Resettlement Assistance Program (RAP): Income support management: Overpayment

On this page

• Overpayment
• Courses of action
• Fraud
• Referring the case to authorities
• Misrepresentation

Overpayment

An overpayment occurs when a client receives income support to which they are not entitled. The cause may be an oversight by the IRCC officer or a lack of understanding on the part of the client when providing information to determine eligibility under RAP. Once an overpayment amount has been identified, it must be repaid as a debt owing. Neither RAP officers nor supervisor/managers have the authority to reduce the total overpayment amount owed to IRCC.

Examples of overpayment

• A calculation error occurs in processing either the initial or the monthly payment, either due to error on the part of IRCC, or due to client error in omitting information.
• An individual leaves Canada, but income support is still being collected by or on behalf of this person.
• Additional assets are brought into the country after the client’s initial arrival in Canada or not declared upon arrival.
• There is a delay in reporting the amount of employment income to IRCC and subsequent ineligible RAP payments have been made due to lack of information. Refer to 50% additional income incentive threshold for information on calculating adjustments based on employment and other income.

Courses of action

Once an overpayment has been identified, the RAP officer will summarize their findings and calculation, generally by email, for supervisor/manager approval. The approval email will also be stored on file under incoming correspondence to document supervisor/manager’s approval of the calculated amounts, the details of the circumstance and the actions taken to the income support file. Details should include:

• the total amount of the overpayment
• a breakdown of the amount
• circumstances that led to the initial overpayment
• actions to rectify the situation moving forwards
• amount of the overpayment in relation to the client’s remaining monthly budget
• flag any potential financial hardship to the client during repayment for consideration and recommended actions
• Calculation showing how the full amount will be clawed back, either through income support or A/R or a combination of both

Note: A potential financial hardship would not lead to a reduction of the total overpayment amount once an overpayment has been identified, but will factor into possible actions to be taken, such as determining a monthly reduction amount to future payments remaining.

Possible actions that can be taken to rectify an overpayment situation include:

• making deductions from future monthly income support payments (only possible if the client is still on the RAP program)
• filling out an Account Receivable Establishment form and sending it to NHQ- Collections

RAP officers are required to send a letter to the client to outline the amount of overpayment and course of action to be taken. A copy of the letter should also be placed on the client file under outgoing correspondence.

Time limit

There is no time limit on recovering overpayment funds. Even if a client is off RAP, the overpayment must be collected. Only NHQ-Collections can determine if a debt can be written off once an accounts receivable has been created.

Fraud

Cases of fraud are situations where a client has intentionally provided false or misleading information in order to obtain income support. Fraud exists if blatant misrepresentation of facts by the client has led to the issuance of income support to which the client would not have normally been entitled. Where fraud is suspected, the officer should give the refugee the opportunity to explain the situation.

To minimize the possibility of fraud or abuse of the program, RAP officers must do the following:

• ensure the client understands the responsibilities under the RAP agreement for income support
• advise the client, at the outset, of their obligations to report, using the Change of Status Form, any earnings and assets
• verify information provided by clients or other sources, such as the amount of employment earnings with the employers, or information received from other sources with regards to overpayment or fraud
• offices may wish to perform periodic file reviews, or monitoring activities.

Examples of fraud

• The client works full or part-time in continuing employment and purposely does not disclose this fact while in receipt of full income support.
• The client receives financial assistance in other cities under different names and addresses.
• The client falsely declares or fails to declare assets brought into the country upon entry to Canada.
• The client claims that a cheque was lost, stolen or never received and it was in fact cashed by them.
• Clients do not report a change in status in an attempt to receive more income support than they are entitled to.

Referring the case to authorities

Since RAP is a federal program, serious allegations may need to be referred to the RCMP.

When serious circumstances are identified that may require investigation by the RCMP, the RAP officer should brief their supervisor/manager to determine next steps, including a referral of the case to the Case Management Branch for their guidance, and possible action.

Misrepresentation

When information is received that clients in receipt of income support may have misrepresented who they are prior to arrival, the case should be referred to the RAP manager or supervisor for further investigation regarding misrepresentation and recommendations including possible referral to the CBSA. For more information see Cessation and vacation of refugee protection

It may be necessary to continue to provide RAP support, subject to a review of the client’s situation and their ability to support themselves and their family.