A guide to help you understand your benefit letter

Once your benefit has been worked out, we'll send you a decision in writing about your benefit entitlement.  This is called a 'benefit decision notice'.

Read your letter carefully to check that the information is correct.

Contact us straight away if any of the information is wrong or missing.  You may be missing out on benefit that's due to you, or we may be paying more benefit than you're entitled to.

Example letters

Benefit decision notice

Translation/special requirements

Our letters are available in another language, Braille, audiotape, large print, easy English, BSL video or computer disk.  Contact us to request these other formats.

If you don’t understand or disagree with our decision

If you don’t understand your benefit decision notice you can ask us for a further explanation (called a ‘statement of reasons'). If you disagree with our decision, you can ask us to look at it again or make an appeal.

To find out more see appeal a benefit decision.