welfare vs assistance

welfare and assistance both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
welfare	Yes	No	No	No
assistance	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, assistance is a hypernym of welfare; that is, assistance is a word with a broader meaning than welfare:

welfare: governmental provision of economic assistance to persons in need
assistance: gift of money or other material help to support a person or cause

Other hypernyms of welfare include aid, economic aid, economic assistance, financial aid, financial assistance.

welfare (noun)	assistance (noun)
governmental provision of economic assistance to persons in need	the activity of contributing to the fulfillment of a need or furtherance of an effort or purpose
something that aids or promotes well-being	a person or thing that is a resource that helps make something easier or possible to do
a contented state of being happy and healthy and prosperous	gift of money or other material help to support a person or cause