Assistance, benefits
What is it?
A Social assistance benefit a minimum benefit that allows you to pay for the necessary costs of living, such as rent, food, and drink. You may be eligible for a Social assistance benefit your own income and that of your partner, if applicable, is too low to cover the costs of living yourself.
How does it work?
A Social assistance benefit is provided by the municipality where you live. The municipality examines whether you are entitled to assistance. If you receive a Social assistance benefit , it is generally a gift. However, there may be circumstances whereby the periodic benefit is provided in the form of a loan. In that case, you must later repay the benefit provided.
Social assistance benefit , your income and assets (such as your home and savings) must be below the asset limit. For information about thesocial assistance standard and asset limit, please refer to the website of the Rijksoverheid.
The number of people in your household determines the amount of your benefit. If you live with more people, you can share the cost of living and your benefit will be lower. This does not apply to children under the age of 27 living at home, students, and commercial relations (tenants).
Requirements
- You can apply for benefits if you (and your partner, if applicable) meet the following Requirements:
- You are 18 years of age or older.
- You are Dutch or equivalent. You are considered equivalent to a Dutch citizen if you come from an EU country, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, or Switzerland. You are also considered equivalent if you have a valid residence permit or are otherwise legally residing in the Netherlands. For example, if you are involved in legal proceedings against the rejection of your residence permit.
- You live or reside in the Netherlands.
- You have no or insufficient income of your own.
- You have no equity or your equity is less than the maximum amount. Think of savings or your own home.
- You cannot get another benefit. For example, unemployment benefits or disability benefits.
- You are not excluded from the right to Social assistance benefit. This applies, for example, if you are in prison.
What to do
If you wish to apply for benefits, you can contact the Social Domain Implementation Department by telephone from Monday to Friday on (0475) 85 90 00.
What happens next?
Within one week, you will receive an appointment with an income case manager and an employment case manager. The income case manager will inform you about your social assistance application and what information we need from you. The employment case manager will talk to you about work and social participation.
The meeting will take place at the town hall at Leudalplein 1 in Heythuysen.
Are you younger than 27? You may be subject to a 4-week search period during which you must look for work or training. For more information, see the Social assistance for young people webpage.
How long does it take?
The municipality has eight weeks to process the application for assistance. If the municipality requests additional supporting documents, this period may be extended.
Advance
If you apply for benefits, it may take some time before you receive any money. If the processing takes longer than 4 weeks, we will send you an advance payment. You are entitled to advance payments as long as your benefit application has not yet been processed. However, you must have provided all the necessary information to the municipality. You will not receive an advance payment if it is immediately clear that you are not entitled to Social assistance benefit. The advance payment is 95% of the standard amount applicable to you.
- If you are awarded the Social assistance benefit , the municipality will deduct the advance from your benefit.
- If you are not awarded the Social assistance benefit benefit, you must repay the advance.
Additional information
On the website of Rijksoverheid you can find the amount of your Social assistance benefit other information that is relevant to your entitlement to social assistance.