The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 5 plus 5 letter word MEANS TESTS
I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
M
E
A
N
S
T
E
S
T
S
More clues leading to the result MEANS TESTS
- Reluctant to give way: sets new checks on income
- Checks on earnings European raised in chap’s seed producers
- These may let slip men’s states
- How to allocate men’s state benefits conclusively?
- Assessments of chap’s gonads promoting energy
- Malicious Head of State examines checks that could assess how much benefit one receives
- Statesmen failed to hold small financial checks
- Trials worth investigating?
- Financial reviews of internationals by Mensa in a mess
- Part of crown jewels lifting Spain’s asset ratings
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "that could assess how much benefit one receives" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case that could assess how much benefit one receives = means tests.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.