Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) is a program intended for people whose disabilities prevent them from retaining employment. But payouts can be quite low, and it might be difficult to survive on SSDI alone. As such, many SSDI beneficiaries wonder whether it’s possible to get more money from SSDI if they have a child.
The good news is that you are eligible for more money from SSDI if you have a child. This can be obtained through family benefits. Furthermore, if you have a child who is disabled, they can also qualify for SSDI under your work record.
Keep reading below as we discuss more details about SSDI’s benefits for children.
SSDI Overview
Those who have worked and paid into Social Security through their paychecks but are no longer able to due to disability before reaching the age of 62 are eligible to collect payments from SSDI. In the event the recipient passes away, their next of kin may be eligible to receive the retroactive SSDI payment.
Their employment and income histories both play a role in determining the amount of the monthly benefit to which they are entitled.
There are periodic increases to the SSDI payment amount to account for rising prices. The average monthly payment in June 2022 was $1,361.68, as reported by the Social Security Administration.
Disabled workers are the only ones eligible for SSDI benefits, and a disability is defined as a condition that is expected to remain for at least 12 months or result in death. The individual must also be unable to work as a result of their condition.
While there is a wide range of medical issues that may qualify for disability benefits, the SSA is very careful about who gets granted disability benefits.
How Does Social Security Calculate SSDI Benefits?
There is more work involved in calculating your Social Security Disability Insurance benefit each month than there is in doing the same for Supplemental Security Income (SSI). To begin, remember that SSI is a need-based program that does not consider a person’s employment or income status in determining eligibility or payment.
To be eligible for SSDI, you must have “insured” yourself by earning a sufficient number of work credits. To qualify for work credits, you must have paid Social Security taxes on earnings or income from self-employment via income taxes or by declaring self-employment income and filing the taxes on your federal tax return.
One work credit is equal to every $1,470 in covered wages. Each year, you can accumulate up to four credits. In 2023, each credit will cost a total of $1,640. To be eligible for Social Security Disability Insurance benefits, you need to have earned at least 40 credits.
However, your age at the time you become disabled will determine the number of credits you need to qualify.
A person who is 30 years old when they become disabled may be eligible for Social Security Disability Insurance with only eight work credits, while a worker who is 50 years old when they become disabled may require a total of seven years of work or 28 work credits to be eligible.
Once you’ve earned enough credits to be eligible for SSDI, neither your disability’s severity nor your overall number of work credits will affect the amount you receive each month.
To calculate your Social Security Disability Insurance benefits, Social Security will take the average of your earnings from all of the jobs you’ve worked or from self-employment in which you contributed to Social Security taxes.
This means that the amount of money you receive from SSDI each month is not predetermined. Rather, the amount each worker receives from Social Security is determined by a convoluted formula.
In 2021, the average SSDI benefit was $1,358 per month, according to SSA data. In 2023, the average SSDI benefit will be $1,483, with the highest possible monthly benefit being up to $3,627.
How Does the Government Decide if a Child is Disabled?
In order for your child to get SSDI disability benefits, they must first meet a list of criteria.
- You must provide evidence that your child has a severe functional restriction due to a physical or mental condition.
- The child’s debilitating condition must be terminal or expected to continue for a minimum of one year.
- Additionally, in order to be eligible for the child’s benefits, the child, stepchild, or grandchild who has become financially dependent on you is required to be unmarried, at least 18 years old, and have had disabilities or special medical care needs that began before the age of 22.
- You must also be receiving adult benefits from Social Security, either through retirement or disability. This may happen if one of the parents has a disability or if the parent has passed away and there are survivor benefits available.
For example, here is a case in point:
At age 62, an employee is eligible to begin receiving Social Security retirement payments. His son, now 38 years old, was born with cerebral palsy. Because of his father’s work history, the boy is eligible to receive a disability payment.
A non-blind child cannot earn more than $1,470 per month through work or other means. In most cases, this figure is revised every year.
A blind child cannot earn more than $2460 per month and still be eligible for assistance. Claim examiners will also take the family’s assets and earnings into consideration while making their determinations.
SSDI Payment Amount for a Child
If you are eligible for Social Security Disability Insurance, your monthly benefit payment will be a percentage of the amount of your “covered earnings” (income on which you contributed to Social Security taxes) as indexed over your working life (your Average Indexed Monthly Earnings, or AIME).
A child who receives a Social Security child benefit based on their parent’s earnings record can get up to half of their parent’s monthly payment. Therefore, as a disabled parent, the greater your AIME, the more your child’s SSDI benefits will be each month.
Consider the case of a disabled parent whose AIME is $3,000. An SSDI payment could provide you with about $1,500 monthly and your child with about $750.
If your pre-disability income was $6,000 per month, your AIME could be $3,000, and your disability benefit would be about $2,750. In that case, the monthly benefit your child could receive is close to $1,250.
