At present, discussion about the welfare state crisis is underway in the European Union, which calls attention to the growing burden that the welfare state s post-war development represents for both the economy of the Union as a whole and for economies of individual member countries. It is particularly the liberals who warn of the unintended consequences of welfare state programmes, such as loss of work motivation in certain social strata and homogenisation of the poor (the difference between the traditionally distinct deserving and undeserving poverty is melting away). In addition, they draw attention to the wide-spread habit of missing social benefits by intelligible individuals. However, the opposite has been discussed recently as well. It is a phenomenon called non-take-up of social benefits which consists in a failure to draw social benefits by eligible claimants at whom the benefits are targeted. Non-take-up of social benefits can be perceived (considering the mentioned misuse of social benefits) as a crisis of welfare state targeting (the set goals are not being accomplished). The article presents information obtained in a questionnaire survey which focused on the existence of this phenomenon within the Czech population.