Written by Ömür Arslan, social security law attorney at Arslan Advocaten. Listed in the Netherlands Bar’s register of practice areas for tenancy law and social security law.
Nederlands: Lees dit artikel in het Nederlands: UWV vordert uw uitkering terug na een eigen fout: moet u betalen?
Türkçe: Bu makaleyi Türkçe okuyun: UWV kendi hatası nedeniyle ödeneğinizi geri istiyor: ödemek zorunda mısınız?
A mistake by the UWV (the Dutch employee insurance agency) does not automatically mean that you may keep benefit that was overpaid. The cause of the mistake can, however, matter for the revision, the recovery, any fine and the payment arrangement. So check which decision you have received, which period the recovery covers and what information you provided earlier. If in doubt, lodge an objection in good time; a payment arrangement does not replace that objection.
Recovery often raises an understandable question: why should I pay if I reported everything properly? The answer depends on the scheme, the nature of the mistake and your circumstances. A sound assessment starts by separating the different decisions. That prevents a substantive dispute about the debt from being reduced to the question of how much you can repay each month.
Four concepts you need to keep apart
On revision or withdrawal, the UWV changes the benefit entitlement it previously determined. This may, for example, involve a lower amount because income should have been offset. The recovery decision then determines which amount, according to the UWV, was paid wrongly and must be repaid. Collection concerns the actual payment or set-off.
A fine is a separate punitive decision. It may come into play if the UWV considers that you breached your duty to provide information. The existence of a recovery does not automatically prove that a fine is justified. Culpability and other conditions must also be examined separately.
Sometimes several decisions are set out in a single letter; sometimes you receive several letters. For each part, note the date, reference, amount, period and objection route. An objection against the payment arrangement alone may leave the underlying recovery untouched. So have it checked which decisions you actually want to challenge.
What does the UWV mean by its own mistake?
A calculation error may have been made, a change in wages may not have been processed, or different departments may have used conflicting information. The UWV may also later take a different legal view of your situation. Not all of these cases are treated in the same way. Ask for a precise description of the mistake.
Set your own reports alongside it. Did you report your income every month, notify a change in your contract or explicitly ask whether the amount was correct? Keep confirmations, forms and correspondence. The question is not only whether the UWV could find the data somewhere, but also what you were required to report and what you actually reported.
Avoid assuming that information held by one government body is automatically known to every benefits department. The municipality, the Dutch Tax Administration and the UWV have different tasks. Even so, demonstrable knowledge on the part of the UWV itself can be an important part of your defence. A dated report makes that argument concrete.
When could you have known that the amount was wrong?
When a benefit is corrected, it may be relevant whether you could reasonably have understood that you were receiving too much. A sudden double payment may be viewed differently from a complicated calculation whose underlying assumptions only the UWV knows. Have it examined which standard applies to your benefit and to the decision concerned.
Describe what you knew at the time you received the payment. Did you have a clear award letter? Were the payment specifications understandable? Did the UWV answer your question about the amount? It is not enough that the calculation turns out, with hindsight, to have been wrong; the assessment of your position may turn precisely on the information available at that time.
Here too, a timeline helps. Place the corresponding specification and any report next to each payment. This can show that you raised the alarm several times or that a discrepancy only became recognisable later. Do not alter old correspondence; keep the original documents with their date and context.
Check the period and the amount
Ask for a calculation per month or per benefit period. It should show what was paid, what you were entitled to according to the UWV and which difference is being recovered. A total amount without an understandable explanation makes it difficult to respond in a targeted way.
Compare the calculation with your payslips and bank statements. Pay attention to the distinction between wage months, payment months and the period to which a back payment relates. Holiday pay, a bonus or a final settlement may also need separate attention. The amount that reached your bank account is not always the correct figure for a benefit calculation.
Check that the UWV has not processed the same income twice and that amounts already withheld have been deducted. If you have already repaid something, enclose proof of payment. An administrative correction can considerably narrow the remaining dispute, even if part of the recovery remains contested.
Repaying gross while you received net
A recovery letter may state a gross amount while you actually received less net. That difference may be connected with wage tax and the calendar year in which repayment is made. Ask the UWV to explain which amounts in your case have been determined gross or net, and why.
