The Financial Administration Act provides authority for the collection of revenue payable to the Crown on closed files and for remission, compromise and write-off of government debt.

INTENT

To minimize the creation of Seniors, Community and Social Services debts.

To ensure clients receive all the benefits for which they are eligible under the program:

• To recover benefits to which clients are not entitled, benefits received but not used for the intended purpose or benefits which are subject to repayment.
• The amount of the debt does not exceed the amount issued by Seniors, Community and Social Services.
• Clients must repay all benefits issued in specific situations where they would not have been entitled to any benefits had the department been aware of their true circumstances.

To maximize the collection of Seniors, Community and Social Services debt within existing legislation, without creating undue hardship for current and previous clients:

• Seniors, Community and Social Services collection activity must be professional, efficient, and fair.
• Debts are collected as quickly as possible with the least administrative costs. The cost of recovering a debt should not exceed the amount of the debt.
• Ensure procedures for the administration of agreements and orders, and the bankruptcy process are completed in accordance with policy and administrative standards.
• Whenever possible, negotiation and conciliation are preferable to court action.

To ensure all clients are:

• Treated equitably.
• Advised of their right to appeal within 30 days of being notified of an assessed overpayment.
• Provided adequate opportunity to provide documentation to support their case.
• Provided with clear information about the reason for their debt and how the debt will be repaid to Seniors, Community and Social Services.
• Provided with clear and complete information so that they understand their debt status at all times.
• Held accountable for their Seniors, Community and Social Services debts to the greatest extent possible, without creating undue hardship.
• Receive communication about their debts including consequences for debtors who are able but unwilling to repay their debt.

POLICY

Assessing an Overpayment

An overpayment may be assessed against an Income Support client or former client, a sponsor of an immigrant who is an IS client or a third party who receives a benefit on a client’s behalf. Third Parties may include landlords, trustees or vendors.

Clients are responsible to advise the Income Support program of any change in circumstances including income and assets that may affect eligibility. Where they fail to do so or provide inaccurate information an investigation and/or overpayment may occur.

An overpayment will be assessed against a client if:

• A benefit has not been used for its intended purpose; or
• A client received a benefit they were not entitled to receive.

An overpayment may be assessed against a third party or a sponsor if:

• A client was not entitled to receive a benefit due to non-disclosure of a material fact or provision of false information by the third party;
• A benefit received by a third party, has not been used for its intended purpose; or
• A sponsor defaults on support obligations under a sponsorship agreement involving an Income Support client. The sponsor may be required to repay benefits provided to a client as a result of the duties arising from the sponsorship agreement.

Refer to the Overpayment Process policy for more information.

In appropriate circumstances, as described in the Criteria for Exempting the Requirement to Repay an Assessed Overpayment policy, the director (or delegate) may exempt a person from the requirement to repay an amount or value that has been assessed as an overpayment, unless:

• The amount owing is already a debt due, owing to the Government of Alberta; or
• In the opinion of the director, the person received the benefit by fraud or wilful misrepresentations;
  And,
• While the client's file is active, any current or new debt to Seniors, Community and Social Services will be recovered by monthly deduction from their IS benefits, They are required to continue making payments on their outstanding debt, even after their file closes. Refer to the Recovery of Debts policy for more information.

Notice of Overpayment
Whenever an overpayment is assessed, the department must issue written notification to advise the client of the following:

• That the client may provide documentation to support their position;
• Amount of the overpayment;
• Period of Assistance (dates) when the overpayment occurred;
• Reason for the overpayment;
• How the overpayment was calculated;
• Director (or delegate) decision to require or to exempt the client’s requirement to repay all or part of the overpayment;
• Amount owing that is required to be repaid to the government of Alberta;
• Right to appeal the director (or delegate) decisions to assess the overpayment and to require repayment;
• Collection of an assessed overpayment will begin after the 30-day appeal period expires (if the client does not appeal) or if the Appeal Panel upholds the decision to require repayment of all or part of the overpayment.

Note

If a client chooses to repay an overpayment before it is assessed and/or becomes a debt due, refer to the Voluntary Repayment of an Overpayment policy.