Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 section 340

Recovery of payments from financial institutions

Section 340 allows the Minister to recover social welfare payments from a financial institution where those payments were credited to a deceased beneficiary's account.

• Where benefits, assistance, child benefit, working family payment, continued payment for qualified children or back to work family dividend were paid into a beneficiary's bank account and the beneficiary dies before receiving them, the Minister may reclaim the funds from the financial institution.
• The Minister may issue a written notice requiring the institution to repay the lesser of the recoverable amount specified in the notice or the balance in the account at the time the notice is received.
• The financial institution is obliged to comply with such a notice.
• "Financial institution" covers licensed banks, trustee savings banks, building societies, credit unions, post office savings banks, and any other body that may be prescribed.