When your Social Security Child’s benefit grows up

People who are born with disabling conditions such as genetic disorders or people who are diagnosed with conditions in early childhood such as often autism spectrum disorder, generally progress through different Social Security Disability benefits as they move from one stage of life to another.  Generally, the person first becomes eligible for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) at age 18.  SSI requires no work history, but it does require an impairment or combination of impairments that fulfills the Social Security Administration’s “disabled under our rules” criteria.  It also requires low income and few assets, and conditions that are easier to meet when the youth turns 18 and family finances no longer matter.  Once the youth has SSI, if s/he starts to work, s/he may accumulate enough credits to be eligible for Social Security Disability Insurance, or SSDI, which requires a work history.  Finally, when a parent files for Social Security retirement benefits, the adult child with a disability becomes eligible for Childhood Disability Benefits (CDB), also known as Disabled Adult Child (DAC) benefits.

Some youth with disabilities may follow a different trajectory, based on the specific family situation.  One example of this is a youth who becomes eligible for a Social Security child’s benefit as a minor child whose parent is disabled, retired, or deceased.  In this case, the youth up until her/his 18^th birthday is eligible for this cash benefit because s/he is a minor child and dependent of a worker who was fully insured for Social Security benefits.  Note that for Social Security purposes, a child, who is the legal (biological or legally adopted) child of a worker, is considered her/his dependent regardless of whether the child lives with the parent and regardless of how much the parent provides financially.  Typically, these cash benefits, which are based on the parent (insured worker)-child relationship, end when the child turns 18 or, if the child is a full-time high school student, when the child turns 19 and/or graduates high school.  The parent or guardian of the soon-to-be-18-year-old child receives an “Advance notice of cessation of benefits” notice that includes a form on which to provide information if the child is still attending high school.

The exception to this is when the child is “disabled” under the Social Security Administration’s rules.  When a youth who is 18 years or older has impairments that meet the Social Security rules for “having a disability”, and s/he has a parent who is claiming Social Security disability or retirement benefits or is deceased and was currently insured under Social Security rules at the time of death, the youth is eligible for so-called Childhood Disability Benefits (CDB) also known as Disabled Adult Child benefits (DAC).  For a youth, who had been receiving benefits on a parent’s work record as a minor child, CDB/DAC works like an indefinite continuation of those minor child’s benefits, which would otherwise have stopped.  Although the dollar amount of the benefit paid will be the same before and after the youth turns 18, the criteria after 18 are new.  At that inflection point, the youth must provide sufficient evidence that s/he is disabled to the degree that Social Security requires. 

In this case, once the parent receives the “Advance Notice of Termination of Child’s Benefits”, s/he should assist the now-turning-18 child to contact the local Social Security office and provide documentation supporting the disability claim.  Such documentation varies depending on the nature of the disabling conditions but frequently includes Individual Educations Plans from the child’s school along with behavior plans or communication plans as applicable; psychological or neuropsychological evaluations; physical, occupational, vocational, or functional behavioral evaluations, as well as medical records.  If the disabling condition is genetic, it is helpful to have a karyotype report or analysis.  If the youth is working, it will also be necessary to provide paystubs that demonstrate that the youth is not working at a “substantial, gainful” level.  While not strictly required, it can be useful to submit also the form SSA 4 BK “Application for Child’s Insurance Benefits”.  This may seem confusing because the youth who is “applying” is already receiving child’s benefits.  However, the form is a good way to pull together relevant information about the now-or-soon-to-be-18-year-old youth including her/his relationship to the person whose work record underlies the claim (biological child, adopted child, stepchild, or dependent grandchild), the parent-worker’s Social Security number, that parent-worker’s state of life (disabled, retired or deceased) and the youth’s current or expected earned income.  There is also room on the form for direct-deposit information.

Social Security benefits payable to a minor child are predicated solely on the fact that the child is a minor.  Social Security benefits payable to a disabled adult child require that the child’s disabling conditions limit her/his capacity for employment.  It is important that families understand this distinction.  A minor child’s benefits will only terminate due to age, but disabled-adult-child benefits, like any other Social Security Disability benefit, may be terminated if the recipient demonstrates a capacity for employment that is substantial and gainful.  Youth and their families will want to be educated on the multi-step process that the Social Security Administration uses to make a  Substantial Gainful Activity (SDA) determination so as to make informed choices that maximize the youth’s capacity to work while maintaining eligibility for benefits.  Youth and families will also want to look out for Medicare eligibility, which will occur 24 months after the CDB/DAC benefits have started.