Illiterate and ill, she loses her benefit in the Netherlands over documents to be obtained in Morocco
A woman of Moroccan origin, who says she is illiterate, seriously ill and dependent on daily care, has lost her supplementary income in the Netherlands. She did not provide the documents requested in Morocco. The court considers that her family could have helped her.
The Western Brabant-Zeeland District Court upheld the withdrawal of the AIO supplementary benefit that this woman had been receiving since January 2012. This benefit supplements the income of elderly people whose Dutch AOW pension remains insufficient.
The case originated with an initial investigation conducted in 2019. The authorities discovered that a small French pension belonging to her deceased husband was being paid into a bank account in Morocco. The Sociale Verzekeringsbank (SVB) then demanded 9,411.13 euros from the beneficiary. This debt, confirmed by a first judgment in 2023, is still the subject of separate proceedings.
A neighborhood investigation conducted in Morocco also indicated that a house might have belonged to the deceased man and that his children occasionally stayed there. However, because there was no CIN number, the Dutch administration was unable to continue its checks. The Netherlands now has a detailed procedure for searching for assets held in Morocco.
On Bladi.net : MRE: CIN number facilitates investigations into property owned in Morocco
In October 2024, the SVB therefore asked the woman for the CIN numbers of both spouses, copies of their Moroccan identity cards, her husband’s death certificate, their marriage certificate, as well as documents identifying the heirs and her possible rights in the estate.
Her grandson replied that these searches had already been carried out and requested further explanations. Despite a reminder and two successive extensions, the documents were not provided. The benefit was suspended as of January 1, 2025, and then definitively withdrawn on February 11.
Her family could have completed the procedures
Before the court, the woman explained that she needed intensive daily care and could no longer function independently. Illiterate, she claimed never to have managed her own documents. As her husband had been dead for seven years, she allegedly no longer possessed his papers. Her son and grandson, who assist her, were also allegedly unable to gather the requested documents.
The judge had the previous file retrieved. With the exception of the beneficiary’s CIN number, the requested documents were not included in it. The woman therefore failed to show that she had already submitted them. The court also noted that she had subsequently indicated that some documents could be obtained in Morocco.
According to the decision published by the Dutch judiciary, her son or grandson could have completed these procedures on her behalf. The grandson also had authorization to represent her. No additional extension had been requested before the benefit was withdrawn.
The court also points out that the SVB may independently review the situation of an AIO beneficiary. The administration does not need to have a specific report or prior suspicion of fraud. When a person fails to provide the necessary documents, their entitlement to the benefit may become impossible to establish. Even an incomplete Moroccan investigation can then lead to the withdrawal of benefits.
On Bladi.net : Hidden apartment in Morocco: an MRE must repay 162,324 euros
The woman also challenged the monthly deduction of 59 euros from her AOW pension to repay the 9,411.13 euros. She believed that this debt had already been offset by the three years during which her AIO supplement had not been paid. However, the court found that no offsetting decision had been made.
The amount of 59 euros takes into account the portion of income that must legally remain protected. The appeal was therefore dismissed: the withdrawal of the benefit and the monthly deduction remain in place.