Social Insurance Administration
Invoicing
Sometimes it can happen that you get paid too much from the Social Insurance Administration. This can occur when income is higher than recorded in the income plan or circumstances in your life change.
Various solutions are available to repay debt. It is important to seek help before the arrears become significant.
If a debt is incurred by a payment recipient, the Insurance Administration automatically spreads the debt over 12 months.
If you want to change the payment distribution, you can contact us by sending a request on TR's my pages or send an email to innheimta@tr.is.
Information on debt collection and repayment
Procedures for invoicing
As a rule, claims for overpayments must be repaid within 12 months of their incursion.
If it is possible to deduct monthly payments, this is done. Up to 20% of monthly payments may be deducted in claims, however, a minimum of ISK 3,000.
If the repayment under the principle is cumbersome, you can request a longer-term payment distribution.
Such a request is assessed on the basis of information on total income, asset status and other circumstances.
Article 1 Scope:
The rules of procedure are established in accordance with Article 14 of Regulation No 598/2009 on the calculation, re-calculation and settlement of income-related benefits and living-contributions, as amended.
They therefore apply to the collection of overpayments that are discovered during the reinstatement of the Social Insurance Administration. The Code of Conduct is also followed when collecting other overpayments from the institution, as appropriate.
Legislative provisions on collection by the Social Insurance Administration are contained in Article 55 of the Social Insurance Act no. 100/2007, Article 13 of the Social Assistance Act no. 99/2007 and Article 30 of the Act on Payments to Parents of Chronically or Severely Disabled Children no. 22/2006, with subsequent amendments.
In the event of disagreement between this Code of Practice and the legal and regulatory provisions, the latter shall apply.
Article 2 Definitions:
In this Code of Conduct, the following expressions have the following meanings:
Income-based benefits: Benefits where income affects the amount of benefits.
Non-revenue-based benefits: Benefits where income does not affect the amount of benefits.
Changes in circumstances: Other than changes in income that affect the payment of benefits, e.g. changes in marriage.
Article 3 Debt relief and reclaim rights:
If the insurance institution has overpaid the beneficiary of benefits, the institution shall deduct the overpaid benefits from benefits to which the beneficiary may later become entitled in accordance with Chapter IV of the Code of Conduct.
The Social Insurance Administration also has the right to reclaim payments from the beneficiary or his estate according to general rules. The Social Insurance Administration must collect an overpayment if the right to reclaim is available. (The estate of the deceased assumes all financial obligations that rested on the deceased, see Article 2(2) of the Act on the Exchange of Deceased Estates and Others No. 20/1991.)
Article 4 Notification:
If it becomes apparent that the beneficiary has received overpaid compensation, the Social Insurance Administration shall inform him/her thereof and give him/her the opportunity to object and correct the institution's claim and seek agreement on the arrangements for the refund.
The beneficiaries should also be asked to repay the overpayment and a repayment mechanism should be proposed.
Article 5 Changes within a year:
If the beneficiary's income plan is changed and it becomes clear that he has been overpaid, the overpayment will be collected at the next re-calculation, unless otherwise agreed.
However, if the income plan is changed more than once within the benefit year, the Social Insurance Administration may simultaneously offset the underpayment against the overpayment.
If a change in the situation of the payer results in overpayment of the compensation, the overpayment is collected immediately after notification.
Article 6 Dead:
The estate of the beneficiary is reclaimed for overcompensation, except in the following cases:
The estate has been completed as an estate. (The estate assumes all financial obligations that rested on the deceased, cf. Article 2(2) of the Act on the Exchange of Deceased Estates and Others No. 20/1991.)
A estate has been admitted to public exchange (cf. Chapter IV of the Act on the Exchange of estates etc. No. 20/1991), the heirs do not guarantee its obligations and the Social Insurance Administration has not declared a claim within the declaration period or a claim has been created after the declaration period ends and the liquidator does not recognise the claim as a result.
