Social security disability benefits for dependents – Social Security Benefits for Child of Disabled Parent – Disabled Parents with Dependent Children SSDI Benefits – The SSA has designed two Government Programs for Low-Income Families and their children: the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI). While the Social Security Disability Insurance offers financial support to individuals who are physically incapable or injured to support themselves as well as their families, the Supplemental Security Income Program offers financial assistance on a limited basis to eligible families who have restricted means to support themselves and their families.
There are social security advantages that a child can get for a parent who is disabled. There are few eligibility criteria for getting the advantages of social security for the children. This guide will throw light on social security benefits for children of disabled parents.
Highlights of this Post
What is Social Security Disability?
Eligible disabled workers can supplement income to cover their basic needs like food, clothing, and electricity with the help of Social Security benefits. Workers who have an injury or suffer from serious illnesses can qualify to receive SSDI or Social Security Disability Insurance Benefits until retirement.
In the state of New York, around 504,000 disabled and blind employees collect SSDI monthly payments to cover their needs. If a serious illness or disability is preventing you from working and supporting your family and children, your family can be eligible to receive a particular percentage of SSDI benefits.
Can A Child Receive SSDI Benefits For Disabled Parents?
Yes, a child of a disabled parent can receive SSDI benefits under certain limitations. The child can collect a part of the SSDI benefits which are known as auxiliary or dependent benefits if one or both the disabled parents are unable to work.
The guardian or parents should have accumulated adequate work credit to apply for SSDI benefits. In some cases children receive up to 50% of their parent’s total disability allowance. SSI or Social Security Administration allows eligibility for both children and parents to receive Social Security benefits.
It is important to note that depending on the type of disability benefits the parents are already receiving, the dependents may be prohibited from getting the same benefits.
Family Members Who Qualify To Receive SSDI Benefits
Once an individual becomes qualified to receive SSDI benefits his or her eligible family members can receive benefits. The eligibility criteria of the family members to receive benefits include the following.
- A spouse aged 62 or above
- A spouse of any age taking care of her child who is disabled or below 16 years
- Your dependent is younger than 18 or younger than 19 and attending high school including stepchildren, adopted children, and grandchildren
- An unmarried child who is 18 years or above in age and has a qualifying disability
- If you’re receiving SSDI benefits then your ex will also be eligible to get payments.
Eligibility Criteria To Qualify For Parent’s Social Security Benefits?
A lot of people wonder if children of disabled parents are entitled to receive cash benefits through SSDI. Parent Social Security benefits are received by biological, adopted, and even stepchildren. This privilege is also extended to grandchildren and step-grandchildren in some cases.
Children can qualify for their Parents’ Social Security Benefits if they are below 18 or 19 years old and are enrolled in a high school full-time. Once they turn 18 years old they will be no longer eligible to collect monthly SSI benefits unless they have a personal disability of their own.
Following are the eligibility criteria to get the social security advantages for the children of the disabled parents.
- On retirement parents are given a certification as being disabled
- Children are not married
- Children attend a full-time school and are of 18 or 19 years age and need help financially.
- The disability of the child began at the age of 18 i.e. before they turned 22.
Also learn Grants for Parents With a Disabled Child
How To Apply For Social Security Benefits For A Child Of Disabled Parent?
It is a very simple and easy process to apply for the social security advantage for your child. The first and foremost thing which you need to have is a social security number. Plus, your child will also need a social security number along with a birth certificate which is valid.
To file for Social Security Child’s Benefits you need to contact the Social Security Administration online or visit a local SSA office. The next step requires you to provide multiple documents as proof while applying for SSDI benefits for children. The records will verify the parentage of your disability and the identities of the recipients.
In case if your child doesn’t have a social security number then you must get it. To submit the social security administration the social security number is needed and it is strongly recommended.
In case if you are a student and your age is also 18 years and above then you will have to submit certain documents supporting and proving that you are enrolled as a student.
Also, depending on your circumstances you may need to give more documents about your household, financial and medical condition. These documents would be asked to submit if the administration department of social security thinks that they are needed to ascertain your eligibility.
Documents To File For Social Security Child’s Benefits
A lot of people who go through the procedure recommend scheduling appointments to avoid delays. It is a wise decision to hire a Social Security Disability lawyer who can communicate with SSA insurance agents, representatives, and other important parties on your behalf.
Following are the relevant documents that you need to submit to apply for Social Security-dependent benefits.
- Birth certificates of children
- Child Social Security number
- Documents confirming the citizenship or lawful residency of the child
- Parents’ marriage certificate or records of adoption
- Relevant work records for instance W2 if the child is earning any income from another source.
The Social Security Administration generally accepts copies of relevant documents like W2 forms and medical records. You are also required to provide original birth certificates and identification documents for consideration.
Also learn Child organizations That Help Children’s in need – Children NGOS.
What Are The SSA Benefits For Children Of Disabled Parents?
The Social Security Administration provides monthly benefits to millions of children every year whose parents are retired, disabled, or have passed away. The children of deceased or disabled parents are entitled to receive the benefits that will help them to get financial stability and graduate from high school.
There are primarily two types of benefits that a child of a disabled parent can collect such as the following
1. Auxiliary Benefits
The auxiliary benefits for children of disabled children are awarded to financially dependent children based on the Social Security record of a disabled guardian or parent receiving SSDI benefits. A dependent can receive disability benefits irrespective of whether he or she is disabled or not. The benefits are derived from the disability records of their parents.
Eligibility Criteria
To be eligible for auxiliary benefits the child should be related to the SSDI recipients in any one of the following ways.
