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Recoveries


Policy

Authority to Recover: December 5, 2005

Debt Transfer

Types of Assistance that may be Recovered: June 1, 2010

Methods for Recovery of Assistance: October 27, 2006

Assignments/Consents To Deduct: July 29, 2009

Repayment Agreements - Repayable Benefits by Deduction from Ongoing Assistance: February 24, 2012

Promise to Repay - Recovery of Repayable Benefits at a Future Date: February 24, 2012

Overpayments: March 29, 2007

Asset Notification: October 27, 2006

Collection Action: October 27, 2006

Litigation: October 27, 2006

Court Orders: August 15, 2008

Recovery of Debt from Comforts Allowance: January 26, 2007

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Authority to Recover: December 5, 2005
December 5, 2005

Section 28 of the Employment and Assistance Act and section 19 of the Employment and Assistance for Persons with Disabilities Act permits the ministry to recover client debts to the ministry without a formal agreement, either by way of deduction from future assistance, collection action or through court action.  Based on the principles of administrative fairness, the ministry’s policy is to make efforts to inform clients when they have a debt to the ministry and the particulars of the debt before taking any action to recover the debt.

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Debt Transfer
April 16, 2004

Debt owed to the ministry remains with the original file and must not be transferred from one file to another in cases where clients have changed family units or files or are no longer in a dependency or spousal relationship.

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Types of Assistance that may be Recovered: June 1, 2010
June 1, 2010

The ministry may recover amounts paid to or on behalf of clients for any of the following:

  • assistance while awaiting payment of income from other agencies

  • assistance that they were not eligible to receive 

  • repayable supplements, for example, security deposit supplement, utility security deposit supplement, co-op housing share purchase supplement, replacement of lost family bonus supplement, repayable warrant supplement due to hardship, repayable warrant transportation supplement [see Related Links – Security Deposits, Utility Security Deposits, Co-op Share Purchase Supplement, Family Bonus Supplement, Warrants]

  • repayable hardship assistance, for example, Codes C, P, E, G, F and N

For information on recovering repayable hardship assistance, see Related Links – Eligibility for Hardship Assistance – Procedures – Table:  Hierarchy of Hardship Codes.

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Methods for Recovery of Assistance: October 27, 2006
October 27, 2006

The ministry may recover assistance paid to a client through any of the following documents or processes: 

  • assignment or consent to deduct a client’s future funds from another agency

  • repayment agreement – recovery of repayable benefits by deduction from ongoing assistance

  • a promise to repay – recovery of repayable benefits at a future date

  • overpayment notification - recovery of overpaid benefits by deduction from ongoing assistance

  • collection action – action taken by government and non-government agencies to recover amounts owed by individuals who are no longer in receipt of income assistance

  • litigation or prosecution

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Assignments/Consents To Deduct: July 29, 2009
July 27, 2009

A signed assignment or consent to deduct form transfers funds that are payable to a client from another agency directly to the ministry.  Assignments and consents prevent duplication of payments to a client for the same period of time by enabling the province to recover assistance that is issued to a client while he or she is awaiting income from the other agency.  By accepting the assignment or consent from the client, the agency accepts the ministry’s claim to the money referred to in the document and transfers the amount that is payable to the client directly to the province (that is, either the amount of assistance issued for the same time period or the other agency’s benefit, whichever is the lesser). 

To assign or consent to deduct future income, it must first be clearly established that funds may be forthcoming from another agency in the future.  When a client or dependant is potentially eligible for future income from another source, an assignment or consent to deduct form shall be completed prior to issuing assistance.

All of the following are examples of anticipated income from other agencies for which assignments or consents are taken:

  • Canada Pension Plan benefits (CPP Retirement Pension, CPP Disability Benefits, CPP Child of Disabled Contributor Benefits, Survivor Benefits and Orphans Benefits)

  • Employment Insurance benefits

  • Veterans Affairs Canada benefits

  • Workers’ Compensation Board payments

[For more information on taking assignments or consents for specific types of income, see Related Links – Pursuing Income.]

Assignment of Employment Insurance (EI) Benefits

The objective of the EI Assignment of Benefits (AOB) program is to eliminate the dual payments of hardship assistance issued under Code C and EI benefits.

