CRA Annual Report to Parliament 2009-2010 - Achieving Our Benefit Programs Strategic Outcome
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Achieving Our Benefit Programs Strategic Outcome
Income security is essential to the economic and social well-being of Canadians. As administrators of benefit and credit programs for federal, provincial, and territorial clients, we must ensure that we correctly determine eligibility for these programs and that payments are made on time. Our activities during 2009-2010 were undertaken to provide reliable support to Canadians during this difficult economic period and to bolster our ability to provide effective programs for years to come.
In 2009-2010, our goal was to enable application and registration and ensure accurate payments and reliable delivery on behalf of benefit and credit programs, as well as other services that we administer. Also, we encouraged business growth and partnership, increasing our contribution to efficient government.
In 2009-2010, we met our targets in most cases. Our results show that we continued to provide reliable and accurate benefit services and programs while successfully introducing new initiatives and updating ongoing programs.
Our challenge is ensuring that all benefit recipients have and use the tools and information they need so they can receive their proper entitlements.
Eligible families and individuals receive timely and correct benefit payments
The CRA has a vital role to play in supporting families and individuals across Canada. We help millions of Canadians by administering a range of ongoing and one-time programs on behalf of federal, provincial, and territorial governments. Our legislation and the adaptability of our systems enable us to use our federal infrastructure to accurately calculate and efficiently deliver benefits and credits. Legislation also enables us to provide information, in specific instances, to support the programs that government clients themselves administer. By ensuring that benefit recipients have access to timely and accurate information, we help them receive their proper entitlements. By working as a single delivery service on behalf of several levels of government, we reduce duplication and the overall cost of administering benefit programs.
We are very aware of the importance that Canadians place on fairness and transparency in all interactions with the federal government. We respond to Canadians’ expectations by taking steps to ensure that only eligible individuals receive benefits and that their entitlements are correct. This protects benefit and credit recipients from undue hardship that could be caused by underpayments or overpayments.
Our focus
When individuals provide timely and accurate information, and that information is processed by reliable systems, individuals receive timely and correct benefit payments. During 2009-2010, we focused on initiatives that provide benefit recipients with timely and accurate information, services, and easy access to benefit and credit programs. We did this to encourage individuals to apply or register for the programs they are eligible for. We followed up with consistent review and validation of information to ensure that we issue correct payments. By contacting recipients to confirm information, we encourage individuals to meet their obligations.
Reliable benefit and credit delivery depends on a number of systems. Our individual identification system is a core data source used across the CRA. Our individual credit determination system determines entitlement to benefit and credit payments and also provides information, where authorized by law, that supports other governments in delivering their own programs. To ensure that we deliver reliable benefit and credit programs now and for years to come, we have further invested in our system infrastructure.
Strengthening service
Service is a cornerstone of our delivery of benefits and credits to Canadians. We make clear and timely information available to make it easier for individuals to apply for their benefits and comply with legislation. We also provide several ways of applying and registering so that people find it easier to access benefit and credit programs. Benefits-related information products, tools, and services were enhanced during 2009-2010 to help Canadians better understand and access the programs available and to meet their obligations as recipients so that they could receive the payments they are entitled to on a timely basis.
The telephone has always been an important service channel for benefit recipients. Many people rely on the telephone as their main contact route for reasons such as availability and prompt access to information and services. Information that is exchanged over the telephone can be critical to timely account updates and accurate benefit and credit calculations. The number of Canada Child Tax Benefit (CCTB) and GST/HST credit callers able to reach us by telephone exceeded 90% for the second consecutive year. The increased level of service for benefit recipients was possible due to the additional resources directed into our telephone services since 2008.
We recognize that enrolment levels for some segments of the population could be improved. Groups such as persons with disabilities, First Nations, and new residents benefit from information products that are more specialized. In 2008, we developed the Communication Strategy for Benefit Programs. One of the gaps identified was in messages targeted to First Nations, particularly those in Nunavut. In 2009-2010, new communication tools were created to encourage eligible First Nations individuals and families to access these programs. We will use the results of our next program take-up study to help us measure the results of these new tools.
During 2009-2010, we launched the Automated Benefits Application (ABA) service. ABA allows parents to apply for child and family benefits when their child is born by ticking a box on their provincial or territorial birth registration forms. The provincial or territorial body that registers the birth sends the applicant’s registration information to the CRA over a secure communication network so that we can determine eligibility for benefits. Our ABA initiative was an important step to improved service by simplifying the process of applying for benefits. It was also an important addition to our compliance efforts because ABA uses data that comes directly from the provinces and territories, ensuring timely, valid, and accurate application information.
By simplifying the benefit application process through ABA, we have reinforced our commitment to ensure that eligible Canadians can readily access the benefits and credits they are entitled to. We are measuring the response time for this new service to make sure that we are meeting our objectives. We are comparing ABA processing and payment time frames to both online and paper applications. The data to date shows that parents are receiving their first benefit payment faster with ABA. As we complete the first full year of measurement, we expect to gather consistent evidence indicating time savings as a result of this service.
Benefits validation
Our validation work helps benefit recipients understand their legal rights and obligations and creates a credible enforcement presence to deter non-compliance. We are continuing to ensure the integrity of benefit and credit programs through strategic initiatives that focus on validation.
