DWP to reassess Carer's Allowance overpayment cases after review found it acted unfairly

The Department for Work and Pensions is reassessing Carer's Allowance overpayments that took place between 10 April 2015 and 2 September 2025, following the Independent Review into earnings-related overpayments of Carer's Allowance led by Liz Sayce OBE¹. The government published the review and its response to the report's recommendations on 25 November 2025¹. The reassessment exercise begins 13 April 2026¹.

Affected claimants may get a refund or have their debt reduced or cancelled¹. The DWP says claimants do not need to contact the Carer's Allowance Unit about a reassessment, and that it will contact people with a decision or if it needs more information¹. National Debtline reports that claimants receiving Carer's Allowance had been asked to repay the entire week's Carer's Allowance if they earned 1p more than the earnings limit, and that hundreds of thousands of claimants unwittingly built up large overpayment debts as a result². It states the review found the DWP had acted unfairly².

The published documents run to 146 pages for the independent review and 37 pages for the government response¹. Feedback on the response can be sent by email to ca.opresponse@dwp.gov.uk¹.

National Debtline describes the scope of the announcement as reassessing "all related overpayment cases between 2015 and the summer of 2025", with affected claimants having their debt reduced or money refunded, and says the DWP should contact those affected shortly to explain what it intends to do². The DWP's own wording gives the period as 10 April 2015 to 2 September 2025¹. The two descriptions of the end date differ.

Why it matters for households

The reassessment covers a decade of Carer's Allowance overpayment decisions. People who were overpaid because they earned above the earnings limit may see the amount they owe reduced, cancelled or refunded, rather than recovered in full¹. The DWP has said claimants do not need to make contact to be included, and that it will write with a decision or a request for further information¹.

Carer's Allowance overpayments sit within the wider system of benefit overpayments and deductions from benefits, under which recovery can be taken from ongoing benefit payments. National Debtline notes that the DWP can agree to suspend recovery or reduce repayment amounts, usually only where the rate of recovery would cause hardship, and that there is no right of appeal against a refusal to suspend or reduce². It also sets out that overpayments caused by a DWP official error should not be asked to be repaid, while overpayments arising from misrepresentation or a failure to disclose information would need to be repaid even if it was not the claimant's fault².

The review concerns Carer's Allowance specifically. Carer Support Payment, which has replaced Carer's Allowance in Scotland, is a separate payment, and the National Debtline guidance covers England and Wales only². The DWP has not reported how many claimants will be contacted or the total value of refunds and reductions.

What happens next

The Carer's Allowance Reassessment Exercise begins 13 April 2026¹. The DWP will contact affected claimants with a decision or if it needs more information, and says no contact from claimants is required¹.