According to an agreement between the ministry and Service Canada, the ministry will be reimbursed for the issued hardship Code C through direct deductions from clients’ EI benefits when there is:

  • an EI entitlement for the same week for which hardship assistance was paid, and

  • consent from the applicant obtained in writing prior to the payment of hardship assistance.

Applicants provide their consent by signing an EI Assignment of Benefits (AOB) form (SD2528) each time they receive hardship Code C.  [see Related Links – Awaiting EI Benefits (Code C)] 

The EI AOB identifies the amount of hardship assistance issued weekly (weekly assignment) and minimum weekly living allowance (MWLA). The weekly assignment is calculated by dividing the amount of hardship assistance issued by the number of Sundays within the assignment period.  The MWLA is calculated by dividing the maximum monthly amount of income or disability assistance for the specific family unit by 4.33.  The weekly assignment and MWLA are rounded down to the nearest dollar.

MWLA applies every week of the assignment period.  This ensures Service Canada deducts only the portion of clients’ EI weekly benefits that exceeds the MWLA to reimburse the ministry for the hardship Code C provided to clients eligible for EI.

Once the completed EI AOB is received by Service Canada, the ministry cannot adjust amounts already determined on the EI AOB.

In situations where the client’s EI entitlement is close to the hardship assistance amount, it is important to issue only the minimum amount of hardship in order to decrease the repayable amount.

If a client requires additional hardship assistance under Code C, another EI AOB must be completed.  This additional amount will be added to the existing assignment amount.  [For more information, see Related Links - Awaiting EI Benefits (Code C)]

Pending Insurance Claims and Civil Litigation Awards

The settlement of insurance claims (for example, from the Insurance Corporation of BC) and other civil litigation involving compensation can be a lengthy process where the outcome cannot be predicted.  The ministry does not recover assistance paid to a client while he or she is pending insurance claims and other civil litigation decisions.  When a client indicates that he or she is pending an insurance claim or other civil litigation matter that potentially involves financial compensation, Employment and Assistance Workers must periodically request a written update of the status of the claim or litigation to ensure the client is still eligible for assistance.

If a person receives a financial settlement while they are a recipient of assistance, and fails to report receipt of the settlement, assistance issued after the settlement was received is recovered as an overpayment due to client error.  [For more information, see Policy – Overpayments.]

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Repayment Agreements - Repayable Benefits by Deduction from Ongoing Assistance: February 24, 2012
February 24, 2012

Open GA Files

Repayment agreements on open GA files are a contract between the ministry and a debtor, where the person acknowledges the debt and agrees to begin to repay the debt immediately by deduction from his or her monthly assistance cheque.  The amount of the repayment and the monthly repayment amount are included in the agreement.  The minimum amount allowed for the monthly repayment is shown in Rate Table – Minimum Monthly Repayment Amounts. [see Rate Tables]

Repayment agreements are used to recover debt owed to the ministry that resulted from any of the following situations:

  • hardship assistance that is repayable under the EA Regulation or the EAPWD Regulation has been issued and the client is now eligible for income assistance or disability assistance  [For more information on recovering hardship assistance that is repayable, see Related Links – Eligibility for Hardship Assistance.]
  • a supplement that is repayable under the EA Regulation or EAPWD Regulation is being issued.  All of the following are examples of repayable supplements:

    • replacement of lost family bonus supplement cheque
    • co-op housing share supplement
    • security deposit supplement
    • utility security deposit supplement
    • repayable warrant supplement due to hardship
    • repayable warrant transportation supplement

[For more information on recovery of these supplements, see Related Links – Family Bonus Supplement, Co-op Share Purchase Supplement, Security Deposits and Utility Security Deposit, Warrants.]

  • an appeal supplement was issued and the outcome of the reconsideration or appeal is in favour of the ministry [For more information on recovering reconsideration or appeal supplements, see Related Links – Reconsiderations and Appeals.]

[For the Repayment Agreement Appeal Benefit (SD2749) form, see Forms and Letters.]

Repayment agreements should not be taken for overpayments.  [see Overpayments]

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Promise to Repay - Recovery of Repayable Benefits at a Future Date: February 24, 2012
February 24, 2012

A promise to repay is a contract between the ministry and a client, where the client acknowledges the debt and agrees to pay that debt at a later date.

No deduction amount is included, as no repayment schedule has actually been set up.

