My benefits were stopped, cut or refused

How long

To keep your coverage going while you wait, ask for the hearing before the date of action. To ask for the hearing itself, your state sets a reasonable time that the federal rule caps at 90 days from the day the notice was mailed. Your state can set fewer days, so the date on your notice comes first.

Starts

the date printed on the notice from your state Medicaid agency. The notice also gives a date of action, the day your coverage is cut or ends. The agency has to send the notice at least 10 days before that date, except in a few cases the federal rules list. If you only have an online message, count from its date.

If missed

If the date of action has passed, ask for the hearing anyway, and ask in the same request for your coverage to be put back. If your notice came less than 10 days before the cut, or on or after it, ask within 10 days of the date on the notice: the agency then has to put your coverage back until the hearing decision, unless the only issue is a federal or state law or policy. Otherwise, a request no more than 10 days after the date of action means the agency may put it back. If the agency wins the hearing, it may ask you to pay back the cost of services you got only because you asked. If you think the time to ask has passed, call legal aid before you decide it has.

It lets you

have a hearing about the decision, and ask for it to be fast if you need it quickly. If you ask before the date of action, the agency may not cut or end your coverage until the hearing decision, unless the only issue is a federal or state law or policy. If you ask no more than 10 days after the date of action, the agency may put your coverage back until the decision.

Where this differs: If your Medicaid ended because a renewal form or papers did not reach the office, send them now, and ask for a hearing too if you are still inside the date on the notice. If your Medicaid is based on your income, the state has to look at your eligibility again without a new application if the form arrives within 90 days of the date your coverage ended, or longer if your state allows. Medicaid is run by your state, so the notice, the form, the phone number and the exact dates are your state's. The federal rule sets the outer limit; your notice sets your date. The same hearing right covers a refused application. A state children's health insurance program or other state benefit follows its own notice: read it. If the letter is from your Medicaid health plan, not the state, it is about services, and you appeal to the plan first, by phone or in writing, within 60 days of the date on its notice. To keep a service going during the appeal, ask the plan to continue it within 10 days of the date on the notice, or before the date the change starts, whichever is later. If the plan says no, ask for the state hearing, and ask again for the service to continue, within 10 days of the plan's answer. If you lose, the plan may ask you to pay for the services you kept.

Checked 9 October 2026 at Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services rules, 42 CFR 431.230 (Cornell Legal Information Institute copy)

How long

To keep getting benefits while you wait, ask for the hearing within the period the notice gives, before the cut takes effect. You can ask by phone or in person as well as in writing. To ask for a hearing about something the state did, or benefits you lost, you have 90 days from that action. At any time while your certification period lasts, you can also ask for a hearing about the amount you get now.

Starts

the date on the notice from your state SNAP office saying your benefits will be cut or stopped. The notice has to leave at least 10 days between the day it is mailed and the day the cut takes effect. If your benefits were refused or already cut, count from the day of the decision or the cut.

If missed

If you miss the period on the notice, benefits are cut or stopped as the notice says. If you had a good reason for missing it, the state has to put your benefits back as they were. After 90 days, you can still ask for a hearing about the amount you get now, at any time in your certification period, and if the state's error cost you benefits in the last year you can ask for them to be restored. If the hearing goes against you, the state will ask you to pay back what you were paid while you waited.

It lets you

have a fair hearing. If you ask in time and your certification period has not ended, your benefits continue at the same amount until the hearing decision, unless you say you do not want them continued. The federal rule gives the state 60 days from your request to hold the hearing and decide.

Where this differs: States run SNAP, so the notice, the form and the phone line are your state's. Continued benefits stop when your certification period ends: if yours has ended, ask your state office what to do. If your state changes benefits for a whole group of households at once, continued benefits apply only if you are disputing how yours was worked out or the state's use of federal law.

Checked 9 October 2026 at USDA SNAP rules, 7 CFR 273.15 and 273.13 (Cornell Legal Information Institute copy)

Starts

the date printed on the notice. Social Security counts from the day you get it and takes that to be 5 days after the date on the notice, but count from the printed date to be safe.

