Earlier, the minister had already indicated that he was reluctant to seek reimbursements if people received too high a benefit due to incorrect calculations. Minister Van Hijum now definitively decides not to seek reimbursements in cases where errors were made by UWV in the WIA daily wage determination between 2020 and 2024. This is to quickly alleviate the uncertainty for people that they might have to repay an amount. This also applies to terminated benefits between 2020 and 2024.

Minister Van Hijum: “I want a social security system that works. In this case, a lot went wrong, and I do not believe that people should suffer as a result. Due to incorrect daily wage calculations, many people faced great uncertainty about their WIA benefits. In the already difficult times that disability brings, I do not want to create additional worries. Therefore, I definitively decide that people do not have to repay the money they received too much. This also ensures that this recovery operation does not become unnecessarily more complex.”

Some people received too little benefit due to errors in the daily wage. With the recovery operation, they will receive that amount in the form of a back payment. In collaboration with UWV, the minister is trying to ensure that any back payments have as few adverse effects as possible on, for example, allowances that people receive, such as housing or healthcare allowances. This also applies to other forms of income support or tax assessments. The minister aims to prevent a back payment from counting towards the total income of individuals or households. More information on this will follow this autumn.

UWV will check the benefits of a total of 43,000 people for possible errors in the daily wage between 2020 and 2024. These people have now been almost all informed by the implementing organization. UWV has also informed nearly all 173,000 people that there is no reason to believe that errors were made in their case. Their benefits will therefore remain the same.

The investigation into benefits where errors may have been made can, as the minister indicated in a previous letter, continue until 2027. All benefits will be carefully checked. In the meantime, UWV will organize various informational meetings and remain in contact with the people concerned. UWV has also appointed an extra team that provides personal guidance and helps with problems or follow-up steps.

Minister Van Hijum will also work on an independent reporting point for benefit recipients with concerns and questions in the short term. This was a specific request from the House of Representatives. The minister considers such a reporting point to be of great importance for restoring trust.

Part of the improvement approach is also that UWV will improve the quality of social-medical services as soon as possible. Currently, various measurements and studies are underway that will help UWV provide the correct benefits to people and prevent such errors in the future.