About a month ago, this blog discussed the possibility of children who are disabled receiving benefits through the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program. At that time, we hinted that there may be another way for a disabled person who has not worked to get benefits; that is, through his or her parent’s Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) eligibility. Below is a brief discussion of who may qualify for such benefits.
According to an SSA publication, the first requirement for an adult child to receive benefits under a parent’s social security account is that the child have a disability that started before he or she turned 22 years of age. Further, the parent must be receiving either SSDI or Social Security retirement benefits, or have died with eligibility for Social Security benefits. An adult child may also be eligible for benefits if he or she received dependent benefits based on a parent’s social security eligibility before the child turned 18, and was disabled at the time he or she turned 18. For example, when a parent begins receiving retirement benefits from Social Security, his or her 28-year-old child who has been disabled from birth may be eligible for benefits even if the child has never worked. These benefits will continue as long as the child remains disabled. Whether the adult child is disabled for the purposes of these benefits will be determined the same way the SSA would determine disability if he or she were applying to qualify for benefits on his or her own record.
These various rules may seem confusing at first, but a little research can help make it clear. Anyone who has further questions about qualifying for disability benefits may want to consider contacting an experienced Ohio Social Security disability attorney.