I occasionally get emails from readers commenting on the fact that children of retirees qualify for Social Security benefits. Sometimes, their comments reflect surprise that a retiree’s kids can get benefits. And other times, they reflect dismay that these kids can get those benefits in the first place.
All I can tell those who are dismayed is that benefits for a retiree’s dependents have been around since the very beginning of the program almost 90 years ago. Most of the time, that dependent is a spouse. But there are more than a few older folks who, once they reach Social Security age, still have one or more minor children still at home. And of course, most of the time I’m talking about male retirees. I say that because of simple biological facts. It would be very rare for a woman in her 60s to have a child who is 18 years old or younger (18 is the usual cutoff age for children to qualify for Social Security dependents’ benefits). But it is not all that unusual for an older man to have young kids at home.