Article 7 Exemption from the recalculation requirement:
The beneficiary shall not be reclaimed for overpayments of less than ISK 1,000 per year, according to the annual recalculation of the Social Insurance Administration.
A claim arising from a re-calculation may be waived in whole or in part if there are completely special circumstances. In this case, the financial and social situation of the payer and whether he was in good faith about his right to pay shall be considered in particular.
The same applies to estates where appropriate. Repeal of claims must be specifically applied for and such matters must be submitted to the consultation committee on the handling of overpayments. Each case is evaluated based on the available data.
Article 8 Time to be refunded:
As a rule, overpayment should be repaid up to 12 months after the claim is made. However, it is possible to provide a longer period of repayment.
In assessing its duration, the Social Insurance Administration shall take into account total income, asset status and information on other circumstances.
The aim is for the repayment to take no longer than 36 months.
Article 9 Refunding methods:
A lump sum payment into an account at the Social Insurance Administration. You can always make a payment or pay off a claim.
Pay according to the Social Insurance Administration's proposal for a refund. The proposal for a refund is based on the recipient of payments repaying the claim with a balance of debt in up to 12 months from its creation. If a balance of debt is not possible in this way, electronic payment notes are sent to the home bank.
Repayment agreement with the Social Insurance Administration. The Social Insurance Administration may always negotiate with the beneficiary or his estate regarding repayment. You can negotiate monthly deductions for benefits and receive monthly payment slips in your local bank.
Article 10 Amendments to the recital:
If the repayment is not completed when a new claim is created, the Social Insurance Administration may propose a new repayment. The proposal is then aimed at the completion of the repayment of the total debt in up to 12 months.
The payment arrangements for existing claims remain valid if distribution of payment slips and balances have been separately agreed with a deduction greater than 20% of the monthly payments. If there is a change in the right of the beneficiary to a reduction and the claim was expected to be repaid with a monthly deduction of compensation, the Social Insurance Administration may propose a new repayment and inform the beneficiary.
Article 11 Payment periods:
Collections are generally not postponed except in the following cases:
The payer has requested a re-instatement of the tax return from the tax authorities and the probability of a re-calculation claim will decrease. A confirmation of the request for re-instatement must be submitted from the tax authorities.
The payment recipient has objected to the decision to reclaim within the objection period.
The probability is that the situation of debtors will improve significantly in the next three months, for example, as a result of a single payment of damages, accident compensation or from a pension fund.
The payee has applied for a payment adjustment with the Debtors Ombudsman. Collection is postponed in accordance with Article 20 of the Rules of Procedure.
The following do not defer collection:
Request for the cancellation of a claim.
Appeal to the higher administrative authority.
Complaint to the Ombudsman of the Icelandic Parliament.
Article 12 Limitation of deductions for the type of benefits:
If income-related benefits are overpaid, the amount of the overpaid benefits shall be deducted from other income-related benefits to which the beneficiary will later become entitled.
This applies only if annual revenue is higher than the basis for calculating benefits and overpayment is due to the recipient of payment not having notified the Social Insurance Administration of the increase in revenue or other changed circumstances.
If non-revenue related benefits are overpaid, the amount of the overpaid benefits shall be deducted from other benefits, income related and non-revenue related, to which the beneficiary will later become entitled.
Overpaid child support or other payments under Article 63 of the Social Security Act no. 100/2007 shall only be deducted from the same payments for the same child, unless otherwise agreed.
Article 13 Maximum deduction:
The amount of compensation may not be deducted more than 20 % of the monthly payments to the beneficiary, unless otherwise agreed, but not less than ISK 3,000, until the overpayment is fully repaid.
If the recipient of benefits demonstrates that the total income of the recipient must be collected to be less than the amount stated in the Ministry of Social Affairs' guidelines on financial assistance by municipalities, the Social Insurance Administration shall, at the request of the recipient, reduce the amount of the monthly collection so that the total income of the recipient reaches that amount.
