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- Welfare Benefits
The social welfare system exists to assist individuals and families who struggle with various hardships – unemployment, low income, disabilities. A range of government programs aid people who cannot support themselves, either permanently or temporarily. It will help you to deal with financial stress during a rough period of time. The main purpose of welfare benefits is to support unemployed people, those who deal with developmental challenges, and disadvantaged groups of the society.
Welfare Benefits: What Are They?
One of the goals of the U.S. and the entire free world is to help people to reach a higher standard of living, to promote education and social security, to improve the well-being and public health of the people. Whether you need help in the future or require immediate assistance, the welfare office determines your needs (hence the various requirements for welfare benefits) and gives you access to benefits as soon as you need them.
Welfare is provided in the form of food stamps, social security benefits, health care, benefits to families with dependent children, and child care assistance. Use our guide to learn more about documents you need to fill out to apply for welfare benefits.
Medical Benefits
Health and welfare benefits provide short-term and long-term healthcare. Whether you need to pay for specified services or qualify for the Medicaid care, these are the documents for you:
- Health Insurance Application Forms contain information from applicants who need to apply for insurance coverage or determine their eligibility;
- An Application for Health Coverage & Help Paying Costs is used by people who want to obtain affordable private health insurance, a new tax credit to pay the health coverage premiums, or a free or low-cost Medicaid insurance;
- A Medicaid Renewal Form is completed by individuals when it is time to renew their Medicaid coverage – usually, in advance of their last month of eligibility;
- VA Form 10-10EZ, Application for Health Benefits, is filled by veterans who wish to enroll in the Veterans Affairs (VA) healthcare system and obtain the VA coverage – preventive and primary care, dental care, prescriptions, and medical equipment.
Child Care Benefits
Many families need access to high-quality child care, help to cover the cost of this care, and additional financial assistance while parents or legal guardians are working or attending school. See the documents below to start applying for child care benefits:
- Child Care Assistance Applications (by state) are used to apply for various child care subsidies. Assistance available to you will depend on the type of child care your children need and your financial situation;
- Child Care Redetermination Forms (by state) collect information from parents and guardians who are eligible to continue to receive child care benefits;
- IRS Form 2441, Child and Dependent Care Expenses, is filled out by individuals who are able to claim the credit for child care expenses – if the parents or guardians paid someone to care for their children so that they could work or seek employment.
Social Security Benefits
The Social Security Administration (SSA) offers a variety of forms so that you can claim disability benefits, survivor benefits, retirement benefits, and more. Apply for what you need using these documents:
- Form SSA-1-BK, Application for Retirement Insurance Benefits, is completed by individuals who want to receive retirement insurance benefits upon the attainment of old age;
- Form SSA-16, Application for Disability Insurance Benefits, gets you benefits based on your financial need if you have a medical condition that prevents you from working;
- Form SSA-8000-BK, Application for Supplemental Security Income, provides Supplemental Security Income benefits to individuals with a disability and reduced income;
- Form SSA-2-BK, Application for Wife’s or Husband’s Insurance Benefits, is completed to claim spousal benefits based on your spouse’s primary insurance benefits;
- Form SSA-24, Application for Survivors Benefits (Payable Under Title II of the Social Security Act), is filled out by a spouse, children, or parents of a deceased veteran to receive social security benefits as surviving dependents;
- Form SSA-8, Application for Lump-Sum Death Payment, is used by spouses and children of deceased wage earners to obtain a lump-sum death payment of $255;
- Form SSA-4-BK, Application for Child’s Insurance Benefits, is completed by parents or guardians who apply for insurance benefits on behalf of their children;
- Form SSA-521, Request for Withdrawal of Application, is used if you applied for retirement benefits but changed your mind and now wish you withdraw from receiving them;
- A Social Security Verification Letter serves as proof of your disability, Medicare benefits, or retirement. It also shows you have applied for social security benefits or never received them.
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is a federal program that supplements low-income families and individuals with benefits to buy the food they need. Once you qualify for food benefits, you receive the Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card you can use to purchase food.
Complete a SNAP application with your local authorities to participate.
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) aids families with children and pregnant women. If you qualify and apply for TANF benefits, you will get time-limited cash assistance for food, housing, and clothing, access to services that will help you to become financially independent – vocational training, rehabilitation, help with child care and screening for issues related to domestic violence and mental health.
Not the information you were looking for? Check out these related topics:
- Figure out how to file an unemployment claim;
- Get your small business out of hot water;
- Browser insurance forms to figure out other benefits you may be eligible for.
Documents
Form SSA-8 "Application for Lump-Sum Death Payment"
This legal document is filled out by survivors of wage earners and self-employed individuals to apply for a death payment of $255.