If missed

Social Security can give you more time to ask for reconsideration if you show good cause in writing. A request to continue disability payments after the 10 days is paid only if you show good cause. For SSI, a request after 10 days but within 60 days may mean your payment drops for a while and then restarts. If you lose, the payments that continued while you appealed can be counted as an overpayment, for SSI as well as Social Security disability, and you can ask for a waiver so you do not have to pay them back. Medicare you kept during the appeal is not taken back. If you would rather not risk owing money, you can ask Social Security not to continue your payments.

It lets you

have Social Security decide again. For SSI, if you ask in writing within 10 days, your current payment continues until the reconsideration decision. If a notice says your disability has ended (SSI or Social Security disability), you have to ask in writing within 10 days to have your benefits continued, and for Social Security disability that includes Medicare where it applies. If you disagree with the new decision, you can ask for a hearing within 60 days. If your disability was found to have ended and you want payments to keep going until the hearing, ask again, in writing, within 10 days of the date on the reconsideration notice: the first request does not carry over.

Where this differs: This is a federal program run by Social Security, so it is the same in every state, and the notice says what applies to your case. The 10-day continuation rules here are for SSI and for a disability Social Security says has ended. Other decisions, such as retirement or survivors benefits, have the 60 days, but no continuation rule was found for them: ask Social Security. An overpayment notice has its own clock, below.

Checked 9 October 2026 at Social Security Administration

How long

30 days. Social Security waits at least 30 days after sending the notice before it starts to collect.

Starts

the date on the overpayment notice.

If missed

If you do not pay back or ask within 30 days of the date on the notice, Social Security takes 50% of your benefit, or 10% of your SSI payment, each month until it is repaid. If you can pay it back but not at that rate, ask to pay less each month on form SSA-634: Social Security stops collecting until it decides. For SSI, you can ask for a waiver at any time; for Social Security, ask anyway and ask how late you can still ask. If you no longer get benefits, it can collect in other ways, such as holding back a tax refund.

It lets you

ask for a waiver if you cannot afford to pay it back and the mistake was not your fault or it would be unfair, or appeal if you think you were not overpaid or the amount is wrong. If you do either within 30 days, Social Security does not collect until it decides. For an SSI overpayment of $2,000 or less where you think you were not at fault, you may be able to ask for the waiver by phone on 1-800-772-1213.

Where this differs: The SSI overpayment page also says an appeal made within 60 days of getting the notice keeps your current SSI payment going until a decision. The 30-day date is the safe one, and your notice says which applies. A waiver is a different request from an appeal: a waiver says you cannot pay it back, an appeal says you were not overpaid or the amount is wrong.

Checked 9 October 2026 at Social Security Administration

How long

Your state sets the time and the notice gives the date. There is no single national number, so do not assume you have months. Treat the date on the notice as the deadline and ask for the hearing as soon as you have it.

Starts

the date on the notice from your state unemployment office that denied, cut or stopped your claim. If you only have an online message, count from the day it arrived.

If missed

Your state's rules decide whether a late appeal is heard. Call the state office and ask, and say why you were late. Do not decide it is too late before you ask.

It lets you

have a hearing before an impartial tribunal. Federal law requires every state to offer one to people whose claims are denied. Keep filing your weekly claims while you appeal unless your state office tells you not to: in some states, weeks you did not claim are not paid even if you win.

Where this differs: Each state runs its own program, so the dates, the form and the phone line are your state's. CareerOneStop shows how to reach your state's office.

Checked 9 October 2026 at US Congress, Social Security Act section 303(a)(3), 42 U.S.C. 503 (Cornell Legal Information Institute copy)

How long

One month to ask for mandatory reconsideration. If you write, the letter or form has to arrive within the month. If you asked within the month for a written statement of reasons, you have until the end of the month or 14 days after the date on the statement, whichever is later. After you get the mandatory reconsideration notice, you usually have one month from its date to appeal to the tribunal.

Starts

the date on the decision letter, or on the decision message in your Universal Credit journal. It is not the day you read it. If a payment simply stopped and you have no decision, call the benefits office and ask for the decision in writing.

