The social benefits finder can help you determine which social benefits you may be entitled to. However, it does not replace an official application. The social benefits finder asks you 18 questions about your personal circumstances and then gives a non-binding assessment of the benefits you might be eligible for. The authority that is responsible for your application will then check whether these benefits are actually the right ones for you. It may ask you to provide additional information, which may result in a particular benefit not being suitable for you.
Questions about Functions (Fragen zu den Funktionen)
In our FAQ you will find the answers to the most frequently asked questions about the Social Platform.
Date of translation: 20 December 2023
social benefits finder
The social benefits finder is a non-binding service offered by the Social Platform. It is there to assist and guide you if you are not sure what social benefits exist and which ones you might be entitled to.
The social benefits finder asks you 18 questions about your personal circumstances in order to find the right benefits for you. After you have answered these questions, you receive an overview of possible social benefits. One click will take you to the pages with the relevant information. From there, you can go straight to the page where you can make an application for a particular social benefit online and find contact details for your local authority.
The social benefits finder is only a guide. It tells you which benefits you might be entitled to. It does not replace an application for benefits, nor does it make any binding statements on whether you will actually receive any benefits. Your application is decided on solely by your local authority.
The social benefits finder does not cover all existing social benefits in Germany. It only has access to the ones for which there is already information on the Social Platform and for which applications have already been made using this system. However, the service is continuously being expanded and will include a large number of additional social benefits in the future.
The data you enter in the social benefits finder is not stored or passed on. You can use the social benefits finder multiple times if you wish.
The social benefits finder makes a rough assessment of what benefits you might be entitled to on the basis of the 15 questions it asks about your personal circumstances. The authority that is responsible for your application will then check whether these benefits are actually the right ones for you. It may ask you to provide additional information, which may result in a particular benefit not being suitable for you.
The social benefits finder does not replace an application for benefits, nor does it make any binding statements on whether you are actually entitled to the benefits marked green on the results page. It merely tells you which benefits you might be entitled to after your local authority has reviewed your application. Your application is decided on solely by your local authority.
The data you enter in the social benefits finder is not stored or passed on. Complying with data protection requirements is the Social Platform’s top priority. The Social Platform ensures that its users’ data is handled in accordance with data protection law. Find out more about data security.
Advice Finder
The advice finder is a free and independent service on the Social Platform that allows users to quickly locate a suitable source of advice near them. This digital and nationwide offering is currently available for the topics of debt, addiction and emergency housing assistance.
The advice finder can help you locate a suitable advisory service near you on the topics of addiction, debt or emergency housing assistance.
Enter a word in the search bar (such as debt counselling or addiction) and your city or postcode to obtain a list that is tailored to your search.
You can also look for general services by entering just your city or postcode to receive an overview of local organisations.
Appointments can only be booked with advisory services that have joined the Social Platform and activated the online appointment service for themselves. You can tell if this service has been activated if the “Book appointment” button is displayed when you click on the desired advisory service and the type of advice you are looking for.
If this cannot be done online, you will receive the contact details of advisory services near you, as well as additional information such as opening hours and a website with their full range of services, so that you can book an appointment.
Online Appointment Service
It is a good idea to book an appointment in advance so that a session with a suitable person for your case can be set up and waiting times are avoided. In urgent cases and if an appointment is not available at short notice via the online appointment service, you can contact the relevant advisory service directly and ask for an appointment.
Appointments are booked for in-person sessions at the advisory service. Plans are in place to introduce online video or chat sessions.
Follow these steps to book an appointment:
- Select the “Advice” tab at the top of the Social Platform website.
- Choose “Advice finder” in the list on the left-hand side.
- Under “Type of advice”, enter an appropriate word such as “debt”. To the right of that, enter the town or city where you would like the appointment to take place.
- Then select the advisory service you wish to contact from the list displayed.
- If your local advisory service has joined the Social Platform and offers an online appointment service, you can then click on “Book appointment” and select a date and time. If this is not yet possible, you can book an appointment by phone.
If you would like to remain anonymous, you can enter a fictitious name when booking an appointment. The advisory services will always treat your communication with them as confidential. However, you do not need to give a fictitious name.
Most advisory services allow sessions to be held anonymously. The people you speak or write to are subject to doctor-patient confidentiality. You can therefore be sure that no confidential information can be passed on to health insurance companies, pension providers or other authorities.