It can be challenging to care for a disabled child or teenager, especially for parents who have limited income and few resources to assist them or who suffer from a disability themselves. Fortunately, disability benefits and Social Security survivor benefits are available for children.
The Social Security Administration does offer benefits to children, primarily in the form of Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI). Children may also be eligible for payments based on survivor benefits.
Keep reading below as we discuss things you need to know about disability benefits for children.
SSI Benefits for Children
According to the requirements of the SSI program, your household, which consists of all of the persons who are named on the application for SSI and who live in your home, must have a low income and a restricted amount of resources.
These resources might include both financial benefits and resources that you own. However, not all of your earnings will be considered income.
The Benefit Eligibility Screening Tool allows you to enter your income and determine if you are eligible for SSI payments.
After a child turns 18, only their own assets and income will be considered. Even if your family’s income prevented them from receiving SSI when they were younger, they may be eligible now that they are adults.
The child must be severely limited in their everyday activities due to a disability (physical or mental) or a specific medical need. Under the guidelines set forth by the Social Security Administration, children under the age of 17 must have “marked and severe functional limitations.”
After reaching adulthood, the criteria shift to “an inability to do any substantial gainful activity,” such as working.
Your child’s condition must either already have lasted for at least a year or be expected to last for a year or longer. Your family may be eligible for special assistance if the child’s illness is terminal. Payments from SSI can begin before a child is formally approved for the program if the child has a certain disability or unique medical needs.
SSDI Benefits for Children
Also, a child who does not have a disability but whose parent receives SSDI benefits or whose parent was eligible for these benefits before they passed away may also be eligible for these benefits themselves.
The term for this type of benefit is “dependent benefits” or “auxiliary benefits.” If there is no surviving parent, the grandchild or step-grandchild may still be entitled to dependent benefits in specific circumstances.
A child is considered a dependent if they are:
- Unmarried
- Under the age of 18
- Between the ages of 18 and 19 and still a high school student
A child who is disabled and whose parent is receiving or was entitled to SSDI payments is likewise eligible for these benefits. They need to be 18 or older and have an impairment that had its onset prior to the age of 22.
Even if the child is an adult, the government treats these benefits as “child’s” benefits because they receive their Social Security benefits through their parent’s earnings record.
Personal information, including your Social Security number and medical history, will be required when you apply for SSDI benefits. If your child has a disability, you will also be required to disclose information regarding their medical condition as well as their medical history.
Your child may be eligible to receive up to 50% of the whole amount of the disability benefit paid to the parent if the application for those benefits is successful.
There is no standard wait time for disability benefits approval. The duration of the procedure might range from around 30 days to over a year.
The Social Security Administration puts the average decision time at between three and five months. It may depend on how quickly your doctors reply to the SSA’s request for medical records.
Things to Know About Disability Benefits for Children
Following is a list of things you need to know about disability benefits for children.
1. Adult Child Benefits
Disabled children can receive additional support in the form of adult child benefits. If your child becomes disabled at age 18 or is disabled before age 22, their eligibility for SSDI-dependent benefits can potentially be continued for the duration of the disability.
However, the child must match the SSA’s adult criteria for disability in order to continue receiving these SSDI benefits after reaching the age of 18.
There are cases in which adult child benefits begin for the child when they are significantly older than 18 or 22 years old. This happens when the parent starts receiving Social Security disability benefits at a later date, which then makes the disabled child eligible for payments.
2. Your Child May Start Receiving Immediate Benefits
The agency’s decision on your child’s eligibility for disability benefits could take up to five months to process. However, the Social Security Administration may start paying disabled children monthly benefits right away if they have a disabling condition.
If a child who is receiving immediate SSI does not end up meeting the eligibility requirements, they do not have to pay back the money they received.
3. Disabling Conditions for Children
A few conditions that qualify as disabling for children are:
- Complete blindness
- Complete deafness
- Cerebral Palsy
- Cystic Fibrosis
- Down Syndrome
- Muscular Dystrophy
- Spinal problems
- Cancer
- HIV infection
- A birth weight of less than 2 pounds, 10 ounces
- Autism
- ADD or ADHD
Even if you don’t meet the income or asset requirements for SSI benefits yourself, your disabled child (if below the age of 18) may be eligible to receive these payments if your family meets the necessary criteria.
4. Additional Help for Kids with Disabilities
There are other benefits available for children with disabilities and their families. These include:
TANF (Temporary Aid for Needy Families)
TANF is a program that helps families with limited resources provide for their children at home by offering temporary cash aid and other services.
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
SNAP (previously known as food stamps) is a program that helps those on low incomes and with limited resources buy food with the help of a debit card. It is provided to households that satisfy the standards for household eligibility that are imposed by the state in which they reside.
SNAP is available to both children and adults with disabilities, but there are additional requirements that must be met in order to qualify.
