Although the availability of social support and psychological attachment to work have been shown to influence�t mental well-being in unemployment, the main determinant suggested in research is economic strain. Yet, though the level of state support in unemployment is the most crucial determinant of economic strain, there has been little research on the impact of welfare benefit regime on mental well-being among the unemployed. In this paper we compare the impact of benefit regime by comparing unemployed in Britain, Ireland and Sweden. We find that the type of benefit received is an important determinant of mental distress with income replacement benefits being more beneficial than flat rate benefits. Results also show that different systems differentially impact on different groups with income replacement benefits tending to maintain preunemployment differences in distress and flat rate benefits equalising these differences.