If missed

You can ask for mandatory reconsideration after one month if you have a good reason, for example a hospital stay or a bereavement. You have to explain why you are late, and GOV.UK says to call the number on your decision letter first. The law sets an outer limit of 13 months from the date of the decision, and the later you ask, the stronger the reason has to be. A late request that is refused cannot be made again, so give your whole reason the first time, with an adviser's help if you can. An appeal started more than a month after the notice has to explain why, and it might not be accepted. Do not decide it is too late before you have asked.

It lets you

have the benefits office look at the decision again. You can ask through your journal, by phone, by letter or on the form, and send evidence that supports your reasons. The whole claim is looked at again, so the benefit may stop, stay the same, increase or decrease: if you are not sure, get advice before you ask. If you still disagree with the notice, you can appeal to the Social Security and Child Support Tribunal, which is free. You cannot appeal until you have the notice.

Where this differs: This covers benefits paid by the DWP in England, Scotland and Wales, such as Universal Credit, PIP, ESA, JSA, Pension Credit, Attendance Allowance and Carer's Allowance. Some decisions go straight to an appeal, and your letter says which. Housing Benefit (ask your council: the letter gives the date), Child Benefit and Guardian's Allowance (HMRC), Budgeting Loans, Tax-Free Childcare and Vaccine Damage Payment use a different process. Social Security Scotland benefits and Northern Ireland benefits have their own clocks, below.

Checked 9 October 2026 at GOV.UK (Department for Work and Pensions)

How long

Ask on the first day you cannot afford food, heating, hygiene or housing costs. You can ask for a hardship payment only after you have had a lower or missed payment, and you have to ask again each time. There is no date to wait for

Starts

the day your payment is lower or missed because of a sanction. The journal message or letter about the sanction has the date of the decision, and the one-month clock to challenge it (see the mandatory reconsideration clock) counts from that date.

If missed

Waiting does not take away your right to challenge the sanction, which has its own one-month clock. You can ask for a hardship payment from the day the lower or missed payment arrives. Ask that day if you cannot afford food, heating or hygiene, rather than waiting to see whether the money runs out.

It lets you

if you qualify, get a payment to help with food, heating, hygiene (for example soap, nappies or laundry powder) and housing costs that Universal Credit does not cover. If it is accepted, it is usually paid into your bank account the same day. You pay it back once the sanction has ended: up to 15% of your standard allowance is taken from your Universal Credit until it is repaid.

Where this differs: A hardship payment for a sanction is only for a sanction at 100% of your standard allowance (50% or more for a couple), or a fraud penalty. You must have done your work-related requirements in the 7 days before you apply and any activities you were given to end the sanction, your partner must agree, and you must show you have cut non-essential costs and looked for other support. Ask your work coach whether yours qualifies. To avoid a sanction, tell your work coach straight away through your journal if you cannot do something in your claimant commitment: if they decide you had a good reason, your payment is not reduced. In Northern Ireland, Universal Credit is run through nidirect, with its own pages. A 40% sanction, the rate for 16- and 17-year-olds and for people whose only requirement is appointments, is below the level the GOV.UK page lists: ask your work coach. If you cannot afford the deductions later, call DWP Debt Management.

Checked 9 October 2026 at GOV.UK (Department for Work and Pensions)

How long

There is no set deadline to claim, but the claim starts on the day you send it. It can be backdated by up to one month, only in certain circumstances

Starts

the day you submit your claim in your Universal Credit account, not the day you create the account. After you create the account you have 28 days to finish the claim, or you have to start again. If you cannot claim online, call the Universal Credit helpline on 0800 328 5644 (Welsh: 0800 328 1744), Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm

If missed

days before your claim date are not covered unless the claim is backdated. Backdating is for a delay that was not your fault, for example a disability, health problems that stopped you claiming, the online service not working, being on a different benefit and not told it was ending, or a partner who started a joint claim and did not finish it. You may be asked for evidence

It lets you

have Universal Credit worked out from the day you claim: your first assessment period starts the day you make a claim, and the first payment usually comes around 5 weeks later. If you need money while you wait, you can apply for an advance. It is a loan: you usually pay it back out of your payments over 24 months. Free help with the claim is available through Help to Claim, run by Citizens Advice

Only if you are thinking of claiming Universal Credit instead of a benefit that stopped. Claiming it ends Housing Benefit, income-related ESA and Pension Credit, even if the claim fails: get advice first.

