Material deprivation is high on the political agenda in Europe and part of the agreed benchmarks in the EU social inclusion process. This study analyses the link between social assistance benefit levels and material deprivation in European countries. It is shown that the relationship between assistance and deprivation is negative, indicating that material deprivation is less extensive in countries with higher benefit levels. The influence of other relevant contextual effects does not change this relationship to any serious extent. There was no clear effect of public services or active labour market policy on material deprivation, factors essential in the EU discussion on poverty and social inclusion. The results demonstrate that the role of social assistance in combating material hardships should perhaps be strengthened in future EU policy frameworks. The empirical analyses are based on data from the EU-SILC and the SaMip dataset, covering 26 European countries.