EIM76001 - Social security benefits: What are social security benefits?

Social security benefits are payments made to individuals under the social security system run by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).

The various benefits are designed to meet different kinds of need. For example, the State pension is payable to people who have reached state pension age, child benefit to those who have children, statutory sick pay to employees who are absent from work due to illness and jobseeker's allowance to people out of work and looking for a job.