Where this differs: If you already get Housing Benefit, income-related ESA or Pension Credit, they stop when you claim Universal Credit, even if the claim fails: check you will be better off first. Northern Ireland has its own Universal Credit pages on nidirect. In Scotland you can choose to be paid twice a month. Ask your council for Council Tax Reduction too: it is a separate claim. Northern Ireland has a different scheme.

Checked 7 October 2026 at GOV.UK (Department for Work and Pensions)

How long

42 calendar days (6 weeks) for Adult Disability Payment, Carer Support Payment, Child Disability Payment, Child Winter Heating Payment, Pension Age Disability Payment and Scottish Adult Disability Living Allowance. 31 calendar days for most other Social Security Scotland benefits, for example Best Start Grant, Funeral Support Payment, Scottish Child Payment and Young Carer Grant. If you disagree with the re-determination, 31 calendar days from that letter to appeal to the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland.

Starts

the date on the decision letter, or the day you were told the decision if that was earlier. Count that day as day 1. Social Security Scotland takes you to have a letter or email 48 hours after it was sent, but counting from the date on the letter is the safe way.

If missed

Social Security Scotland can accept a late request if you give a good reason, such as illness or a stay in hospital, up to one year after you got the decision letter. Without a good reason it may refuse. An appeal made more than 31 calendar days after the re-determination letter has to explain the delay, and the Tribunal decides whether to accept it, up to one year after the letter.

It lets you

have a new team make a full new decision on your application. If your Adult Disability Payment, Child Disability Payment, Pension Age Disability Payment or Scottish Adult Disability Living Allowance was reduced or stopped, you can ask for Short-term Assistance when you ask for the re-determination. It replaces the amount your payment was cut by while the challenge goes on, and you do not pay it back, apart from cases of fraud or an error you caused. Ask for it at the same time as the re-determination, by phone on 0800 182 2222 or on the form. If you forgot, call: you may still be able to get it until the new decision is made. It is paid only once your request is accepted, and only if an award you already had was cut or stopped. The new decision can go up, down or stay the same, so get advice first if you are unsure.

Where this differs: This is only for benefits Social Security Scotland pays. Benefits the DWP pays, such as Universal Credit, follow the Great Britain clock above: your decision letter says who decided. A decision that you were overpaid has its own route, which the letter explains. Best Start Foods and Job Start Payment are reviewed by phone on 0800 182 2222.

Checked 9 October 2026 at mygov.scot (Scottish Government)

How long

One calendar month from the date on your decision notice to ask for mandatory reconsideration, for Universal Credit and for other Department for Communities benefits such as PIP. After you get the Mandatory Reconsideration Notice, your appeal has to reach the Appeals Service within one month of the date on that notice.

Starts

the date on your decision notice.

If missed

For Universal Credit, if you do not ask within the month you may not be able to appeal. The time limit can be extended in exceptional circumstances: speak to your work coach or contact the Universal Credit Service Centre. If your appeal is late, you have to explain why. For other benefits, a late request has to give the reasons it is late.

It lets you

have the Jobs and Benefits office that made the decision look at it again. For Universal Credit you can ask through your online journal, by speaking to your work coach, by calling the Universal Credit Service Centre or by writing to the Freepost address. For other Department for Communities benefits you can use form MR2(NI). Then you can appeal to the Appeals Service on form NOA1 (SS) or by letter, and you have to include the Mandatory Reconsideration Notice. You cannot appeal until you have had a mandatory reconsideration.

Where this differs: Housing Benefit and Rate Relief decisions go to the Housing Executive, not this route. Decisions by HMRC, such as tax credits, Child Benefit and Guardian's Allowance, go to HMRC first and have their own dates: read the notice. Great Britain has a separate system, in the clock above.

Checked 9 October 2026 at nidirect (Department for Communities)