Carer’s allowance reassessment could take 27 years at current pace
Carers UK says only 3,000 of 200,000 overpayment cases have been reviewed, while the Department for Work and Pensions maintains it can complete the process within three years.
The Department for Work and Pensions is reassessing about 200,000 carer’s allowance overpayment cases, but charities warn the process could take until 2054 if it continues at its current rate.
Welfare minister Stephen Timms told MPs that about 3,000 cases had been reviewed since the reassessment began in April under a £75 million programme. Carers UK calculates that represents 1.5 per cent of the projected caseload and says the work could take 27 years to complete.
The cases concern overpayments linked to the department’s failure to allow carers with irregular part-time earnings to average their income over a year. An official review found systemic failures had left some carers with debts approaching £20,000 through no fault of their own.
Up to 25,000 carers are estimated to be eligible for full or partial refunds, or for their debts to be written off. The available information does not establish whether any refunds have yet been paid.
The issue remains part of a wider administrative problem. More than 30,000 further overpayments were reportedly made in 2025–26, while 144,000 carers were still repaying earlier debts last year.
The DWP says it remains on track to finish the reassessment within three years. It says it is recruiting and training decision-makers and will increase resources gradually over the course of the exercise.
