Where Do I Start?
If you have not claimed benefits before you may be feeling confused by the range
of different names and payments available. Knowing where to start and what you could
be entitled to is sometimes half the battle. It’s hard to give general advice on
this as your entitlement will depend on your own personal circumstances, however
we have tried here to give you a vague idea of which benefits you may be able to
claim depending on categories you fall into, so you have a few ideas of what to
be looking at in other areas of the site.
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Welfare
Benefits Information
You may have just started claiming benefits or think you could be eligible for some
help but not be quite sure of the ins and outs. There are many different types of
benefit and some have quite similar names and eligibility criteria, so it can seem
like a complicated area and you might be unsure what you should be claiming and
when. If you are looking for information about a particular benefit, this section
will direct you to where you can find out more, including what support you could
get, who may be eligible to receive the benefit and how to go about claiming.
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Benefit Calculator
Citizen’s Advice http://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/
recently reported that more than £16 billion in means-tested benefits and tax credits
goes unclaimed each year. If you are unsure about what you could be entitled to,
this calculator will use details of your current circumstances to work out what
benefits you might be eligible for.
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Making Claims and Appealing Decisions
You may initially be nervous about making a claim for benefits. Usually you will
have to fill in a form giving all your details in order to make a claim; however
there are ways round this and you may be able to get help and advice. Similarly
if a decision is made about your benefits that you do not agree with; you still
have options and should seek help and advice. This page talks you through the sort
of processes you might face and where you can find out more.
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Upcoming Changes
You may have heard about the many changes to the welfare benefit system which the
government is planning to introduce over the next few years as part of their program
of reform. This section gives details on what exactly is changing and when so you
can see what impact this might have on your situation and start to think about how
you can adjust your budget to cope with the alteration.
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Further Help
and Advice
If you feel you need further advice and assistance with any aspect of your benefits
claim, this section provides details of organisations you can contact for help.
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