The Social Security Administration (“SSA”) provides benefits to certain people who are unable to work due to disability. Workers who have paid into the Social Security system are eligible to receive Social Security disability insurance (“SSDI”). SSDI may also provide benefits to a disabled individual’s dependents. In this article, we discuss Social Security disability benefits for dependents.
Who Is Eligible?
When one or both parents in a family qualify for SSDI, the whole family is often eligible to receive auxiliary benefits, which are also called dependents benefits. However, the family members of a disabled person who collects Supplemental Security Income (“SSI”) are not entitled to auxiliary benefits, as these benefits are only available to the families of certain SSDI recipients.
Benefits for Dependent Children
The dependent minor children of a disabled worker who receives SSDI are usually eligible for auxiliary benefits. In fact, dependent grandchildren are often eligible as well. If a dependent child is also disabled, he or she can continue to receive benefits for as long as the disability persists. In addition, adult children who become disabled before turning twenty-two years old are eligible for SSDI and SSI.
Benefits for a Spouse or Ex-Spouse
The spouse of a disabled SSDI recipient can receive benefits if the spouse is 62 years or age or older and isn’t eligible for Social Security benefits based on his or her own work record. In addition, the ex-spouse of a disabled worker may be able to receive benefits unless he or she remarries or can collect benefits based on his or her own record. However, in order to collect benefits, the ex-spouse’s marriage to the disabled worker must have lasted at least ten years.
Amount of Benefits
A disabled worker’s child and spouse can receive up to 50% of his or her monthly disability amount. However, the total of the spouse’s and children’s benefits cannot exceed the maximum family benefit, which is generally 150% of the disabled family member’s monthly SSDI benefit.
A divorced spouse’s benefits don’t count toward the family total unless the divorced spouse is the caregiver for a disabled or minor child of the disabled worker. In other words, the divorced spouse’s benefit will count towards the family total if he or she collects a mother’s or father’s benefit.
Contact Our El Paso SSDI and SSI Attorney
If you need assistance with SSDI or SSI, you should contact a Texas SSDI and SSI attorney as soon as possible for assistance. When you choose attorney Jon Sipes to handle your SSDI or SSI claim, he will walk you through the process and do everything in his power to ensure that your Social Security disability claim is successful. Jon Sipes regularly helps disabled individuals and their dependents obtain benefits under the SSDI and SSI programs. If you’re ready to get started, contact us today to schedule a consultation.