However, let’s say that your earnings record (as a disabled person) is being used to pay Social Security benefits to more than one family member. If your family earns more than the annual maximum allowed by the Social Security Administration, your children’s benefits will be reduced in accordance with the SSA’s formula.
Can My Child Lose SSDI Benefits?
Your child’s SSDI benefits may be terminated if any of the following happen:
- They begin working.
- There is an improvement in their health, and they can return to work.
- They disregard medical advice that could restore their capacity to work (such as skipping physical therapy).
- They failed to notify the Social Security Administration of their change of residence after moving.
- They spent more than 30 consecutive days in jail because of a criminal conviction.
Different Benefits for Children with Disabilities
Children with disabilities are entitled to a number of benefits, some of which are discussed in this section.
Survivors Benefit for Children
When a parent receiving SSDI disability payments passes away, their dependent minor children may be entitled to a survivor’s benefit if the deceased parent has enough social security credits to qualify for benefits at the time of death.
The maximum monthly benefit that can be awarded to a family is 75% of the amount that the parent receives for each of their dependent children.
Benefits for Disabled Adult Children
Most adults who become disabled as children do not have sufficient job history to be eligible for disability benefits under their own social security records. However, a parent’s work history with social security may still help them get disability benefits.
This benefit is called a “child benefit,” even though your child is already an adult, because it is calculated using the parent’s work history for Social Security purposes. A disabled adult child can increase their lifetime benefit payout by thousands of dollars by claiming disability based on their parent’s work history.
Your child may be eligible for disability benefits based on your work history if he or she is over the age of 18, single, and not enrolled in a schooling program. The following prerequisites must be satisfied to be eligible:
- The onset of the crippling medical condition must have occurred before the child turned 22 years old.
- The adult child must satisfy Social Security’s “disability” criteria for an adult.
If your child meets the requirements for SSDI benefits as an adult disabled child, he or she may be eligible for far higher monthly payments than those provided under SSI.
An experienced SSDI lawyer may be consulted if your child was diagnosed with an impairment prior to the age of 22 and you want to learn more about your options for receiving disability benefits.
Maximum Family Benefit
A disabled parent’s dependent child may be eligible for a monthly payment of up to half the entire amount. However, there is a limit to how much in disability benefits a family can receive.
There is a limit on how much money a family can get from Social Security Disability Insurance if multiple people in it get monthly cash benefits.
When the SSDI payments for two or more children (or a single kid and a qualifying spouse) are totaled up, the total frequently exceeds the maximum family benefit limit.
The Maximum Family Benefit (MFB) varies depending on the circumstances, but it is normally 150% of the SSDI benefit amount for the disabled parent. A family member applying for dependent benefits will never result in a reduction in your SSDI benefits (as the disabled parent or the “claimant”).
Therefore, a divorced parent who is liable for providing child support has no grounds to contest a child’s application for the child’s benefit.
Your maximum family benefit is governed by four rules if one of you is disabled:
- Your MFB cannot exceed 85% of your AIME, which refers to the sum of all your past years’ income and is something that you can obtain from the SSA.
- Your SSDI monthly benefit amount (also known as your “primary insurance amount,” or PIA) cannot be less than your MFB.
- The maximum family benefit is limited to 150% of the PIA.
- Your maximum family benefit will not include any disability or old-age benefits given to a divorced spouse (your ex).
Suppose that the sum of all family members’ benefits is more than the MFB. In that case, the benefits of each family member will be lowered (excluding yours, as the disabled parent), until the sum of all family members’ benefits is equal to the MFB.
It’s possible that your minor child won’t receive even half of your benefit if the family maximum applies.
Additional Benefits for Children with Disabilities
Families of children with disabilities may be eligible for several additional benefits, including:
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
This program offers low-income parents interim cash support as well as other services to help them care for their kids at home.
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
This program, formerly known as food stamps, helps low-income people make food purchases through an electronic debit card. Families who satisfy the household eligibility conditions established by their state are eligible for this program.
Although there are specific eligibility requirements for people with disabilities, SNAP is not just for kids or adults with disabilities.
Pensions from the VA
When determining eligibility for the various VA benefits, the fact that the veteran has a dependent child is taken into consideration. Veterans Aid and Attendance is a cash payment that is made available to veterans with disabilities who have a low income.
The amount of this payment increases if the veteran has a child who is financially dependent on them.
Medicaid
Most states instantly qualify disabled children who receive SSI for Medicaid. In some states, the eligibility of the child is determined by whether the parental income and family resources match the requirements.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is possible for a parent to receive more benefits from different programs if they have a child, including SSDI. It is important that you discuss these options with a social security advocate or a lawyer to figure out which one is the best option for your case.
