In Austria, they want to reclaim almost €450,000 in aid to Ukrainians: where the overpayment came from
In Lower Austria, approximately 165 Ukrainians may be required to repay a total of nearly €450,000 in overpaid basic assistance. According to Alexander Murlasits, secretary of the regional office of the Austrian Freedom Party, during the calculation of payments, pensions from Ukraine, which recipients did not report, were not taken into account. This is reported by Heute.
Why Ukrainian pensions affected assistance in Lower Austria
The amount of basic assistance (Grundversorgung) depends on the income and financial situation of the recipient. When applying for assistance, it is necessary to indicate the pension from Ukraine. If it was not considered and as a result, more was calculated than it should have been, the regional authority may require repayment of the overpayment.
The amount of nearly €450,000 is a general estimate made by Murlasits. Individual amounts are determined separately in each case. In one case, for instance, the administrative court of Lower Austria reduced the repayment amount from €6866.81 to €5936.81 after reviewing the calculation.
Pensioners who temporarily live abroad should distinguish between two procedures: identification for the Ukrainian pension and notifying the Austrian authority about the income received. The amounts of the pension during the period specified in the decision are relevant for verifying the overpayment.
When debt for Grundversorgung may be reduced or allowed to be paid in installments
The Lower Austrian law on basic assistance allows a person to be partially or fully exempted from repayment if collecting the debt would put them in a difficult financial situation. In the mentioned court case, no grounds for such exemption were established, but the court indicated that one can apply for an installment plan with the authority that issued the decision.
If you have received a repayment request:
- Verify the period and amounts. Compare the calculation in the decision with statements of actual pension income.
- Check the deadline for appeal. The procedure and deadline for filing an appeal can be found in the decision itself.
- If it is difficult to pay the entire amount at once, contact the authority that issued the decision. For a request for an installment plan or partial or complete exemption from repayment, prepare documents about income and necessary expenses.
Also check the name of the payment in the decision. In this situation, it concerns Grundversorgung. For assistance to families with children in Austria, there are separate rules.
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