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The primary method of recovering overpayments from persons who are currently receiving benefits is recoupment of a portion of the group’s current benefits to repay the amount owed. Recovery methods for overpayments from persons who are no longer receiving benefits include: • voluntary repayment, • expunged benefits, • civil recovery, • criminal restitution, and • offset of an overpayment with an underpayment. FS See TANF, except recovery of overpayments may also be made by former and current recipients through the Treasury Offset Program (TOP). BOTH In cases in which the group charged with an overpayment no longer receives benefits in the program for which the overpayment was charged, the Payment and Collections Division in the Office of the Chief Financial Officer is responsible for negotiating repayment terms.

Initiating Recovery 6.4.1 BOTH Within the calendar quarter following discovery of the overpayment, one of the following shall be initiated: • recovery of the overpayment, • recoupment from a recipient’s benefit, or • sending a letter requesting repayment and trying to arrange a repayment agreement from a former recipient. Failure to take any of the above actions within the timeframe does not affect the group’s responsibility to repay. It also does not affect the department’s responsibility to recover the overpayment. Recoupment 6.4.2 BOTH When a group that has been charged an overpayment continues to receive assistance, a portion of the group’s benefit is withheld or recouped to repay the overpayment. DHS shall not recoup more than the actual overpayment of assistance. The SSR must identify the overpayment and gather all the verification associated with the cause of the overpayment (i.e. pay stubs, proof of income, household composition, residence, verification of expenses, change in resources, etc.) The case record must also be documented in reference to the overpayment. The SSR should compile and forward a claims package (see Section 6.4.4: Reporting of Overpayment in this chapter) to the Overpayment Unit, which will calculate the overpayment after reviewing the verification and documentation. After the claim has been established, the Overpayment Unit will mail the appropriate Demand Letter and, for Food Stamp claims, the Repayment Agreement Letter (F719). TANF The steps for calculating the TANF recoupment amount differ for customers with no gross earned and unearned income and for those with such income. For those customers with no gross earned and no gross unearned income, the recoupment amount is equal to 10 percent of the maximum benefit amount. For those customers with gross earned or unearned income, the recoupment is the largest amount