The UAE's General Pensions and Social Security Authority (GPSSA) has begun clawing back Dh15m of overpaid pension benefits from hundreds of Emiratis.
A review found 447 Emiratis whose social situation had changed in a way that should have reduced their benefits by at least Dh1,500.
Most had failed to report changes such as a daughter marrying or a son getting a job. The overpayments related to the period from September 2011 to June 2012.
"We have notified the concerned persons of these amends and started monthly deductions in proportion to the amount of the pension," Muzaffar Al Haj, the director general of the GPSSA, told The National's Arabic-language sister paper, Al Ittihad, yesterday.
Pensioners cannot claim for sons over the age of 21, unless he is a student or unemployed. In those cases the benefit continues until the son reaches 28.
A widow who remarries automatically loses her husband's pension. Pensioners can claim for daughters until they marry or find a job.
In some cases, the changes were such that the whole pension was stopped, Mr Al Haj noted.
"Not all amends mean deduction, by the way, as some cases see a rise in their pensions," he said.
newsdesk@thenational.ae
