Tory welfare chief Esther McVey trousered a £17,000 payoff when she quit the Cabinet - after just 10 months in the job.
The MP took the £16,876 golden goodbye for resigning as Work and Pensions Secretary over Brexit last November.
At the time the hard Brexiteer claimed she “could not look constituents in the eye” if she backed Theresa May ’s deal.
Now she must face them over her bumper payout - which came months after she confessed some Universal Credit claimants would be "worse off" under her watch.
Ms McVey earned the equivalent of £67,505 as welfare chief on top of her MP's salary, now worth £79,468.
Her severance payment was almost as much as the Tories' £20,000 cap on household benefits for an entire year.
It comes despite new figures showing the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) underpaid £1.9bn of benefits in 2018/19, the highest since records began in 2005.
The DWP also overpaid a record £4bn of benefits due to errors or fraud - 4.6% of all benefit spending, the National Audit Office revealed.
Auditor General Gareth Davies said he was "concerned" and warned overpayments are expected to rise even further due to errors with people reporting income in Universal Credit.
Labour MP Neil Coyle, a member of the Commons Work and Pensions Committee, branded the payoff a "kick in the teeth".
He said: "She did nothing in the job, she lied to the Commons about what she was doing and still managed to walk away with multiples of the annual benefit for some of our most disadvantaged citizens in a year.
“She shouldn’t have taken a penny.
“It is the latest kick in the teeth for those who support a genuine social security system in this country.”
He added: "There's a legitimate question about whether Cabinet ministers who quit should be entitled to anything.
"It’s their choice. They’re not claiming constructive dismissal."
Shadow Employment Minister Mike Amesbury said: "A Cabinet minister receiving such a large pay-out, especially after resigning of their own accord, is totally unacceptable.
"This news is a real blow to the 14 million people, including four million children, living in poverty in the UK as a result of cruel cuts to social security, low pay and high housing costs."
Ms McVey was handed her severance payment - worth three months' salary - in line with Cabinet Office rules and it appeared in DWP accounts published today.
The accounts show a second DWP minister, pro-EU Sarah Newton, received a smaller £7,920 payoff when she quit in a bid to block a No Deal Brexit in March.
They also show Universal Credit chiefs took home bumper bonuses despite a litany of complaints about the benefit.
UC's then-Director General Neil Couling received at least £5,000 while another top UC director, John Paul Marks, received at least £10,000.
Charities and campaigners say flaws in UC's rollout has forced people into rent arrears, pushed them to food banks and even driven some to "survival sex".
The DWP argues it has shortened waiting times, boosted advances and launched 'run-on' payments for housing.
Meanwhile auditors have complained the DWP is overpaying Universal Credit by 8.6%, the highest of any benefit.
The causes are both "deliberate fraud and unintended error" by claimants and the DWP, the National Audit Office said.
But the largest cause was claimants failing to declare their income and earnings correctly under UC.
The system has been hit by repeated complaints that it is confusing to use.
A DWP spokesman said: “Since 2010 there has been no increase in the rate of fraud and error overall.
“We rely on accurate information and updates from claimants to ensure we provide the right benefits, and are continuously improving this system. A minority of people abuse the system and we continue to challenge them using the full range of penalties at our disposal.”
Ms McVey was knocked out of the Tory leadership race in last place earlier this month with just nine MPs' support.
She was Employment Minister under welfare-slashing Tory Iain Duncan Smith before losing her seat in 2015.
The MP - reviled for defending the hated Bedroom Tax - then returned as Work and Pensions Secretary in January 2018 having won George Osborne's safe seat of Tatton.
As welfare chief she admitted "some people will be worse off" under six-in-one benefit Universal Credit.
She recently admitted "failings" in the policy but boasted she brought more money in - and refused to apologise.
A spokesman for Ms McVey declined to comment.
