Dutch households with debts caused by repaying benefits tripled since pandemic

The number of households with long-term debts caused by having to repay the benefits they received has almost tripled since the coronavirus pandemic, NOS reports after studying data from Statistics Netherlands and the Tax Authority.

The tax office’s Benefits Agency is increasingly reclaiming large sums because it later transpired that people received too much. Last year, that happened 658,000 times. According to the agency, this is largely because the system is far too complicated for citizens to navigate.

The broadcaster spoke to two people who were suddenly confronted with having to pay back money they thought they fairly received.

Jeroen Sloot from Almere got divorced and became homeless after suffering a stroke ten years ago. He was declared partially disabled because the stroke left him with trouble moving and speaking, and he was thus entitled to a housing benefit. Years later, he received letters informing him that he had earned too much, even though his income was always around the social assistance level, and had to repay over €7,000 in housing benefits.

Saskia Brandewijn was informed that she had to repay €266, and her housing benefit was reduced because she failed to report a rent reduction. She thought her rent reduction would be processed automatically, as happens when her rent increases. “It’s incomprehensible that one time you don’t have to report anything and the next you do,” Brandewijn told NOS. She objected, but the government informed her that it is the benefit recipient’s responsibility to provide all information on time.

According to the National Client Council, this is quite common. “People make one small mistake and it has devastating consequences,” chair Fatma Koser Kaya told the broadcaster. “It can happen to anyone; this system demands far too much from you.”

The Benefits Agency agrees that the system is getting increasingly complicated, partly due to more and more money being dumped into it. Last year, the agency paid out €21 billion, almost double compared to a decade ago. The agency has been working on adjustments and campaigns to reduce citizens’ benefits debts for years, including commercials to encourage citizens to check their salaries more often. But it is not enough.

Politicians seem to agree that the benefits system needs an overhaul. Seven of the 16 parties participating in next week’s parliamentary election have scrapping and rebuilding the entire benefits system in their election programs. Other parties don’t go that far, but most have proposals for simplifying the system, such as combining various benefits.