Recipients may receive payments on arrears owed to them for months when the recipient was on assistance. This could happen if the debtor/payer decides to pay directly rather than through MEP.

This income is not exempt.

If the client declares it through their monthly reporting, it is treated as non-exempt income.

If the payment is discovered after the fact, it is treated as a debt. The amount of the debt reflects the duplicated payment between the income support paid (including health costs) and the amount of arrears paid for each month the client received income support.