Centralizing federal benefits eligibility awareness and access

Challenge

Many people who are eligible for help in times of crisis and change—when facing a job loss or natural disaster—don’t claim benefits that might help them. In fact, according to research, an estimated 60 billion dollars in benefits remains unclaimed each year.

Some of this is due to a lack of awareness of available benefits and confusion about where to look for them. For individuals in need, identifying and claiming benefits is far from straightforward. Benefit information is generally siloed by agency, so if someone wanted to find the benefits available, this fragmented structure could easily overwhelm them, leaving vital aid untapped.

Imagine a grieving spouse trying to navigate benefits scattered across agencies like the Department of Defense, Veterans Affairs, FEMA, the Department of Labor, Social Security Administration, and more.

How could we streamline the benefits discovery process, break down information silos, and create a single, user-friendly resource? Our goal was clear: make it easier and faster for people to find the benefits they need and are eligible for.

Approach

We began by reaching out across the federal landscape to discover the benefits provided by agencies, particularly for families coping with the loss of a loved one. Next, we conducted interviews and tested prototypes with a variety of individuals across a range of backgrounds. Incorporating their feedback helped us focus on what delivered the best value quickly and efficiently while reducing potential barriers that might undercut adoption and usability. The key pillars of our strategy were:

Rapid development: We focused on speed and efficiency, prioritizing features that delivered immediate value while leveraging shared infrastructure and tools to reduce costs and complexity.

Security by design: A secure site protects users and delivers long-term savings by preventing costly remediation. We employed tools and processes that were auditable and observable while reducing the possibility of security incidents.

Scalability: We drastically cut development time, effort, and investment by leveraging open-source tools, languages, formats, and libraries.

Data-driven QA: Accessibility, plain language, and rigorous testing were central to our process, enabling us to identify and address potential issues before launch.

Outcomes

To ensure our solution met diverse user needs, we built a multilingual site that was extremely fast, very secure, highly user-friendly, and respectful of user privacy. Early users found it easy to navigate and shared that they felt more confident understanding available support. One usability testing participant emphasized its potential impact if more people knew it existed—highlighting the need for continued outreach and visibility.

This project reminded us that technology doesn’t need to be flashy to be impactful—it just needs to meet people where they are, especially when they need help most.