Do not simply deduct the difference between gross and net yourself. That may leave an outstanding debt in place. Also ask which annual statement or tax correction will follow. If the recovery affects your tax return or your benefits and allowances (toeslagen), that interaction deserves separate attention.
Keep the original annual statement and every amended version. A benefit amount that is corrected later may have knock-on effects in other administrations. After a favourable decision, therefore, check not only your bank account but also whether the related data have been corrected.
Relying on information from the UWV
Did a staff member expressly confirm that you could keep the amount or that your income had been processed correctly? Then record as precisely as possible what was said, by whom and on the basis of what information. An appeal to legitimate expectations requires more than the general expectation that a government payment will be correct.
Written correspondence is often easier to assess than a recollection of a telephone call. A note of a conversation can still be relevant, especially if it was made at the time. If necessary, ask for any available contact records. Make clear which question you asked and which answer you received.
It must be possible to attribute an assurance to the UWV in legal terms, and weighing it against other interests may play a role. So do not count on full remission on the strength of a single sentence. The precise context determines how strong the argument is and what consequence can be attached to it.
Personal consequences and compelling reasons
A recovery can have major financial and social consequences. That does not mean every debt lapses as soon as repayment becomes difficult. Applicable exceptions, compelling reasons and the relevant interests must, however, be examined carefully. Make clear which consequences go beyond the ordinary disadvantage of having to repay.
Support specific circumstances with documents. Think of an imminent eviction, exceptional care costs, a medical situation or a combination of vulnerabilities. Explain how this particular recovery affects the situation. A general overview of problems with no link to the decision is harder to assess.
Distinguish the substantive question of whether recovery should be waived from the question of which monthly amount is affordable. Both can be important. A repayment arrangement may be necessary while at the same time you continue to dispute that the debt exists in whole or in part.
Special redress schemes are not a general exemption
The UWV and the government may adopt a redress procedure for specific groups. A news item about such a group can be relevant, but it does not automatically apply to every benefit or every mistake. Check the scheme, the period concerned and the conditions.
For instance, in September 2025 a specific approach was announced for certain incorrectly calculated Sickness Benefits Act and Wazo (pregnancy and maternity) benefits. A distinction was made between current, recently ended and older benefits. That news item does not establish a general rule that the UWV may never recover money after six months. Read the scope of that redress scheme on the central government website (Rijksoverheid).
If you receive a letter about a redress operation, keep it together with your ordinary benefit decisions. Ask whether your file falls under the announced policy and what that means for an objection, back payment or recovery. Do not wait for general news reports before keeping track of a running deadline.
Objecting to the recovery
Check the time limit stated in your decision. For UWV decisions it is often six weeks, but the exact route must be apparent from the decision. If necessary, seek legal advice straight away. The UWV explains how objection periods and provisional objections work.
State in your objection which parts you dispute. That may be the revision, the size of the recovery, a fine or the method of collection. Refer to the relevant decisions and request the complete file. If the calculation is still missing, state that you wish to supplement your grounds once you have received it.
Then work out the arguments systematically. For example: income was allocated to the wrong month, a report was not taken into account, or a special redress policy was applied incorrectly. For each point, indicate which document supports your position. This makes the objection verifiable and concrete.
Paying or requesting an arrangement during the objection
In principle, an objection does not suspend an obligation to pay. So ask explicitly whether the UWV will postpone collection or can agree a suitable arrangement. Describe your financial situation in full. Silently assuming that an objection automatically brings postponement can lead to further collection steps.
If the debt is set off against a current benefit, check which rules protect your subsistence minimum and whether the data about your household are correct. The amount of available room may change if you move house, your income fluctuates or your family situation changes. Report relevant changes.
Ask for written confirmation of any arrangement. It should make clear which amount is to be paid when, and what happens if your income changes. Where necessary, state that the arrangement does not replace your substantive objection. Payment agreements and the assessment of the debt must remain clearly distinguishable.
A fine deserves a separate defence
If the UWV imposes a fine in addition to recovery, ask which duty to provide information has been breached according to the UWV and what evidence there is for this. The mere fact that an amount was too high does not prove that you gave incorrect information. Your reports and the response to them may therefore also be important for the fine.
Specific safeguards apply in punitive proceedings. Have it assessed which information you are required to provide and when an interview about a fine comes into play. The obligation to establish the entitlement to benefit and your position in relation to a fine must not simply be equated with each other.
