Many in Canada yet to claim $2 billion in uncashed benefits cheques
The Government of Canada is currently sitting on billions of dollars in benefits and refunds that eligible Canadians have yet to claim.
Many across Canada are still holding uncashed government benefit cheques, and the total value now exceeds $2 billion, according to data provided by the Public Services and Procurement Canada on Jan. 26 in response to a question by Conservative MP Adam Chambers. These cheques were sent to eligible Canadians who received them through federal benefit programs, but for some reason, were never deposited or cashed.
Since 2022, a whopping $2,159,665,155 in benefits and refunds have gone unclaimed. Canadians failed to deposit or cash in over four million cheques issued by the government. According to the report, it costs the government $1.83 to issue each cheque, which comes out to a total of around $224 million.
Several benefits remain uncashed.
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For example, families have yet to claim a total of over $42.8 million in Canada Child Benefits, and eligible Canadians still have to cash in $21.8 million in Advanced Canada Workers’ Benefits. Unclaimed Veterans Affairs Canada Disability Benefits came out to around $4.5 million, while there’s still $359,080 left to claim in Federal Housing Benefits.
Seniors also still have money from the government.
The total of unclaimed cheques for Old Age Security (OAS) benefits comes out to more than $72.8 million, over $15.7 million for Public Service Pension, and $91.7 million in Canada Pension Plan Payments.
Many Canadians also still have to cash in their T1 refunds, which come out to over $391.8 million, Canada Carbon Rebates worth $141.2 million, and Goods and Services Tax/Harmonized Sales Tax Credits that come out to $118.8 million.
You can find out if you received benefits or refunds from the CRA by logging in to your CRA account.
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According to the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC), you have a right to cash your cheque for free at a bank (including federal credit unions) and at authorized foreign banks.
“You can cash a Government of Canada cheque no matter how old it is. Government of Canada cheques don’t have an expiry date and never expire,” states FCAC. “However, it may take longer to cash an older cheque because a financial institution may first want to verify that the cheque is legitimate.”
Canadians are urged to register for direct deposit so they can receive their federal payments securely and on time.
Last year, the CRA told Daily Hive that it was still waiting for Canadians to claim millions of cheques in refunds and benefits.