Compensation Recovery and Social Security Benefits

If you've had an injury or a disease and someone else is to blame, you may claim compensation. If you’re getting a social security benefit, it may affect the amount of compensation you get.

Telling the Compensation Recovery Unit about your claim

If you claim compensation, the person or company you’re claiming from must tell the Compensation Recovery Unit Northern Ireland (CRU NI).

The person or company you’re claiming from is called the compensator. They are also likely to be paying the compensation.

By law, the compensator must tell the CRU NI about your claim within 14 days.

If you have a legal representative who is dealing with your claim, you or the compensator needs to tell the CRU NI that and share their details.

Compensators should tell you that they will be sharing information with the CRU NI under the Compensation Recovery Scheme. Learn more about how your personal information is processed on Debt Management’s privacy notice.

How your compensation can be affected by benefits

If you’ve claimed compensation and you get a social security benefit because of your accident, injury or disease, the compensator must pay back the benefit you’ve been paid. They repay it to the Department for Communities (DfC).

The amount the compensator pays

The amount must equal the total benefit you’re paid from the following of whichever date is earlier:

the day after the accident or injury to the date you are paid the final compensation payment

for up to five years

If you have claimed benefit because of a disease, the amount the compensator must pay is worked out from the day you first claimed a benefit because of the disease.

If the CRU NI writes to you about your claim and you need more information, you can contact the CRU NI.

When your compensation claim is settled, the compensator should tell the CRU NI within 14 days.

Your compensation payment

Your compensation award may be made up of four separate elements:

loss of earnings
cost of care
loss of mobility
pain and suffering

Benefits that could reduce your compensation payment

If you are awarded compensation under the first three elements, the compensator may reduce your compensation if you have had benefit for the same need.

The benefits that might affect your compensation are:

Employment and Support Allowance
Incapacity Benefit
Income Support
Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit
Invalidity Pension
Invalidity Allowance
Jobseeker’s Allowance
Reduced Earnings Allowance
Severe Disablement Allowance
Sickness Benefit
Unemployability Supplement
Unemployment Benefit
Universal Credit

Loss of earnings compensation example

You were awarded compensation for loss of earnings and you were also paid Jobseeker’s Allowance because of the incident.

In that case, the compensator can reduce the loss of earnings element of your compensation by the amount of Jobseeker’s Allowance you were paid.

If the compensator reduces your compensation payment in this way you must be sent a breakdown of the calculation.

Compensation for pain and suffering cannot be reduced in any circumstances.

Effect of compensation on State Pension

You do not have to pay back State Pension from compensation but if you get any of the benefits above after retirement age, you may have to pay them back.

Effect of compensation on War Pension

If you get a pension from the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme or War Pension Scheme, this may go down because of your compensation.

Check the facts when you are awarded compensation

The CRU NI sends a certificate to the compensator and a copy of it to you or your representative.

It’s called a certificate of recoverable benefit and it shows how much benefit, if any, the compensator must pay back to the DfC.

If you do not agree with the information on the certificate, you, or someone who has the authority to act for you, can ask the DfC to look at the decision again.

The certificate can only be changed if the:

CRU NI has made a mistake in preparing the certificate
CRU NI has recovered an amount more than the amount due
amount of benefit/ lump sum(s) written on the certificate is less than it should be because the CRU NI was not given the right information
the DfC is satisfied that one of the grounds for appeal is met - learn more about article 13 appeals against certificates of recoverable benefits

You can find a full overview of the Compensation Recovery Scheme at the recovery of benefits and health service charges guide.

Telling the benefit office about your compensation

You must tell the office that pays your benefit as soon as you get your compensation if you get:

If you get a pension from the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme or War Pension Scheme you must let them know. Veterans UK - gov.uk

Contacting 08 and 03 numbers

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