Eligibility for Ben’s support

Ben is an independent charity and dedicated partner to the automotive industry, providing support for life for its people and their family dependents.

Ben is proud to support anyone who works, or has worked in the automotive, associated or allied trades or industries, including the following:

• Motor, engineering and allied trades and industries including any trade, business, occupation or association providing financial, insurance or other services or which originates or publishes material relating to those trades or industries or who activities or any of them are ancillary to or connect with those trades or industries.
• The term 'motor, engineering and allied trades and industries' includes any individual or body engaged in the manufacture, sale, repair or service of commercial vehicles, garage and service equipment, motor cars and coaches, motor bicycles, lubricants or propulsion fuel for any of them and the component parts of any of them or, in the case of an individual or body only partly so engaged, only those engaged solely in those activities.

In addition, Ben also supports individuals who are financially dependent on a person who works, or has worked, in the industry as outlined above. The individual (dependant) may be a spouse or partner, a parent, child, sibling, grandparent or grandchild (by blood or marriage to that person) and must rely on an eligible person for financial or other support.

In order to receive support from Ben, individuals must be a UK or ROI resident and are required to provide details of their situation, or that of the individual they are referring to Ben (i.e. through a third party or employer referral).

They will also need to give details of the assistance they believe they might benefit from. To confirm eligibility, the following documentation must be supplied:

• evidence of motor industry connection (e.g. a copy of a payslip, P45, contract, letter from an employer etc.)
• proof of address (e.g. a copy of a household bill or statement dated in the last three months)
• completed consent form to securely hold and/or share information (as appropriate)
• in the case of a financial dependant, proof of financial dependency is required

Dependant of a deceased connected individual

If an individual comes to Ben for help and support and their connection is through a deceased person then, in order for that individual to be considered an eligible dependant, they must still be financially dependent on the deceased person’s estate/ finances. This could be via:

• an occupational pension
• insurance payments
• a trust fund
• widows pension.

If you are having difficulty providing proof of your eligibility, then you can contact HMRC on 0300 200 3500 or visit www.gov.uk/guidance/ hmrc-subject-access-request to request a record of your employment history (within the automotive industry only) by asking for a Subject Access Request.

Individuals who are referred or self-refer to Ben are assessed on a case by case basis. This will include what we call a needs-based assessment. Our needs-based assessment (exploratory conversation) helps us to establish personalised support needs to enable and ensure the support we offer is individually tailored for each person.