The ministry uses a promise to repay agreement to recover debt owed to the ministry in either of the following situations:

  • hardship assistance that is repayable under the EA or EAPWD Regulation is being issued [For more information on recovering repayable hardship, see Related Links – Eligibility for Hardship Assistance.]
  • a reconsideration or an appeal supplement is being issued while awaiting the outcome of the reconsideration or appeal [For more information on recovering reconsideration or appeal supplements, see Related Links – Reconsiderations and Appeals.]

[For Promise to Repay – Benefit while Awaiting Reconsideration/Appeal Decision (SD2737) form, see Forms and Letters.]

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Overpayments: March 29, 2007
March 29, 2007

Overpayments of income assistance or disability assistance may result from either of the following:

  • ministry (administrative) error

  • client error (intentional or unintentional)

When calculating an overpayment due to undeclared income or other circumstances, the total amount of the overpayment is the amount of assistance received by the family unit which exceeds the amount they would have received if they had reported the income or other change in circumstance.  Failure to report a change does not necessarily result in the family unit being found ineligible for the entire amount of assistance issued for the assistance month.

When calculating an overpayment due to an undeclared asset, which is in excess of the allowable asset limit, the amount of the overpayment is the lesser of:

  • the maximum value of the asset during the overpayment period, or

  • the sum of assistance received during the overpayment period

The overpayment period is the time period in which the asset exceeded the allowable asset level.

Marriage-Like Relationship

The definitions of “dependent” and “spouse” in the EA Act and EAPWD Act were amended and came into effect July 1, 2006.  The definition of “spouse” now includes individuals who meet 3 factors. [see Verification and Eligibility - Living Arrangements - Policy]

Note:  Ministry staff can verify information that pre-dates July 1, 2006 based on the current definition of “spouse” only to determine eligibility, not to calculate an overpayment that may have occurred prior to July 1, 2006.

When calculating an overpayment, the monthly reporting requirement as documented by the Monthly Report (SD0081) must be considered in determining the amount of income assistance or disability assistance the family unit was eligible to receive.

Overpayments due to Ministry Error

At any time during case management activities, ministry staff may become aware of administrative errors made by the ministry in issuing assistance to or on behalf of clients.

All overpayments due to ministry error must be calculated in accordance with BCEA Regulation and policy and by following procedures.  The completed overpayment must be recorded on an approved overpayment chart.  All documents to support the overpayment must be copied and attached to the overpayment chart and Overpayment Notification Form (SD3092 or SD3092A) and placed on the client’s file.

Overpayments due to Client Error
October 27, 2006

All overpayments due to client error must be reviewed, recorded, and tracked.  All overpayments due to client error must be calculated in accordance with BCEA Regulation and policy and by following procedures.  The completed overpayment must be recorded on an approved overpayment chart.  All documents to support the overpayment must be copied and attached to the overpayment chart and Overpayment Notification Form (SD3092 or SD3092A) and placed on the client’s file.  Ministry staff are responsible to ensure that all client error overpayments (intentional or unintentional) are reported to regional Prevention and Loss Management Services (PLMS).  

EAWs may identify and recover overpayments involving amounts equal to or less than three months’ assistance for the client’s family unit providing that: 

  • the client does not have prior client error overpayments

  • there is no open Investigation (IN) file associated with the GA file

  • the overpayment did not arise from duplicate assistance or identity theft

Overpayments involving amounts greater than the rate of three months’ assistance for the client’s family unit must be referred to PLMS.

[see Overpayment Notification and Overpayment Chart]

Administrative Fairness

Ministry staff must exercise the principles of administrative fairness in recovering overpayments by ensuring that clients:

  • know the details of how the overpayment arose

  • know how the overpayment was calculated

  • have an opportunity to respond and provide information

  • are informed about the overpayment in writing

The ministry’s policy is to inform clients when they have a debt to the ministry and the particulars of the debt.

Overpayment Notification and Overpayment Chart

When a review of a client’s file indicates they may have received an overpayment, ministry staff must arrange an appointment to review the matter with the client by sending either the Letter for Client Initiated Overpayments (SD3042) or the Letter for Ministry Initiated Overpayments (SD3043).

The Overpayment Notification Form (open file) (SD3092) and the Overpayment Notification Form (closed file or medical only file) (SD3092A) are used to recover overpayments.  The Overpayment Calculator or the Overpayment Chart (SD2179) is used to calculate the overpayment.

