Waiting times for disability benefits assessment rises to 15 months in some regions

Waiting times for an initial assessment for the WIA disability benefit have increased further, the benefits agency UWV confirmed after reports by AD and EenVandaag. It can take up to 15 months to get an assessment, while the agreed-upon standard is 16 weeks.

Earlier this year, it already became known that people often have to wait half a year to be assessed. There are various reasons for the long waiting times, a UWV spokesperson explained, citing an “enormously high influx” and a shortage of insurance doctors, among other things.

The waiting times are longest in Leeuwarden and Groningen, where it can take up to 15 months. In Midden- and Oost-Brabant, too, it takes a year before the first assessment is carried out.

People applying for a benefit receive an advance payment until the assessment. They don’t have to repay this advance, even if it ultimately turns out that they are not entitled to a benefit.

The implementing agency UWV has been struggling with backlogs for some time. At the end of last year, it was decided for this reason to conduct a reassessment only in “urgent cases,” which was intended to alleviate the shortage of medical examiners somewhat.

The Cabinet wants to cut back on disability benefits. This is a sore point for the trade unions and one of the reasons why they have refused to negotiate with the new Cabinet.

Minister Hans Vijlbrief of Social Affairs said in a parliamentary debate on Wednesday that he wants to look, together with the trade unions and employers, at what is needed to reduce the influx into the WIA.

The WIA is costing the Cabinet more than expected. By the end of the Cabinet’s term, the shortfall will amount to over €1 billion due to the rising number of people unable to work.