If you're retirement age with dependents, you could claim additional benefits
Posted on:9/1/2009
Written By: Chris Robideaux
| You could receive additional benefits if you're retired with minor children. It’s becoming more and more common for older people to have minor children in their care— whether by having their own children, taking over the care of grandchildren or adopting children who need responsible parents. |
You could receive additional benefits if you're retired with minor children. It’s becoming more and more common for older people to have minor children in their care— whether by having their own children, taking over the care of grandchildren or adopting children who need responsible parents. So it’s important to know that if you receive Social Security benefits and have minor children who depend on you, you might be able to receive benefits for them, too. This is true whether you receive benefits as a retiree or you receive Social Security disability or survivors’ benefits. To get benefits, a child must have a parent (or in some cases a grandparent) who is disabled or retired and entitled to Social Security benefits; or has died after having worked long enough in a job where he or she paid Social Security taxes. The child also must be unmarried; and younger than age18; or 18-19 years old and a full-time student (no higher than grade 12); or 18 or older and disabled. (The disability must have started before age 22.)
Within a family, a child may receive up to one-half of the parent’s full retirement or disability benefit, or 75 percent of the deceased parent’s basic Social Security benefit. However, there is a limit to the amount of money that can be paid to a family. The maximum family payment can be from 150 to 180 percent of the parent’s full benefit amount. If the total amount payable to all family members exceeds this limit, each child’s benefit is reduced proportionately until the total equals the maximum allowable amount.