Impact on existing benefits 
When an application is made for an Interim Payment, two considerations relating to statutory benefits have to be borne in mind. First, when the payment is made, the defendant will have to pay to the Compensation Recovery Unit the amount of social security benefits which have been paid to the claimant (under the 'recoupment' provisions of the Social Security Administration Act 1992). If the Interim Payment is earmarked for a particular purpose, such as the purchase of a house, it is important that the court awards a sum large enough to cover both the claimant's needs and the recoupment of the benefits. Secondly, a substantial Interim Payment may terminate the claimant's right to means-tested social security benefits.
