13.6.1 W-2 Overpayments

13.6.1.1 Liability and Deadlines for Establishing Overpayment Claims

An overpayment is issued when a participant receives a payment they were not eligible for. W-2Wisconsin Works overpayments may occur as a result of an error by either the participant or the W-2 agency. There are three types of overpayments:

Administrative Error: The W-2 agency commits an error that results in an incorrect payment. This type of error is also known as an agency error.
Client Error: The W-2 participant reports incorrect information or fails to report information due to a misunderstanding or unintended error.
Intentional Program Violation: The W-2 participant intentionally misrepresents or withholds information and, as a result, the W-2 agency imposes an IPVIntentional Program Violation. (See 13.4.1)

If a W-2 agency issues a W-2 payment in error, the agency must create an overpayment claim. If the agency receives a returned check and there is an open overpayment claim, the agency must contact PACS to adjust the claim.

W-2 agencies should establish overpayments only from adults in the W-2 Group. The individual must have been an adult W-2 household member at the time the overpayment occurred.

The W-2 agency must establish the overpayment for only the amount of W-2 payments incorrectly paid to the individual. If fraud is suspected in other programs, the W-2 agency should communicate with other affected programs so all program benefit overpayments can be recovered.

Overpaid W-2 payments will be recouped from either a CSJCommunity Service Job or W-2 TW-2 Transition payment. For more on recoupment, see 13.6.3.1.

13.6.1.1 Liability and Deadlines for Establishing Overpayment Claims

The liability for an overpayment varies depending upon the overpayment type.

Overpayment Type	Liability
Administrative Error	Up to one year prior to the notification date of the overpayment. See 13.6.2.3.
Client Error	Up to six years prior to the notification date of the overpayment, which is also known as the date of discovery.
IPV	Up to six years prior to the notification date of the overpayment, which is also known as the date of discovery.

Overpayment claims for all error types must be entered into BRITS within 90 calendar days after the overpayment referral date. An overpayment notice is automatically generated and sent by BRITS the next working day.

EXAMPLE 1: If an overpayment is discovered on July 8, it must be established by October 6.

History: Release 25-01; Release 23-04; Release 13-03; Release 13-02.