Incapacity benefit warnings not picked up
Tens of thousands of incapacity (WIA) benefit payments were probably miscalculated between 2020 and 2024 but the Employee Insurance Agency (UWV) received few if any warnings. The Netherlands Court of Audit comes to this conclusion in an interim report on incorrect WIA payments and their underlying causes. The final report, due for release after summer 2025, will also consider the oversight and management relationship between the Minister of Social Affairs and Employment (SZW) and the UWV.
The UWV’s error detection systems failed to go off. The UWV repeatedly stated in its annual reports that nearly 100% of WIA payments were correct. Its Executive Board received little information on the accuracy of payments. The group auditor and internal audit department received warnings about service quality but they related chiefly to the operation of quality processes, not to errors in benefit payments.
Staff are not alerted if they miscalculate daily wages or make other errors. Complicated calculation rules make it difficult for clients to check their benefit payments. There was no increase in complaints about WIA payments between 2020 and 2024.
Transparent estimate of the correction
UWV intends to check about 43,000 WIA payments made in 2020-2024. The organisation estimates that the checks will lead to about €53 million in additional payments and that the correction operation as a whole will cost the UWV about €58 million. In the Court of Audit’s opinion, the UWV arrived at these figures transparently. There are still some uncertainties, however, including about the spread of the additional payments and their effect on other income sources such as allowances, pensions and welfare benefits.
Multiple causes
There are multiple causes underlying the sharp jump in errors since 2020. The Court of Audit identifies several in its interim report. For example, less attention was paid to the accuracy of WIA payments, partly because of the focus on reducing waiting lists. The COVID-19 pandemic also played a part: staff had to work at home more often with less support and new staff members received less guidance. UWV staff continued to work from home more often after the pandemic. The WIA rules moreover, are very complex for all concerned and subject to change. It is up to the Minister of SZW and parliament to simplify the WIA and improve its implementation.
The interim report is available in Dutch only.