Unpaid carers who were wrongly pursued for benefit overpayments by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) may face years-long waits to learn if they will receive refunds or have debts cancelled, campaigners have warned. The DWP is currently reviewing approximately 200,000 cases involving carer’s allowance recipients who were overpaid and then asked to repay debts, sometimes for amounts reaching tens of thousands of pounds.

The reassessment process, launched in April, targets cases where the DWP unlawfully changed benefit rules, particularly in how it calculated earnings for carers with irregular income from part-time work. By failing to average earnings over a year, the department exposed some carers to unjust penalties for breaching income limits. An official review, prompted by an investigation revealing systemic mismanagement and the resulting financial hardship endured by carers, found widespread wrongful overpayments totaling hundreds of millions of pounds.

Despite a promise from ministers in December 2024 to resolve the scandal—which is seen as a legacy from the previous government—the effort to correct overpayments has progressed slowly. Only about 3,000 cases, or roughly 1.5% of those affected, have been processed several months into the three-year, £75 million program. At this rate, charities and campaigners estimate the full reassessment could take until 2054 to complete.

Carers UK voiced serious concerns about the pace of the review, emphasizing that many carers have already endured prolonged waits for justice, some for over a decade. Emily Holzhausen, the organization’s director of policy and public affairs, stressed the need for a clear plan to speed up the process to ensure swift resolution for those unjustly burdened with debts.

The persistence of new overpayments further complicates the issue. In 2025-26 alone, over 30,000 fresh overpayments were recorded, including 78 cases exceeding £20,000. Additionally, in 2025, around 144,000 carers were still repaying accumulated debts. Controversy arose earlier this year when it was revealed that the DWP had imposed overpayments on 1,400 carers based on penalties later deemed invalid due to faulty guidance.

Welfare Minister Stephen Timms told MPs that the reassessment was “on track” to be completed within the planned timeframe. The DWP maintains it is making progress by increasing staff and improving procedures to reduce future overpayments and address past errors.

Nevertheless, campaigners warn that the slow pace risks some carers dying or becoming untraceable before their cases are resolved. With thousands potentially entitled to reduced or cancelled debts or refunds, the urgency to expedite the process remains a key concern shared by MPs, carers’ groups, and advocacy organizations.