 SSDRC What is the Application Process for Social Security Disability and SSI? How do you Win Benefits under Social Security Disability or SSI? If I am determined disabled, how far back will Social Security pay benefits? How do you prove your disability case if you have a mental condition? What Can I Do to Improve My Chances of Winning Disability Benefits Common Mistakes after Receiving a Denial of Social Security Disability or SSI Benefits How to File for Disability - Tips for Filing If You Get Approved For SSDI Will You Also Get Medicare? How much does a Social Security disability attorney get paid? Social Security Disability SSI Criteria and the Evaluation Process How long does it take to be approved for SSI or Social Security disability? What do you Need to Prove to Qualify for Disability Benefits? Social Security Disability SSI and Fibromyalgia Social Security Disability SSI and Degenerative Disc Disease Can I Qualify For Disability and Receive Benefits based on Depression? Answers to questions about SSD and SSI disability What Disabilities Qualify for SSI and Social Security Disability Benefits? Social Security Disability Status Social Security Disability Tips — how a claim gets worked on Social Security Disability, SSI Disability - Terms, Definitions, Concepts |
If You Get Social Security Disability or SSI Benefits, Will Your Dependents Get A Check?How to prove you are disabled and win disability benefits If you apply for disability benefits under the SSI program, your child or spouse will not receive money simply for being your dependents. However, the situation is different if your claim is filed under the SSDI, or social security disability insurance, program. Some Social Security disability beneficiaries have enough additional money on their record to pay dependent benefits and others do not. The amount of benefits payable on a Social Security disability beneficiary’s record is directly related to the amount of earnings they earned prior to becoming disabled. When an individual is approved for disability benefits, a mathematical computation determines two things: the amount of the primary benefit amount (amount payable to the disabled individual) and the family maximum (the total amount payable to the family including the disabled individual). Social Security determines the amount payable to the disability beneficiary’s dependents (spouse, children, and, in some extremely limited cases, a dependent parent) by subtracting the primary benefit amount payable to a disabled worker from the family maximum benefit amount. Social Security regulations state that a disabled individual’s dependents are entitled to receive a benefit that is equal to half the disabled individual’s disability benefit amount if there is enough money payable on the record. If there is not enough money to pay half of the disabled beneficiary’s primary benefit amount, the amount that remains after subtracting the primary benefit amount from the family maximum is divided equally among the disabled beneficiary’s dependents. As I stated above, some Social Security beneficiaries have no extra money on their records to pay dependent benefits. If an individual has had low earnings or very few years of earnings prior to becoming disabled there may be no money payable to dependents. Lastly, there is one other situation that might affect the amount of money payable to a disabled individual’s dependents. Social Security has another type of family maximum that affects dependents of two individuals who are each receiving disability. This family maximum is known as a combined family maximum. Combined family maximums occur when dependent children are potentially entitled on two disability beneficiaries’ records and are unable to be paid the half of the benefit amount payable to the disability beneficiary with the highest primary benefit amount. 
Return to: SSDRC, or the Questions, Answers, Tips, and Advice page Individual Questions and Answers SSD and SSI are Federal Programs The title II Social Security Disability and title 16 SSI Disability programs operate under federal guidelines and, therefore, the program requirements--medical and non-medical--apply to all states: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming Recent approval and denial statistics for various states can be viewed here: Social Security Disability, SSI Approval and Denial Statistics by state Special Section: Disability Lawyers and unnecessary claim denials |