Social Security: What About My Family?
If you are applying for Social Security Disability Insurance or Supplemental Security Income, you are likely aware that the premiums paid by both of these programs are not particularly high.
The average for SSDI payments is around 1000 dollars a month, while SSI is a bit lower than that.
This can be difficult for a single person to live on, let alone raising a family at the same time.
If you have dependants or a spouse, can they get payments as well? The Requirements The answer depends on the type of benefits you seek.
For Supplemental Security Income, the answer is no.
The only person who is entitled to supplemental benefits is the one who physically applied.
However, if you are applying for disability insurance and have dependents, you may be eligible for what Social Security calls auxiliary benefits.
Family members who are eligible for auxiliary benefits under Social Security Disability Insurance include spouses who are taking care of children under the age of sixteen, as well as dependent children.
In this case, a "dependent child" is defined as an unmarried child, and includes adopted children and sometimes grandchildren or stepchildren depending on the individual situation.
The child must be under the age of eighteen, or under the age of nineteen if it can be proved that he or she is attending elementary or middle school full time.
If you have an adult child that is also disabled, he or she may also be able to receive auxiliary benefits.
Should this be the case, the child must be unmarried, be eighteen or older, have a disability that began before the age of twenty two, and be currently considered disabled using the definition that is applied for adults - that is, being unable to work due to a severe medical condition.
If you have children or spouses that meet up with these requirements, you may indeed be able to get some extra money to help support them while you are receiving Social Security Disability Insurance payments.
The additional money that these auxiliary benefits hand out is not a windfall of money, but just a little bit extra that can help you and your family work through tough times.
Be sure to ask a lawyer or read up on the Social Security Administration's website regarding auxiliary benefits and who is eligible for them if you are interested in receiving these extra payments.
The average for SSDI payments is around 1000 dollars a month, while SSI is a bit lower than that.
This can be difficult for a single person to live on, let alone raising a family at the same time.
If you have dependants or a spouse, can they get payments as well? The Requirements The answer depends on the type of benefits you seek.
For Supplemental Security Income, the answer is no.
The only person who is entitled to supplemental benefits is the one who physically applied.
However, if you are applying for disability insurance and have dependents, you may be eligible for what Social Security calls auxiliary benefits.
Family members who are eligible for auxiliary benefits under Social Security Disability Insurance include spouses who are taking care of children under the age of sixteen, as well as dependent children.
In this case, a "dependent child" is defined as an unmarried child, and includes adopted children and sometimes grandchildren or stepchildren depending on the individual situation.
The child must be under the age of eighteen, or under the age of nineteen if it can be proved that he or she is attending elementary or middle school full time.
If you have an adult child that is also disabled, he or she may also be able to receive auxiliary benefits.
Should this be the case, the child must be unmarried, be eighteen or older, have a disability that began before the age of twenty two, and be currently considered disabled using the definition that is applied for adults - that is, being unable to work due to a severe medical condition.
If you have children or spouses that meet up with these requirements, you may indeed be able to get some extra money to help support them while you are receiving Social Security Disability Insurance payments.
The additional money that these auxiliary benefits hand out is not a windfall of money, but just a little bit extra that can help you and your family work through tough times.
Be sure to ask a lawyer or read up on the Social Security Administration's website regarding auxiliary benefits and who is eligible for them if you are interested in receiving these extra payments.