Health & Benefits

They will get a notice from IDHS which says:

• How much they were overpaid,
• When they were overpaid, and
• Why they were overpaid.

For example, the notice might state "client failed to report income."

Once an overpayment is established and the TANF recipient is sent notice, there is no statute of limitations for collecting TANF overpayments through Illinois state or federal payments, such as income tax refunds. However, if IDHS sued them in court, they may be able to raise a statute of limitations argument.

IDHS must send written notice of an overpayment and a demand for payment within five years of when IDHS's right to collect first starts. If the Attorney General brings a case to recover an overpayment, the case must start within 10 years of when the notice was sent.

For TANF overpayments, IDHS does not have to decide who was at fault. No matter who caused the overpayment, the TANF recipient has to pay it back.

First, they should carefully read the notice. They should look at the dates on the notice and ask themselves if someone in their household was working, but not reporting their income during the date(s) IDHS put on the notice. Or, did they forget to tell IDHS that a person who was counted as a household member has moved out?

If they still have questions after reading the notice, they should file an appeal right away. 

For example, a TANF recipient might have some questions about:

• The period of the overpayment,
• The amount of the overpayment,
• How the overpayment was calculated, or
• The reason that IDHS gave for the overpayment.

There is no cost to file an appeal, and it is the best way to get IDHS to give them a better explanation for why the overpayment occurred. Filing an appeal is the only way to get IDHS to change their decision. The notice recipients receive should also include information about free legal services to help them with their appeal.

For TANF and other cash benefits, they must appeal A request to change a court's decision within 60 days from the date of the notice. 

They should file an appeal:

• Through the ABE Appeals Portal,
• In writing at their local IDHS office, or
• By phone to the Bureau of Assistance Hearings at (800) 435-­0774.

There are two ways IDHS can collect a TANF overpayment from someone: 

• Repayment, or
• Recoupment.

When someone is charged with an overpayment, a letter asking for payment will be sent to them. This is repayment. The letter gives them the option of paying the entire claim or trying to set up a payment plan. Paying the entire claim is often not an option for TANF recipients because of the size of the overpayment.

Another way to pay is by recoupment. Recoupment means that IDHS will keep part of the TANF recipient’s current benefits each month until the overpayment is paid off.

When a person is charged with an overpayment and you are no longer receiving TANF, a letter asking for repayment will be sent to them. When they get the letter, they should work out a payment plan with IDHS. They can pay the whole amount of the overpayment or make a payment plan to pay it back over time.

If they don't make payments according to their payment plan for 90 days, their overpayment account will become "delinquent." When this happens, their case can be referred to:

• A collection agency,
• The State Comptroller Offset System, which can take their state tax refund, The money a person gets back if they had too much money withheld for taxes during the year lottery winnings, or a state payroll check,
• The Treasury Offset Program, which can take their federal tax refund, social security benefits, or other federal checks,
• The Attorney General for civil prosecution,
• Their employer to garnish your wages, The amount of money that a person is paid for work they do or
• Garnish their unemployment benefits.

If a person files bankruptcy while you are in the process of repaying an overpayment, no one can try to collect from them after they are notified of the bankruptcy filing until a decision is made by the bankruptcy court. But IDHS must be listed with the overpayment on the bankruptcy schedule.