Understanding SSI Home Page / Understanding Supplemental Security Income SSI for Children

SUPPLEMENTAL SECURITY INCOME (SSI)FOR CHILDREN


WHO IS A "CHILD" FOR SSI?


A person who is neither married (as determined by Social Security) nor head of a household and:

    small blue and black arrowis under age 18; or

    small blue and black arrowis under age 22 and is a student regularly attending school (as determined by Social Security).

HOW DOES THE SSI DISABILITY PROGRAM WORK FOR A CHILD?


To be eligible for SSI benefits, a child must be either blind or disabled.

    small blue and black arrowA child may be eligible for SSI disability benefits beginning as early as the date of birth; there is no minimum age requirement.

    small blue and black arrowA child may be eligible for SSI disability benefits until attainment of age 18 (see definition of disability for children).

    small blue and black arrowWhen the child attains age 18, we evaluate impairments based on the definition of disability for adults (see definition of disability for adults).

    small blue and black arrowA child with a visual impairment may be eligible for SSI blindness benefits if the impairment meets the definition of blindness (see the discussion of statutory blindness).

WHAT ARE THE CRITERIA FOR A “DISABLED” OR “BLIND”
  CHILD?


    small blue ballIf under 18, whether or not married or head of household, the child has a medically determinable physical or mental impairment or impairments (including emotional or learning problems) which result in marked and severe functional limitations; and

    small blue ballThe impairment(s) has lasted or can be expected to last for a continuous period of at least 12 months or be expected to result in death; or

    small blue ballIf the child is blind, he or she meets the same definition of “blind” as applies for adults. See WHAT IS "BLINDNESS" FOR AN ADULT OR CHILD?. Unlike the requirement for SSI disability benefits, there is no duration requirement for SSI blindness benefits.

SSA has an obligation to provide benefits quickly to applicants whose medical conditions are so serious that their conditions obviously meet disability standards.  The Compassionate Allowances (CAL) initiative allows Social Security to target the most obviously disabled individuals for claims approval based on objective medical information that we can obtain quickly.  Fifty medical conditions were initially selected for this initiative.  Since that time we have added 150 additional conditions bringing the total number of conditions to 200.  The list may expand over time.  A complete list of CAL conditions may be viewed online at:  http://www.socialsecurity.gov/compassionateallowances/conditions.htm.


HOW DOES DEEMING WORK FOR A CHILD?


If a child is under age 18, not married, and lives at home with parent(s) who do not receive SSI benefits, we may consider a portion of the parents' income and resources as if they were available to the child.  We may also count a portion of a stepparent’s income and resources if the child lives with both a natural or adoptive parent and a stepparent.  We also do this when a child is temporarily away at school, returns home during weekends, holidays or during the summer and remains subject to parental control.  We call this process "deeming."

We make deductions from deemed income for parents and for other children living in the home. After we subtract these deductions, we use the remaining amount to decide if the child meets the SSI income and resource requirements for a monthly benefit.

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NOTE		 For more information, see the SSI Spotlight on Deeming Parental Income and Resources .

WHEN DOES DEEMING NOT APPLY?


Deeming from the parent stops when a child attains age 18, marries, or no longer lives with a parent. