Special assistance

You must apply for special assistance together with your partner.
You are or have a special assistance partner if you:

• Are married or registered partners; or
• lives at the same address and:
• have a household together;
• are former spouses or former partners;
• have a child together;
• acknowledged your partner's child or your partner acknowledged your child; or
• registered as partners elsewhere, such as with the IRS or as a co-insured with a health insurance plan.

The Municipality of Leudal provides special assistance for residents who have a low income. Residents who have an income lower than 130% of the applicable assistance standard do not have the ability to pay. For some periodic costs, such as housing allowance, an income up to 100% of the social assistance standard applies.

Assistance standards can be found on Rijksoverheid under the topics"When am I entitled to assistance?' and"What is the assistance standard?'.  

To determine the amount of special assistance, we must calculate your ability to pay. The ability to pay is the amount a person can possibly contribute from their income. 

The carrying capacity special assistance is the amount you have to pay yourself for special assistance.

If the expenses for which you request special assistance exceed your ability to pay, you will be reimbursed for that portion. Below is how we calculate your financial capability:

• If you receive up to 130% of the welfare standard, you have no ability to pay and do not have to contribute anything.
• If your income is between 130-150% of the social assistance standard, you do have financial capability. We count half of your income between 130 and 150% as financial capability.
• If your income exceeds 150%, all of your income above 150% is counted as carrying capacity.

Information on the concept of assets and applicable asset limits can be found on the Rijksoverheid website under the topic"When am I entitled to assistance?'.  

If your assets exceed the asset limit, that excess is fully included in the calculation of your ability to pay. You may then receive no or partial compensation. 

Supplemental health insurance allowance

The Municipality of Leudal does not provide special assistance for medical expenses. To compensate for this, you can apply for an 'additional health insurance allowance'. The 'additional health insurance allowance' amounts to € 20,- per adult per month.

With the help of this amount, you can purchase a suitable supplemental health insurance policy according to your wishes and/or needs. This will then allow you to be reimbursed for medical expenses from the insurance package.

You do not need to submit supporting documents for this.

Cost of protective custody, curator or mentor

If you want to use guardianship, a curator, or mentor, you must pay fees. In the beginning, you pay the "initial fees," which include the cost of the intake interview and court fees. After that, you will pay your own contribution each month. You may be able to get special assistance for all these costs.

Evidence you will need

• The court's order relating to guardianship
• The administrator's invoice or note(s)

Legal aid costs

Do you need legal help? Low-income residents can use subsidized legal aid. Subsidized legal aid is called an addition. If you receive an addition, the government pays part of the costs for the mediator or lawyer. You pay the other part yourself. We call this the personal contribution. You may only be entitled to special assistance for the personal contribution if you are unable to claim another benefit or scheme that reimburses the costs. Special assistance for legal aid requires that you have applied for and received an Extraction from the Legal Aid Board.

Evidence you will need

• Note of costs (related to legal aid)
• Letter of allocation from Legal Aid Board (regarding legal aid)

Additional cost of hot meal service

If, because of your age or disability, you are dependent on the (hot) meal service, you may be entitled to special assistance for the additional costs of meal service. Additional costs are the costs which, due to your personal situation, you have to spend more on meals than is generally usual.

You and your expenses must then meet the Requirements . To determine assistance, we use the tables for the cost of food as listed in the Nibud price guide.

Evidence you will need

• Note(s) of costs
• Medical certificate of necessity costs (not older than six months)

Cost of budget management

If you are having trouble managing your income and expenses, budget management may be a solution. During budget management, the administrator will keep track of your finances and pay your bills on time.

You can apply for special assistance for the cost of a budget manager affiliated with the trade association.

Evidence you will need

• Contract budget management with effective date
• Notes budget management

 Subscription cost alarms

Do you need to use personal alarms? Then you can get reimbursement of the subscription costs from special assistance. You must have a statement from a medical specialist as to why alarms are necessary for you.

Evidence you will need

• Note(s) of costs
• Medical certificate of necessity costs (not older than six months)

 Other special and necessary expenses

The online form lists the most common expenses for which special assistance is requested. Want to know if you qualify for other special expenses?

If so, before applying, contact the special assistance officer by calling (0475) 85 90 00 or emailing bijzonderebijstand@leudal.nl. This will give you more information and you will know better where you stand.

Evidence you will need

When requesting other expenses you should always include supporting documentation of the expenses with the request. In addition, you should properly state why you are requesting the expense and by when.

You usually apply for special assistance as of the date you submit the application or before you incur the expenses. Do you apply for special assistance afterwards because there was no other option? Please explain this clearly in your application. You may still receive special assistance. This concerns the date on which, for example, the subdistrict court ruled. Depending on the type of expenses, in some situations we can provide special assistance for expenses incurred up to 12 months ago. 