In 2009-2010, we contacted 212,017 recipients to confirm that their account information was accurate. The responses that we received enabled us to identify recipients who were overpaid as well as those who were underpaid. Our results indicate that our targeted reviews are successfully revealing areas of non-compliance.
Reinforcing trust
When Canadians trust the integrity of the CRA, it can positively influence their willingness to comply with legislation. This applies to both tax and benefit programs. When we measure and report each year on the accuracy and the timeliness of our payments, we are offering individuals and our government partners an indication of the reliability of our services. Our results during 2009-2010 show that we successfully met the targets that we set in most cases. A track record of consistency and dependability supports good relations and encourages benefit recipient co-operation.
A 2006 internal audit noted that our benefits quality review process varied across the country. We recognize that measurement methods must be the same nation-wide for results to be reliable. During 2008-2009, we implemented our Quality Review Strategy so we could standardize and improve our quality review process and ensure a consistent approach. By doing so, we improved our ability to measure processing accuracy and to detect and address administrative issues faster. Over the last year, we assessed the results of implementing the strategy and have scheduled another assessment in 2010-2011. The initial assessment identified best practices, developed recommendations for action, and pointed out issues to be analyzed and resolved by the CRA.
Maintaining effective relationships
When we administer programs and provide benefits and credits on behalf of client governments, we reduce the need for separate calculation and delivery systems at federal, provincial, and territorial levels. Building and maintaining effective relationships between the CRA and various client governments makes it easier for them to work with us and encourages them to use our delivery systems, as authorized by legislation, whenever possible. By working co-operatively, the overall cost of government is reduced.
During 2009-2010, we worked with Human Resources and Skills Development Canada on assessing whether the administration of the Universal Child Care Benefit is effective and efficient. Results of this review are expected during 2010-2011.
Our strategic outcome measures
Many of the indicators that we use to measure our progress toward our strategic outcomes focus on eligibility, timeliness, and accuracy. The indicators include:
- how many eligible individuals apply for benefit programs;
- whether payments are issued on time; and
- how many recipients provide us with up-to-date and accurate information, enabling us to accurately calculate entitlements.
In addition, we gauge our progress as the provider of choice for benefit programs and services by volume of use. We consider this an indicator of the attractiveness of our program and service delivery infrastructure to federal, provincial, and territorial clients.
Eligibility, timeliness, and accuracy
Benefit payments make up a substantial part of many Canadians’ income. These individuals and families rely on receiving payments on time to meet their household expenses. During 2009-2010, 99.7% of benefit payments were issued on time, demonstrating that recipients can rely on the delivery of their benefit and credit payments.
The correct calculation of benefits and credits relies on timely information from the recipient. It is the responsibility of each recipient to provide us with complete and accurate information to maintain their eligibility and receive the proper amount of benefits. The results of the most recent benefits measurement study indicated that 94.4% of CCTB recipients provided us with correct information and were therefore receiving their proper entitlements. This mostly meets our target of 95% and represents an improvement over the previous year’s result of 92.9%.
We consider our calculation of benefit payments to be correct when the net value of CCTB overpayments is low. Overpayments or underpayments are often due to changes that took place but are not indicated in a timely manner. Net CCTB overpayments increased by $11 million during 2009-2010, but represented only 0.1% of the $9.9 billion in CCTB payments issued during the year, well under our established target of less than 0.4%.
Our results in these areas tell us that, overall, we have been successful in meeting or surpassing our eligibility, timeliness, and accuracy targets in 2009-2010. These values tell recipients that they can depend on our providing accurate benefit and credit programs and services. Furthermore, our low level of overpayment and high level of compliance means that Canadians can be confident that we are administering programs and services with the high level of integrity that they expect from all areas of government.
Provider of choice for benefit programs and services
As we continue to add new programs and services, we continue to lower the overall cost to governments by reducing duplication. Our administration of the CCTB, which combines federal, provincial, and territorial benefits into a single payment, is just one area where our positive impact can be seen. One CCTB cheque, for example, can replace several separate payments if it includes the basic Child Tax Benefit, the National Child Benefit Supplement, the Child Disability Benefit, and one or more provincial or territorial elements.
In 2009-2010, preparations were made to deliver three new benefit programs as a result of Ontario and British Columbia’s decision to harmonize their sales tax. These are:
- the Ontario Sales Tax Transition Benefit;
- the Ontario Sales Tax Credit; and
- the BC Harmonized Sales Tax Credit.
A great deal of the work for these three programs was completed during this period; however, the first payments were not issued until June and July 2010. Information about the delivery of these programs will be included in our next annual report.
Conclusion
An assessment of our results shows that, overall, we met our measurement targets. We consider this an indicator that our administration of benefit programs provided timely and correct payments to eligible families and individuals. Personnel who answer benefit enquiries lines ensured that callers received timely and accurate responses to their questions.
The fact that 99.7% of payments were issued on time shows that benefit recipients can rely on the CRA’s benefit and credit delivery system. In addition, our government clients benefited from reliable services, reduced administration costs, and CRA validation of account information.
These successes support the Government of Canada outcome of income security and employment for Canadians.
Our Benefit Programs Strategic Outcome Measures
- Date modified:
- 2010-11-02