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Social Security benefits for adult children with a disability

On Behalf of | Aug 16, 2021 | Social Security Disability Insurance

Caring for a child with a disability can be challenging for parents in Chicago who simply want their child to have the best quality of life possible. Medical expenses, care expenses and other costs associated with raising a disabled child can be significant and can last well into adulthood. For this reason a disabled adult child may want to pursue Supplemental Security Income or Social Security disability benefits.

Benefits for adult children disabled before age 22

Sometimes a childhood disability lasts into adulthood. Adult children whose disability started before age 22 may be able to collect Social Security retirement or disability benefits based on their parent’s record if the parent is deceased or is currently receiving retirement or disability benefits. To do so your adult child must not be married, must be at least 18 years old, must have a disability that manifested itself before age 22 and must meet the definition of disability for adults.

Does my adult child need to have worked to receive benefits?

Adult children with a disability that began in childhood do not need to have worked to collect benefits based on their parent’s record. However, if your adult child does work they cannot earn more than $1,310 a month in 2021 in order to qualify for benefits. Certain expenses incurred by your adult child that make it possible for the adult child to work may be excluded from these earnings.

What happens if my adult child is currently receiving benefits?

If your adult child is currently receiving SSI or SSD benefits based on their own record, they should still look into the possibility of obtaining benefits based on their parent’s record. These benefits may be higher than the benefits your adult child is currently receiving and your adult child may also be entitled to Medicare benefits.

Learn more about disability benefits

The expenses an adult child with a disability incurs can be significant and can have a major impact on the adult child’s quality of life. For this reason, adult children who have been disabled since their childhood may want to pursue SSI or SSD benefits based on their parent’s record. Our firm’s webpage on disability benefits for adult children may be of interest to those in Chicago who want to learn more about this topic.