The Overpayment Notification Form does the following:

  • notifies clients that they have been determined to have received assistance for which they were not eligible

  • advises them that they are liable to repay the overpayment and that a minimum of $10 per calendar month will be deducted from future assistance until the debt is paid

  • informs them of their right to reconsideration of the ministry decision

The Overpayment Chart (SD2179) shows clients how the overpayment was calculated.  Clients with open or closed files are not required to sign a Repayment Agreement for overpayments.  Clients are advised of the overpayment and provided formal notification when given an Overpayment Notification Form.

Where staff have gathered sufficient evidence to support calculation of an overpayment, staff are to send a letter to the client requesting an interview to discuss the findings of the review.  The appointment letter will advise the client of the following:

  • the role of the staff member

  • the purpose of the review

  • what is being reviewed

  • a summary of the evidence

  • the purpose of the interview

  • the  preliminary findings

  • the amount of overpayment and how it was calculated

  • possible consequences

  • an appropriate timeframe for written response or personal interview

  • that the client may be accompanied at the interview by an advocate or other person of their choice

If the client does not agree that there is an overpayment or with the amount of the overpayment they must be given the overpayment notification, the overpayment chart, and supporting documents and advised of their right to request a reconsideration.

If the overpayment is the result of inaccurate or incomplete reporting by the client or their spouse on the SD0081, staff may apply a $25 reduction in assistance for the prescribed period. 

[For details on applying sanctions for inaccurate or incomplete information, see Verification and Eligibility – Sanctions.]

For procedures on identifying and calculating an overpayment, see Procedures.

For procedures on managing returned meeting request correspondence, and exercising administrative fairness when clients fail to attend a meeting, see Procedures.

For procedures on recovering overpayments, including use of the Overpayment Notification Form and Overpayment Chart, see Procedures.

For Overpayment Notification Form (open files) (SD3092), Overpayment Notification Form (closed or medical only files) (SD3092A) and Overpayment Chart (SD2179), see Forms and Letters.

For further information, see also Verification and Eligibility - Living Arrangements.

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Asset Notification: October 27, 2006
October 27, 2006

Financial and Administrative Services Branch (FASB) may take action to secure assets owned by the client in order to protect the Crown’s interest when advised by a Ministry Investigator that an overpayment of assistance in excess of $1000 has occurred. The PLMS Regional Operations Manager may determine that asset notification is appropriate in cases under $1,000 where circumstances exist which make it cost effective to act on the lesser amount.

FASB submits requests to secure assets, along with supporting documentation, to Ministry of Attorney General, Legal Services Branch.

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Collection Action: October 27, 2006
October 27, 2006

When a former client does not repay an overpayment balance voluntarily, the case may be forwarded to Financial and Administrative Services Branch to refer the debt to other government and non-government agencies for collection or legal action. This only applies to closed GA files.

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Litigation: October 27, 2006
October 27, 2006

PLMS may request FASB to instruct the Ministry of Attorney General to initiate civil litigation or may make recommendations to Crown Counsel to initiate criminal prosecution.

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Court Orders: August 15, 2008
August 15, 2008

Litigation can be categorized into civil or criminal court actions. 

Civil litigation may result in an Order or Judgement requiring the client to repay an amount ordered by the court.  Criminal prosecution may result in a conviction outlining a period of incarceration and /or a restitution order requiring the defendant to repay an amount ordered by the court.  The court determines the amount of restitution and if the restitution order is less than the actual overpayment, the ministry may seek recovery of the balance.

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Recovery of Debt from Comforts Allowance: January 26, 2007
January 26, 2007

Effective July 18, 2006, ministry workers may reduce or suspend recovery of debt when a client is in a Long-Term Care facility on a per diem basis and in receipt of a comforts allowance.  Debt may be the result of: 

  • assistance issued while the client is awaiting income from other agencies;

  • assistance issued where there was no eligibility;

  • supplements repayable by regulation such as security deposits; and

  • repayable hardship assistance.

The reduction or suspension can occur in situations where:

  • the client is unable to understand the circumstances of the debt due to a medical or mental health condition; or

  • the client may suffer anguish or stress as a result of the recovery.

Reductions or suspensions are considered on a case-by-case basis with approval from the Supervisor.  The debt remains on the client’s file and may be recovered at a later date, when the client no longer requires comforts allowance or leaves income assistance.

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