Article 14 Recognition from re-calculations:
If it is found during the re-calculation that compensation has been underpaid and the beneficiary has previously received overpaid compensation, the overpayment shall be offset by the underpayment before the beneficiary or his estate is paid out. This is not relevant even if a repayment has been agreed.
Article 15 Internal collections:
If a certain repayment arrangement is not fulfilled, a letter of revocation shall be sent, notifying further collection actions if no action is taken within the specified time limit.
If no action is taken after the sending of a letter of re-invitation, a collection alert shall be sent, informing, among other things, who will take on further collection actions.
The letter specifically warns against collection costs that will be incurred on the claim.
Article 16 External collections:
If the letters of the Social Insurance Administration are not acted upon pursuant to Article 15, a claim shall be sent for further collection to the Collection Centre of the District Commissioner of Blönduós.
The Social Insurance Administration will evaluate in consultation with the Collection Centre whether legal collection remedies should be required. (The legal collection remedies include, as appropriate, involuntary encroachment, bankruptcy and forcible sale)
There may also be a tax and expense balance. (See Rule No. 797 on payment preference and tax and expense balances.)
The costs of collection actions by external collectors are added to claims in accordance with their tariff. (Cost with the District Commissioner - See agreement with IMST 8 Sbr. Article 55(6) of the Social Security Act no. 100/2007. See further Article 13(3) of the same law on administrative complaints.)
Article 17 Complicability:
The decisions of the Social Insurance Administration on the reclaim of overpaid benefits as of 1 January 2010 are enforceable after the payment challenge. However, an administrative appeal against a decision on reclaim delays the enforceability.
Article 18 Interest:
If a claim for overpaid benefits has not been paid in 12 months from its inception, the Social Insurance Administration shall apply interest rates that the Central Bank of Iceland determines and publishes at any time on the balance of the claim.
Interest may be waived if special reasons exist or if a contract for the refund is available and the person concerned meets his obligation to pay under the contract.
If the penalty for fraudulent conduct has been added to a claim in accordance with Article 19, it is considered as a residual interest in the calculation. Other interest is generally not calculated on a claim for overpayment.
Article 19 Fee:
If it is found that incorrect, misleading or insufficient information has been given deliberately or a person has failed to provide the necessary information in order to receive insurance or unjustified payments, the payment recipient shall refund the overpaid amount plus a 15 % levy.
Article 20 Payment adjustment:
If the beneficiary has applied for a payment adjustment with the Debtors' Ombudsman and his compensation can be offset by the Social Insurance Administration up to an overpayment, the debt shall be offset until a draft agreement on the payment adjustment has been approved.
The agreement on the payment adjustment will be followed, if a claim was made before an application for the payment adjustment was considered. If the beneficiary no longer receives compensation from the Social Insurance Administration, the collection shall be deferred if a claim was made before an application for the payment adjustment was considered.
Article 21 Bankruptcy proceedings:
An insurance institution is obliged, according to Article 55 of the Social Security Act, to equalize the debt of the payer despite the bankruptcy of its estate.
If the debtor does not accept compensation from the Social Insurance Administration, the claim is settled under the Act on Bankruptcy Procedures No. 21/1991.
Article 22 slots:
In general, receipt of collection requests shall be answered within two weeks of receiving them by the Social Insurance Administration.
Article 23 Remedies:
If there is disagreement on the right to reclaim, overpayments and their collection, see article 55 of the Social Security Act no. 100/2007, the decision of the Social Insurance Administration may be appealed to an independent and independent committee, the Welfare Committee.
An administrative complaint does not suspend the legal effect of collection, without prejudice to Article 17 of the Rules of Procedure.
Article 24 Entry into force and review:
The rules of procedure entered into force on 1 February 2012. The rules of procedure were revised on 3 June 2014, 19 August 2015, 19 October 2015, 19 January 2017, 19 March 2019 and 6 May 2021.
The amendments will take effect immediately. The procedures for amending laws, regulations and procedures relating to the collection of overpaid payments shall be reviewed, at least every three years.