Applying for special assistance

Do you have a low income and unexpectedly high costs? You can then apply for special assistance. This is a sum of money to pay these costs. You can apply for special assistance for, for example, the lawyer's fees and the costs of guardianship. You can receive special assistance if you have a low income and no (or little) assets. For example, if you have a Social assistance benefit has.

Arrange online

Download application form (pdf)

Approach

Are you already receiving benefits from the municipality of Heerlen?

Then use the online Special Assistance application form.

Are you not receiving benefits from the municipality of Heerlen?

Complete the application form Special Assistance - Extended (pdf). We usually have no or too little information from you to be able to assess your application.
The application form tells you which supporting documents you need to include.

Want to know if it makes sense to apply? Then check out CalculateYourRight. Within a few minutes you will know if you can send the application.

Description

Special assistance is an amount of money to pay for unexpected expenses. The municipality can give special assistance as a gift or as a loan.

We therefore ask you some questions:

Do you have enough money on your own in the short term to pay the costs?
Could you have avoided needing special assistance?
Do you need the special assistance for a security deposit?
Did you not save up for durable consumer goods, such as a refrigerator or washing machine?

Requirements

Among other things, we look at your income and assets to assess your entitlement to special assistance. For special assistance, the social minimum is slightly higher than the assistance standard applicable to you. We assume a higher amount, so that people with an income slightly above the social minimum can still qualify for reimbursement of particularly necessary expenses. You can read below how high your income and assets may be. To be entitled to special assistance, we also look, for example, at whether the costs are necessary and whether you could have saved for these costs.

What income limits apply to carrying capacity?

If your net income (including holiday pay) per month is less than 120% of the social assistance standard, you have no capacity to pay from income. We deduct the income above that amount from the compensation you receive. For debt management costs, the income limit is 100% of the social assistance standard.
The level of the assistance standards can be found at rijksoverheid .nl

For energy costs, we are raising the income limit to 130% of the welfare standard.

What asset limits apply?

We also deduct assets above a certain amount from the reimbursement of expenses. By assets we mean: possessions and/or debts.

We release the following amounts:

Single person €7,575.00
Single parent €15,150.00
Married/cohabitants €15,150.00

Threshold amount

A threshold amount of € 50.00 applies to some expenses. By this we mean that you will not be reimbursed for the first € 50.00 per year. If you receive ongoing special assistance, we will deduct € 50.00 each year.

Term

The municipality decides within 8 weeks of receiving your application. The municipality may extend this period once.

Objection and appeal

You can object to the decision on your application within 6 weeks. The decision will tell you how to do that.

Learn more

Calculate your entitlement to benefits in Heerlen

More information about the level of the assistance standards at Rijksoverheid .nl

Special assistance information