Pensions from the VA
When determining eligibility for the various VA benefits, the fact that the veteran has a child who is dependent on them is taken into consideration.
The Veterans Aid and Attendance program makes monetary assistance accessible to disabled veterans who have a limited income; this assistance is boosted if the veteran also has children who are financially dependent on them.
Medicaid
In the majority of states, Medicaid eligibility is determined automatically for a child with a disability who is receiving SSI benefits. In some areas, the child might qualify for the program if the family’s income and resources meet the program’s requirements.
Medicaid Waiver
The Medicaid waiver program enables states to provide services to persons who, under normal conditions, would not qualify for Medicaid. People who are eligible for a waiver may be able to receive in-home care rather than placement in a nursing home.
Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP)
This program is known by a variety of titles, depending on the state of residence.
Individuals under the age of 19 whose families do not have the financial resources to pay for private health insurance but whose incomes are too high to qualify for Medicaid can take advantage of this program.
5. Continuing Disability Reviews
Adults and children who receive Social Security payments, whether SSI or SSDI, are subject to periodic Continuing Disability Reviews by Social Security to determine whether or not they remain disabled from a condition that qualifies them for disability benefits.
A child’s eligibility for disability benefits must be reviewed at least once every three years for children under the age of 18 whose symptoms are likely to improve. For children who are born with low birth weight, the review process for SSDI begins at the age of one.
When your child turns 18, they are considered an adult, and the Social Security Administration will make a determination regarding whether or not they are eligible to continue receiving disability payments as an adult.
Their financial situation and the resources they have available will also be taken into consideration while reviewing their medical condition.
6. Duration of Benefits
The duration of benefits may vary based on the circumstances of your case.
For SSDI
It is very likely that your children will continue to get SSDI-dependent payments right up to the month before they reach 18 years old in so far as you remain eligible for and receive SSDI benefits.
If at that point in time, they are still enrolled in high school, they will continue to get their benefits until one of the following occurs: they graduate from high school; they stop attending school; or they reach the age of 19. The benefits will stop under these circumstances.
One possible exception to this rule is if your child also has a disability. If your child has a disability and is still dependent on you, then they are eligible to continue receiving dependent payments from Social Security as long as the Social Security Administration makes the determination that your child has a disability.
However, you should probably address this possibility with either the claims agent who handles your case or a disability attorney, particularly if your child has ever worked a job. It’s possible that you’ll be able to collect more benefits if you have them file for benefits based on their own personal work history.
Many of the parents who are eligible for SSDI because of a chronic or fatal illness worry about the fate of their children’s dependent benefits in the event that they pass away.
If you pass away before your child turns 18 or finishes high school, they will remain eligible for benefits up until the point at which they no longer fulfill the age requirement.
For SSI
Your child will continue to receive SSI benefits until the age of 18 as long as they are approved for the program.
In most cases, a person’s eligibility for SSI benefits as a child is terminated at the age of 18, although a person under the age of 22 who is still actively enrolled in elementary or secondary school may be deemed a “child” for benefit reasons.
Your child needs to submit a new SSI application after they are 18 years old. It’s possible that Social Security Administration officials will ask your child to provide more evidence that they have a disability or a special medical requirement that makes them eligible for SSI benefits.
The most significant change, however, concerns the financial requirements for eligibility. Your adult child’s application for SSI will either be approved or denied by the Social Security Administration solely on the basis of their income, the amount of savings they have, and the value of specific assets they own.
Your family’s financial situation will be irrelevant at this point.
7. Student Earned Income Exclusion (SEIE)
SSI includes a set of rules known as exclusions that allow you to earn a certain amount of money without causing your benefits to be reduced or terminated. The Student Earned Income Exclusion (SEIE) is a major exclusion because it exempts the first $2,220 of monthly earnings or $8,950 of annual earnings for students.
You must be under 22 years old, have a job, and be enrolled full-time to be eligible for the SEIE. In most cases, this indicates that you are required to attend school more than eight hours per week for college students, a minimum of 12 hours per week for students in grades 7-12, or spend 12-15 hours a week doing job-related training.
If you stop attending school, you will no longer be eligible for the SEIE, and the amount of SSI payments you receive will be less than they would have been if you had continued your education.
It’s a great incentive that encourages children to continue their studies. The SEIE helps you out financially, and a college diploma usually leads to a better-paying job after graduation.
8. Time Required to Process an Application
It could take three to five months for Disability Determination Services to decide whether or not your child qualifies for disability benefits after submitting a claim. You will get a letter in the mail explaining the outcome.
If the child’s medical history isn’t fully documented, the process could take longer. A claims examiner might set up a child’s medical checkup if the state insists on more evidence of the child’s health.
Conclusion
Social Security is responsible for financially assisting disabled individuals, whether they be adults or children. To make sure that you build a strong case for your child’s application, it is recommended to consult a Social Security Disability attorney.
