Will Your Children Receive Additional Benefits if You Qualify for Social Security Disability?

Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) provides financial assistance to individuals who have become disabled and are no longer able to work. If you become eligible for SSDI your dependent children also may also be eligible to receive additional family benefits based on your SSDI eligibility.

Your eligible child can be your biological child, adopted child, step-child or a dependent grandchild. To qualify, your child must be unmarried and either:

under the age of 18;

between the ages of 18 and 19 and still in high school; or

over the age of 18 and have a disability that started before the age of 22.

The amount of the dependent benefit is based on your own SSDI benefit amount. A child may receive up to 50% of your SSDI benefit. However, there is a limit to the amount of money in dependent benefits that can be paid out to any single family, which is known as the family maximum. The family maximum is typically between 150% and 180% of your SSDI benefit amount.

Normally, dependent benefits continue a child reaches age 18 (unless they also are disabled). However, if the child remains a full-time student, benefits may continue until the child graduates or until two months after the child becomes age 19, whichever is first.