If you are applying for special assistance, but you are not receiving Social assistance benefit we will need more information from you to evaluate your request.

Are you making sure you submit all the information that is requested? If so, we can process your application sooner.

During the online application, you can upload the supporting documents. Health therefore that you have already collected the supporting documents before you start your application.

Tips:

• Health make sure you have these files ready digitally. This way you can easily insert (upload) them during the digital application process.
• also give these files a clear name. For example: copy ID proof, paycheck or benefit statement.

 Which supporting documents, and how many, depends on your situation. Below is a list of possible supporting documents that may be requested.

Evidence in applicants with Social assistance benefit

You do not need to provide details of your income and/or assets. However, you must ensure that all documentary evidence of and about the costs are submitted with the application. This will prevent us from not being able to process the application.

Evidence in applicants with a current support period

You have an income other than a Social assistance benefit. You have received a letter from the Municipality of Leudal stating that your carrying capacity and the carrying capacity period have been determined. The expenses for which you request special assistance fall within this period.

You do not then have to provide new information about your income and/or assets. However, you must ensure that all documentary evidence of and about the costs is submitted with the application. This will prevent us from not being able to process the application.

Evidence in applicants without Social assistance benefit

Depending on your personal situation, you may be asked for more or less supporting documents during your application. We have listed the information we request for you below:

Income:

Evidence of your income must be for the last full month. It is about the income of you and your partner, if any:

• Pay stub/wage slips in case of fixed income.
  In case of varying income: pay slips for the last 3 months;
• Recent financial statements/sales tax return (in the case of the self-employed);
• Benefit statement(s) from WAO, WIA, Sickness Act, WW, Wajong etc.;
• Specification(s) of state pension, retirement and/or annuity payment;
• Proof(s) of other income such as income from student loans or rentals.
• Bank statement transferring child support or copy of divorce agreement;
• Bank statement transferring child support or copy of parenting plan;
• Decision (final provisional assessment) tax credits Tax Office;
• Order of the subdistrict court on receivership and/or pronounced WSNP
• Latest overview of the calculation of the Free Will Amount (VTLB)

 Power:

Below is a list of possible additional supporting documents from you, your partner, if any, and your children up to age 18.

• The bank statements of all bank and savings accounts of yourself, your partner, if any, and children under 18. Preferably use Pdf prints from internet banking for this purpose.
• Are you (have you been) self-employed? Then you must also submit business account statements.
  The prints or statements cover a period of at least 3 months prior to the date you submitted the application. This applies to all accounts held by you, your partner and your children up to age 18. The prints must clearly show the balance and account number.
• Exhibit(s) other assets/property (e.g., car, boat, caravan, jewelry, paintings, stocks, investments, annuities, life insurance, real estate abroad):
• Proof of your debts with repayment obligation

Yes, the municipality may check your information both at the time of application and afterwards. The municipality may request information about you and your partner relevant to the scheme from other agencies and individuals.

This way, the municipality can verify your entitlement to the special assistance and ensures that the contribution reaches the people for whom it is intended.

We rely on you to provide all information completely and correctly when you apply. Then you will avoid having to repay the amount.

Are you struggling to pay your bills? Or are you in debt? We can help!

The Help with Money and Debt webpage has more information on this.

You can also contact PLAN Group directly by calling 0345-479779 or sending an email to leudal@plangroep.nl.

Or check webloket.plangroep.nl/leudal to see what help or guidance you can get.

Are you (almost) in financial need? If so, an aid or service provider can apply for you at Stichting Urgente Noden Midden-Limburg (SUN Midden-Limburg). If other counters remain closed, they offer a financial contribution, a contribution in kind or an interest-free loan from the Social Loan Fund.

To do so, visit https://sunmidden-limburg.nl/

Are you unsure if you qualify for special assistance? If so, contact the special assistance officer by email: bijzonderebijstand@leudal.nl or call us at 0475 - 85 90 00.

You can. The municipality is happy to help you, and in three ways:

• You can get help by phone to complete the online application form. To do so, call the municipality on weekdays at 0475-85 90 00;
• If you are less agile digitally, you can request a printed form from the municipality. You can do so at bijzonderebijstand@leudal.nl or on weekdays by calling 0475-85 90 00;
• You can also get help with filling out at 't Vraagpunt. 't Vraagpunt is a collaboration between the municipality of Leudal and welfare organization Synthese. 't Vraagpunt can be reached on working days at vraagpunt@synthese.nl or by telephone at 0475-74 51 38.

Locations and opening hours 't Vraagpunt

• Wednesday | 2 p.m. - 4 p.m.
  • Bibliocenter Heythuysen, In the Neerakker 2a- Heythuysen
• Thursday | 10 a.m.-12 p.m.
  • Man Development Company, Graaf van Loonlaan 2a - Heythuysen