyBenefits can be useful, it's not the best choice for everyone. You need to have:
- an email address
- access to a smart phone, computer, or tablet
- internet access
- an up-to-date internet browser
Confirm your time outside Ontario
If you're getting OW or ODSP and using MyBenefits, there's an extra piece of information you must declare each month.
You must declare whether or not you or a member of your has been outside Ontario for more than:
- 30 days in a row if you're on ODSP
- 7 days in a row if you're on OW
Only MyBenefits users must declare that they have not spent more than 30 or 7 days outside Ontario. Read more in Step 2.
If you do not have MyBenefits you must still report to your caseworker if you spend more than this amount of time outside Ontario.
Your documents and messages
When you have a MyBenefits account, OW and ODSP stop sending you paper copies of your documents. You get everything through your account.
You get an email when there's a new message or document in MyBenefits. This means that you must check your email often to make sure that you do not miss anything.
You can change the settings in your account so that you get paper copies of some of your documents. Read more in Step 1.
Your documents and messages do not stay on MyBenefits forever. You need to save important documents yourself to have easy access to them in the future. Read more in Step 3.
