If you have a child at home that you need additional income to help provide better care for, you may be able to get financial help from the Social Security Administration (SSA). Several situations are available to enable caregivers to get more Social Security dependent benefits to help with daily finances.
Qualifying for Social Security Benefits
Getting benefits from the SSA may depend on the child, the parents, or both. Qualified children must be unmarried and younger than 18. This age is extended to between 18 and 19 if they are full-time students in grade 12 or lower. The Social Security payments may continue until two months after the child becomes 19.Children with a disability can get Supplemental Security Income (SSI) when they have a physical or mental condition or are blind, which results in serious limitations of their abilities. Other SSI rules include that the condition is expected to last a minimum of one year or will possibly bring about the child’s death. Also, the household must have limited income and resources. A child can also get disability benefits if they are older than 18 if they became disabled before they reached 22.
