Those affected by the benefits affair must be helped more quickly. State Secretary Aukje de Vries (Finance) is taking a number of measures so that people who have reported a year earlier will receive a definite answer as to whether and how much compensation they will receive.
At the current rate, the last benefit parents would not have been helped until 2027. De Vries is now adjusting that ambition: in the first quarter of 2025, 90 percent of the reporters must have been told whether they should be compensated for more damage on top of the Catshuis compensation of 30,000 euros. The last 10 percent must be assessed six months later.
The recovery operation is anything but flawless. After a difficult start, the satisfaction threatens to get stuck. This is mainly due to the fact that objections have already been lodged more than 4000 times. For example, people feel that they have been wrongly rejected for the 30,000 euros. It also happens that victims believe that they have suffered more damage than has emerged after the investigation of the file.
Culture of fear
The large stream of objections is causing sand in the engine: less than 10 percent of the objections have been settled and at the same time new ones keep coming in. In the meantime, almost 16 million euros have already been paid in penalty payments because a decision has not been made on the objections in time.
That situation puts a heavy burden on the organization in charge of the recovery, reported NRC Wednesday based on its own research. Employees complain about inefficient and slow work processes and tell the newspaper that there is a ‘culture of fear’.
I understand the impatience. Parents want to move on with their lives
De Vries acknowledges that there are ‘bottlenecks’ that can delay recovery. “I’m sorry that people don’t feel heard. Signals that are there must be picked up. That happens too,” she says.
At the same time, De Vries emphasizes that the recovery organization is working hard. “I understand the impatience. Parents want to move on with their lives. But I also have to be honest: sometimes it can’t be faster. But I also think you should live up to expectations.”
Paint away time consuming job
That is why she is taking a number of measures to speed up processes. For example, objections must be dealt with sooner by using mediation and by more often recording agreements with parents in writing in settlement agreements. De Vries also wants to accelerate the deepening of files – the so-called integral assessment – for the group of 15,000 people who are not considered to have been duped after an initial check.
In addition, she announces that the recovery organization, which now employs 1500 people, will hire additional staff this year and next. De Vries also wants to automate the omission of privacy-sensitive information in files – a time-consuming job – via purchased software or outsource it to temporary staff, for example. “But of course that is only possible under strict conditions,” said the State Secretary.
At the request of the House of Representatives, De Vries also investigated a number of other acceleration options. For example, people who are not initially seen as victims would no longer be given the opportunity to have their entire file examined in depth. But De Vries did not opt for this, she says. “I think legal protection should be maintained. Moreover, I think it is too big a step to change the rules during the game.”
Five billion euros
59,400 people have now reported as victims. 28,000 of them have now been paid 30,000 euros. This has so far cost 840 million euros. However, the total cost of the repair operation is estimated at more than 5 billion euros. This is because the actual damage to people was sometimes higher than 30,000 euros. There are also victims who lost their job or home or became incapacitated for work due to debts, stress or illness – or a combination thereof. This damage is also compensated by the government. In addition, debts to, for example, the Tax and Customs Administration are waived.
What was the alternative? If we had offered everyone customization from the start, it would have taken even longer
De Vries acknowledges that the new deadlines in 2025 are still seen as late by many parents. “Waiting every day is a day too long.”
Recurring criticism of the recovery operation is that people who are least affected are helped the fastest, while the victims who ended up in the deepest have to wait the longest. De Vries says he understands that feeling. “But what was the alternative? If we had offered everyone customization from the start, it would have taken even longer. While we can now at least alleviate the initial emergency with that 30,000 euros.”
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