Also address culpability, proportionality and ability to pay where relevant. A decision imposing a fine may be wrong in its own right, even if part of the benefit does have to be repaid. Make sure you take the right steps against both parts in time.
Fictitious example: wages reported but not offset
An employee partly returns to work and reports the wages every month. The benefit stays the same. After a question by telephone, the UWV says that the processing is in order. A year later a recovery follows because the income was not offset correctly.
In this example, the monthly reports, the contact records and the calculation are important. It must be examined whether the revision and recovery are correct under the applicable rules and what significance the UWV’s conduct has. It must also be considered whether there are any grounds for a fine at all.
The outcome is not certain in advance. Above all, the example shows why evidence of your own communication is useful. Without that evidence, a file may wrongly give the impression that information only became available after a long time.
Which UWV messages matter for your defence?
Where the UWV is alleged to have made a mistake, the sequence of events is often more important than the volume of correspondence. Make visible what you reported, which response you received and which payment followed. That makes it possible to assess whether the UWV had the correct information and what you could have known.
| Document | Relevant question |
|---|---|
| Income statement or change notification | What information did you actually report, and when? |
| Acknowledgement of receipt | Can you show that the report reached the UWV? |
| Decision or written explanation | What was said about your entitlement or the processing of the data? |
| Payment specification | Was it visible how income was offset, and over which period? |
| Later correction | Which earlier information or calculation is the UWV now changing? |
An acknowledgement of receipt proves that a message was received, but not automatically that the UWV approved its content. A payment overview proves that money was transferred, but is not always a separate assurance about your entitlement. These differences matter when relying on legitimate expectations or when the question is whether you could have recognised a mistake.
Describe telephone information as precisely as possible. Note the date, department, subject of the conversation and any confirmation afterwards. Ask whether notes of conversations form part of the file. A recollection of a conversation can be relevant, but it becomes stronger when it is supported by existing documents.
Also make clear what you would have done if you had been correctly informed in good time. For example, did you report a change immediately or set money aside as soon as the problem became known? Such facts can clarify your conduct. They do not replace the statutory assessment, but they do give context to the accusation that you should have recognised an excessive payment.
A back payment alongside a recovery
Sometimes you receive, at the same time, a back payment for one period and a recovery for another period. In that case, ask for separate calculations and for an explanation of any set-off. The net result in your bank account does not show whether both underlying decisions are correct.
For each decision, check the type of benefit, the months and the income used. If the same income appears in different calculations, ask how double processing is avoided. A matching amount is not automatically a mistake, but it must be explicable.
Keep track of the separate time limits for legal remedies as well. An objection to the recovery is not automatically an objection to every other decision mentioned in the same envelope or online environment.
Frequently asked questions
Can the UWV reclaim money if the mistake was the UWV’s?
It can, depending on the scheme and the circumstances. The UWV’s own mistake is, however, relevant to the assessment of various parts. Have the revision, recovery, fine and collection examined separately.
Does recovery mean that I have committed fraud?
No. An excessive payment can have various causes. A fine or a criminal suspicion requires its own legal basis and assessment. So do not use the term fraud as an automatic description of every recovery.
Do I have to pay while my objection is pending?
In principle, the obligation to pay remains. Ask for postponement or an arrangement and, in a case of serious urgency, have it assessed whether an application for interim relief is possible. Keep all agreements in writing.
Can I simply ask for a lower monthly amount?
You can, but that does not in itself mean you are disputing the debt itself. If you also dispute the basis or the amount, the correct procedure must be followed against that in good time. Check which decisions are set out in the letter.
What if I have already reported the income?
Collect the reports and acknowledgements of receipt. Compare them with the periods and income on which the UWV relies. Those documents can help to assess the mistake, the information you provided and any culpability.
Which documents are the most important?
The original award, the recovery decision, the calculation, payment specifications, payslips and earlier reports. Add an up-to-date overview of your finances if you also need postponement or an arrangement.
Have the debt and your ability to pay assessed separately
A recovery after a UWV mistake calls for more than a sum. Arslan Advocaten can discuss your objection against the UWV with you. Via the contact page you can submit the decision and your most important correspondence. State the objection deadline and any ongoing set-off, so that it is clear which step is needed first.
Read also
The UWV has miscalculated your daily wage: checking it and objecting
Benefit stopped and no income during your objection: interim relief against the UWV
