There’s a Reason for All the Rules

There’s a Reason for All the Rules
William Potter/Shutterstock
Tom Margenau
Updated:

Sometimes readers take me to task for not explaining a particular facet of the law when I write a column about some Social Security topic or another. I usually respond by pointing out that if I tried to cover every “if, and, or but” associated with whatever Social Security topic I am trying to explain, my column would fill up half the newspaper or website in which it appears. And I recently came across a good example of this.

A reader asked me when benefits to his daughter would end. He’s getting retirement benefits and has one minor daughter left at home collecting dependent benefits on his record. I responded by saying this: “Student benefits end when the child reaches age 18 but can continue until 19 if the child is still in high school.”

Tom Margenau
Tom Margenau
Author
Tom Margenau worked for 32 years in a variety of positions for the Social Security Administration before retiring in 2005. He has served as the director of SSA’s public information office, the chief editor of more than 100 SSA publications, a deputy press officer and spokesman, and a speechwriter for the commissioner of Social Security. For 12 years, he also wrote Social Security columns for local newspapers, and recently published the book “Social Security: Simple and Smart.” If you have a Social Security question, contact him at [email protected]
Related Topics