- Being a biological child ( the marital status of parents is unimportant however maternity should be established to receive auxiliary SSA benefits for children of disabled parents)
- Being an adopted child
- Being a grandchild or step-grandchild. (This case is possible when there are no living guardians or parents in the life of the child)
It is important to note that children of disabled parents who collect SSI aren’t entitled to receive auxiliary benefits since the capacity for the eligible parent or guardian to support their children still exists. Moreover, if the child marries before turning 18 years of age then his or her SSA benefits will stop.
2. Personal Disability Benefits
SSA benefits for children of disabled parents can come in the form of personal benefits. To be eligible for their SSI disability benefits you need to be disabled or blind and satisfy the essential eligibility criteria.
Eligibility Criteria
- Age
You can receive SSA personal disability benefits if you are less than 18 years of age.
- Financial Status
Work records are used for determining the eligibility criteria to qualify for SSI benefits. SSA benefits for children will be determined based on the records of their parent’s work.
A part of their income and resources will be considered as a viable income source for the child as long as the guardian is not receiving SSI benefits.
Even if the parent is receiving SSI benefits the child may be eligible to receive the benefits based on disability conditions however the amount of assistance will be calculated based on the financial need.
- Condition Severity
You are required to satisfy the eligibility criteria for child disability impairments as determined by SSA. Once you reach 18 years your benefits will be reevaluated under the SSA adult impairment regulations. Children with visual impairment will be eligible to receive SSI benefits based on their blindness in case the impairment meets the standards or definition for the condition.
How Much Can A Child Of Disabled Parents Receive In SSA Disability Benefits?
Children who are unmarried and also financially dependent on their disabled parents can receive Social Security disability benefits if they can fulfill the eligibility criteria set by the department. Once approved, the amount of financial assistance will be based on the disabled parents’ Social Security lifetime earning record. The child will be eligible to receive half of the guardian’s or parents’ monthly SSDI benefits.
But if any other family member is receiving the Social Security benefits based on the same lifetime earning records of the disabled parent a child’s benefit amount will be subjected to a household maximum amount and will be less than 50% of the disabled guardian’s SSDI benefits.
To learn more about how a child of disabled parents receive SSDI benefits you can contact the Social Security Administration by visiting its official website of www.ssa.gov or call 1-800-772-1213. It is important to have the Social Security number of both the disabled parent and the child and give proof of the child’s birth certificate or proof of adoption to SSA.
Limitation On How Much A Child Of A Disabled Parent Can Receive It’s The Same Benefits
The Social Security Administration will pay only between 150% to 180% of the disability benefit amount to family members of disabled parents or workers. Each child can qualify for a maximum of up to 50% of their parent’s disability benefit amount.
In case your monthly SSI benefit amount is around $1200 your child will receive the dependent amount of up to $600. This is 150% of your SSI benefit amount. In case you have two children then SSA will not pay out an additional $600 for your other child. Instead, SSA will split the dependent benefit of $600.00 between two children paying $300 to each child.
This limitation is not only for children of disabled parents but all the family members who may qualify to receive dependent benefits. Few examples include
- Spouse who is unable to work and is over 62 years old or care for a dependent child
- Parents who are dependent on you for support and care
- Grandchildren in your care.
SSA will not reduce the SSI benefits based on the family limits of disabled workers or parents but it will cut the benefits paid to every qualified member of your family proportionally until the total household is under 150% to 180% limit.
What To Expect While Communicating With The Social Security Administration?
The Social Security Administration will confirm the additional details about your dependents before accepting the application form. The living conditions of the household will determine how much a child will qualify for assistance. For instance, the SSA may ask the following questions
- Is the child single, married, or divorced?
- How long has the child lived with the parent?
- Is one or both the parents of the child disabled?
- Has anyone else in the household file for the Supplemental Security Income or Social Security benefits on behalf of the dependent?
Children who are applying for survivor benefits are required to verify their parent’s wages or employment. If your disabled parent has served in the armed forces or military before then you need to confirm the eligibility and provide proof of relevant documents to SSA.
You can contact the Social Security disability attorney and seek answers to your specific questions. The dependents of disabled parents under 18 years can collect survivor benefits if their parent on SSDI passes away. The payments can be as high as 75% of the parent’s disability compensation or full retirement as per the Social Security Administration.
Conclusion
Government Grants for disabled are always to help them. SSDI not only offers financial assistance to workers every month who become disabled but also pays benefits to their eligible family members, especially on the death of the worker on the job. Eligible spouses and their children can receive up to 50% of the monthly benefits of disabled parents. Children who qualify are dependent on a living parent who receives SSDI benefits or as a survivor of the deceased worker. The benefit is up to 50% of their parent’s benefit if the parent is living or up to 75% if the parent is deceased.
Frequently Asked Questions
If I Die Will My Child Continue To Receive Dependent Benefits?
Yes, this is possible and it is called a survivorship benefit. Whenever you will die, your child is entitled to get the dependent i.e. survivorship benefit. These benefits are for you if you have natural children, stepchildren, or adopted children. But there is also an eligibility criterion for the same after you die or a parent dies.
How Much Shall Your Child Receive in Social Security Benefits?
Every qualifying family member of the disabled worker can receive 50% of the amount that the beneficiaries get, however the total payment made to the household cannot be more than 150% of the disabled individual’s benefit. Generally the percentage of advantage given to the disabled person ranges from 150% to 180%. To qualify children need to be below 18 years, unmarried, or disabled.