Form SSA-16 "Application for Disability Insurance Benefits"
This document is used to apply for Social Security Disability Benefits with the SSA.
Form SSA-24 "Application for Survivors Benefits"
This document is used by survivors of veterans to claim Social Security benefits they are eligible to.
Form SSA-521 "Request for Withdrawal of Application"
Use this form to cancel the application for Social Security benefits you submitted.
Form SSA-1-BK "Application for Retirement Insurance Benefits"
This legal document is filed by fully-insured individuals to apply for a type of social insurance payments paid to individuals over 62 years of age.
Form SSA-2-BK "Application for Wife's or Husband's Insurance Benefits"
Use this form to apply for spousal benefits based on your current, former, and deceased spouses' primary insurance.
Form SSA-4-BK "Application for Child's Insurance Benefits"
Use this form to apply for Child's Insurance Benefits with the Social Security Administration on behalf of children of eligible workers.
IRS Form 2441 "Child and Dependent Care Expenses", 2020
This form was developed for taxpayers who have paid someone to care for their child or another qualifying person so they could work or look for work.
IRS Form 1099-G "Certain Government Payments", 2020
This form is completed by federal, state, and local government units (payers) and sent to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), state tax department, and taxpayers (recipients) if certain payments were made over the previous year.
VA Form 10-10EZ "Application for Health Benefits"
The information provided on this form is used by the VA to determine eligibility for certain medical benefits.
Form SSA-8000-BK "Application for Supplemental Security Income (Ssi)"
This legal document used to apply for disability benefits through the Supplemental Security Income program.
Form UB-106-A-FF "Weekly Claim for Unemployment Insurance (Ui) Benefits" - Arizona
This is an Arizona legal document needed to verify that you were unemployed during the report week and are eligible to receive Arizona Unemployment Insurance or AZUI.
Sample "Medicaid Renewal Form"
File this renewal form annually in order to renew your Medicare coverage.
"Application for Health Coverage & Help Paying Costs"
This application is a legal document used to apply for and enroll in Marketplace health coverage with the DHHS.
Sample "Social Security Verification Letter"
This letter states your annual income information along with the benefits you have earned for your retirement, Medicare or what you will be entitled to in case of disability.
Sample "Hardship Letter for Credit Card Debt"
Owners of credit cards can reduce their debt by submitting a Hardship Letter explaining their situation to their credit card company.
Sample "Student Loan Hardship Letter"
This form is used when an applicant needs to defer payments on their student loan (or decrease, modify, etc.) due to a financial hardship situation.
Sample "Cease and Desist Collections Letter"
This type of letter can be used to officially demand a debt collector to stop contacting the sender of the letter.
Sample "Credit Card Debt Settlement Letter"
This type of debt settlement letter is used by filers who want to decrease the debt on their credit card.
Sample "Hardship Letter for Loan Modifications"
Individuals use this letter to explain the reasons why they are applying for a loan modification and offer possible loan modifications in order to make it easier for them to pay it back.
"Hardship Letter for Mortgage Template"
Complete this ready-made template to explain to the bank why you're defaulting on your mortgage.
Sample "Request for Debt Settlement Letter"
This document's purpose is to help a debtor decrease their debt or change the terms of paying it back in order to make it easier for them.
Sample "Hardship Letter for Mortgage"
Use this sample as a reference when drafting your own Hardship Letter for Mortgage.
Sample "Debt Validation Letter"
An individual or entity may prepare this type of letter and send it to a financial institution that has notified them about a debt to find out whether this debt is legitimate.
"Debt Validation Letter Template"
Use this letter to request information about your credit history and any particular debts you may have.
"Debt Dispute Letter Template"
This letter serves as a refusal to accept debt and is written in response to a collector's notice.
Sample "Debt Dispute Letter"
This is a written or typed letter that any individual can prepare when they have received a letter from a creditor or debt collector if they do not believe they owe any money or the amount of the debt indicated in the notice is not accurate.
"Mortgage Commitment Letter Template"
This letter is sent to the borrower after their mortgage application is accepted.
Sample "Mortgage Commitment Letter"
This formal letter can be used to confirm the willingness of a lender to sign a mortgage agreement with a borrower.
"Loan Payoff Letter Template"
This letter provides detailed instructions on how to pay off a loan.
Sample "Loan Payoff Letter"
Check out this sample before drafting your own Loan Payoff Letter.
Sample "Letter of Explanation for Mortgage"
A borrower may use this type of letter in order to explain their financial situation and obtain a mortgage.
"Letter of Explanation for Mortgage Template"
This letter is prepared by the borrower for a potential lender in order to answer certain questions that have been omitted in the mortgage application or during a personal interview.
