Get extra help and support to manage your benefits or pension

If you are having difficulty managing a benefit claim or your State Pension, there’s extra help available from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).

You might be able to get additional support with:

  • making a new benefit or pension claim
  • attending appointments
  • understanding your benefits or pension
  • managing your money

Contact HMRC to get extra help and support if you get Child Benefit or tax credits.

This guide is also available in Welsh (Cymraeg)

Extra support if you have accessibility needs

You can get help if you find it difficult to apply or manage your claim. For example, if you want more support to:

  • use the phone or internet
  • read letters
  • fill in forms
  • attend a face-to-face appointment
  • understand information about your benefits or pension

How to get someone else to manage your claim

You can ask someone else (for example, a family member or friend) to help you with your claim. They can:

If you need someone else to make decisions about your benefits or pension for you, they can apply to become an appointee.

Check if you can get a home visit

You may be able to get a home visit to help you with your benefit claim if you:

  • have complex needs
  • are disabled
  • are a vulnerable young person making a claim for the first time
  • have nobody else to support you
  • cannot claim benefits in any other way

Ask for a home visit by calling the helpline of the benefit you’re claiming or contacting your local Jobcentre Plus.

Support for managing your money

If you need financial help, you can get budgeting advice and support.

You can also get help with the cost of living. This could include support with energy or water bills, or essential costs like food.

If you’re unsure what help you need

If you think you need extra help, contact your local office who can look at your circumstances and tell you what you might be able to get.

You can contact:

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