Recovery of social welfare overpayments
Information
In the event that you have been overpaid a social welfare benefit or entitlement, the Department of Social Protection will contact you. Overpayments may occur if an extra payment of an allowance, pension, assistance or any other benefit is made to you by the Department.
If you have been overpaid, the Department will inform you of:
- The reason(s) for the overpayment
- The amount involved
And
- The way the Department proposes to recover the amount that has been overpaid.
If you or your spouse/civil partner/cohabitant are getting a means tested social welfare payment and save a portion of this payment each week, these savings as well as savings from most other sources will be taken into account as part of your means. It is important to notify the Department of Social Protection of these savings to avoid an overpayment and subsequent claw-back of the overpayment.
The liability to repay overpayments may continue to exist after your death.
Your personal representatives may be asked to repay the amounts owed from your
estate.
Rules
Repaying the overpayment
The Department can ask you to repay the overpayment by:
- Making a single payment to repay the full overpayment
- Making weekly or monthly cash repayments until the overpayment is paid off
- If you are still getting a social welfare payment, by deductions from your weekly payment (and by withholding any arrears of payment that may be due to you
When deciding the rate of repayment, the Department will look at the following factors:
- Your ability to repay
- Any facts or circumstances relevant to the question of repayment that you have raised
- The amount of the overpayment and the circumstances in which it arose
If you cannot afford the repay the overpayment
If you cannot afford to repay the amount you were overpaid, the repayment may be reduced, deferred or suspended. If your circumstances subsequently improve to the extent that you are able to afford the repayment, you will be required to repay the amount owed at a rate you can afford. Failure to repay social welfare overpayments may result in prosecution by the Department of Social Protection through the courts system.
When is repayment reduced or cancelled?
Repayment of an overpayment may be reduced or cancelled because:
- The Department of Social Protection failed to act within a reasonable period of time on information that was provided by you or on your behalf
- The Department made an error - this only applies when you could not reasonably be expected to have been aware of the Department's error
If you think that the Department has made an error, you should bring the matter to the Department's attention as soon as possible.
What if you could have got paid under a different scheme
If you received payments that you were not entitled to under one social
welfare scheme, but would have been entitled to payments under another scheme,
this will be taken into consideration in deciding how much you have to repay.
How to apply
The Department of Social Protection has produced a Code of Practice on the recovery of overpayments. This Code of Practice also applies to the overpayment of Supplementary Welfare Allowance.
This Code of Practice is available from your Social Welfare Local Office.
Language
Related Documents
- PAYE overpayments and underpayments of tax
This document explains how you can find out if you have underpaid or overpaid tax. It also explains how to get a refund of tax or pay tax you may owe. - Specific debts: electricity, gas, tax, waste charges, TV licence and
others
A guide to the rules and practices around specific debts. - Changes that can affect your social welfare payment
A change in your circumstances can affect your entitlement to a social welfare payment. This document gives some examples of the changes that can affect your social welfare payment.
Contact Us
If you have a question relating to this topic you can contact the Citizens Information Phone Service on 0761 07 4000 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 9pm) or you can visit your local Citizens Information Centre.