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6.4.3 Overpayments Due to Assets - Change to the overpayment calculation methodology

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6.4.3   Quarterly Overpayment Calculation Methodology

6.4.3.1    Repatriation Commission Decision CM5827 of 28 November 2005 agreed that a revised methodology of overpayment calculation will apply, where reviews have identified that overpayments have been caused by increases in a pensioner's financial assets.

The revised overpayment calculation methodology allows for quarterly date variations in financial asset value, with the rate of pension being reassessed each quarter commencing from the identified overpayment start  date.  The quarterly dates are 1 January, 20 March, 1 July and 20 September.

This methodology recognises the difficulty in applying every known change in the pensioner's financial asset value to the overpayment calculation.  It has been accepted as allowing for a simple and uniform approach to overpayment calculation, while producing an estimate that is consistently the closest to the calculation that would be determined by a detailed analysis of the changing financial circumstances of the pensioner.

Where it is apparent that there have been significant individual changes to financial asset value which have contributed to the overpayment, the knowledge of those individual events can also be applied to the overpayment calculation, outside of the agreed quarterly method.