Signal equity balance/interest

Stichting Inlichtingenbureau

Equity affects entitlement to welfare benefits. Bureau InformatieDiensten Nederland (BIDN) helps municipalities understand these assets through this algorithm.

Last change on 17th of July 2025, at 9:06 (CET) | Publication Standard 1.0

• Publication category: Impactful algorithms
• Impact assessment: DPIA
• Status: In use

General information

Theme

Social Security

Begin date

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Contact information

https://www.bidn.nl/over-ons

Link to publication website

https://www.bidn.nl/rechtmatigheid-samenloopsignalering

Responsible use

Goal and impact

To check whether an assistance recipient's assets affect the assistance benefit, Bureau InformatieDiensten Nederland (BIDN) requests information from the Tax and Customs Administration. This involves looking at the bank balance and interest received per account on 31 December of the previous year.

Is the total amount of all accounts higher than the set limit? Then a signal is sent. The Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment redefines this asset limit every year.

A signal is also sent if the interest received on the accounts exceeds a certain percentage* of the asset limit. This signal is based on the composition of the household and the wealth limit associated with it.

*The interest rate used is the average 'savings market rate' as it applied in the previous tax year.

Considerations

'Signal equity balance/interest' is part of the information service Samenloopsignalering (see algorithm 'Samenloopsignalering'). Here only the specific points are explained about 'Signal asset balance/interest'.

Assistance is provided to persons who do not have the means to meet the necessary living expenses. Resources means all the assets of a household. Does the total assets of the benefit recipient exceed the asset limit? Then the right to the benefit lapses. This event can be delivered as a signal to the municipality / Social Insurance Bank (SVB) using information from the Tax Office.

A point of attention here is that the information available for this is by definition not up to date. The asset situation on 31 December of the previous fiscal year is made available by the Tax Office to BIDN from May/June in the following year. There is no other national source.

With this signal and own follow-up research, municipalities can terminate unjustified benefits (retroactively) if necessary.

The algorithm ensures that a municipality only receives the data of their own residents on welfare benefits who may have excess assets. This protects citizens' privacy. An advantage of this algorithm is that it works much faster than when someone does it by hand. This saves a lot of time for municipal employees. Also, fewer mistakes are made this way.

Human intervention

With BIDN, this algorithm does not involve human intervention. The algorithm executes rules devised by humans and is not 'self-learning'. However, BIDN does ensure that the processing process has been done properly. The municipality decides whether and how to deal with a change.

Risk management

Citizen privacy is a major concern. That is why we periodically check whether there are risks and what can be done about them. This is called privacy impact assessment (PIA).

Legal basis

For the generic basis of the processing of personal data, see the algorithm Samenloopsignalering.

Article 34 of the Participation Act defines what is meant by assets during the assistance benefit and (in paragraph 3) the asset limits for eligibility for assistance. Exceeding these may lead to an investigation by the municipality into the amount and lawfulness of the assistance provided.

Basis for processing Belastingdienst (source)

• Section 64(1)(c) and (14), Section 68, Participation Act
• Article 45(1)(c) and (12), IOAZ

Basis for processing BIDN:

• Section 64(3) and Section 68, Participation Act
• Section 63 Work and Income Implementation Organisation Structure Act (SUWI Act), Article 5.24, paragraphs 1 and 3, SUWI Decree & Articles 6.2 and 6.6 SUWI Regulation
• Covenant, Service Agreements (SA) and Technical Agreements and Procedures (TAP)

Basis of processing Municipalities:

• Chapter 5 'Implementation' and Chapter 6 'Powers and facilities municipalities' Participation Act
• Article 62 SUWI Act

See also the Data Register BIDN. Processing activities Act SUWI / Participation Act on the BIDN website to be found via the following page: https://www.bidn.nl/privacy-beleid

Links to legal bases

Participatiewet: https://wetten.overheid.nl

Link to Processing Index

https://www.bidn.nl/privacy-beleid

Impact assessment

Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA): https://www.bidn.nl/privacy-beleid

Operations

Data

The municipality's benefit file (A):

See the concurrence algorithm for this.

https://algoritmes.overheid.nl/nl/algoritme/samenloopsignalering-stichting-inlichtingenbureau/15422688

(Temporary) Storage of supplied BSN and associated signals in provision assistance population (B):

The demand file to the tax authorities (C):

- BSN

- Tax year

- Date of birth

- Name

The response file to the tax authority (D):

General record:

- BSN

- Date of birth

- Name

Value record 1:

- Heading ("NO DATA/ BELOW STANDARD") Value (Value of reference date) Control code ("00" = no interest/ balance data present "01" = total interest/ balance below standard)

Value record 2/3/4 (data above standard):

- Account number

- Account holder name

- Interest amount, Balance and Reference date

Signal to municipality (E):

- Account number for an asset indication signal

- IBAN

- Bank product name

- Name of account holder

- Name of banking institution

- Interest received in euros on the specified account number

- Balance at end date of tax year

Technical design

A. A municipality delivers a file concerning the current social assistance population to BIDN through the secure client portal on a monthly basis. After each delivery, a processing report is published, listing any errors in the delivery;

B. (temporary) storage of delivered BSN and associated signals in provision of assistance population;

C. A (demand) file with which data are periodically (1x per year) requested in bulk from the Tax and Customs Administration with regard to the benefit populations of municipalities/SVB;

D. The supply of the Tax and Customs Administration's bulk (response) file containing data relating to bank accounts, balances and interest of the populations requested;

E. The information supplied by Belastingdienst is stored in database. On this basis, the IB compares whether there is overlap in the supplied data and whether the total balance exceeds the asset standard;

F. In case the source period overlaps with the benefit period and the standard is exceeded, BIDN makes a signal available to the municipality (and/or SVB). Depending on the reporting requirements set by municipality, a confluence signal report is published on the portal. A signal is created only if the assets standard is exceeded for benefits that were (partly) active in the preceding and following month on the reference date 31-12, i.e. the months of December and January.

External provider

Internally developed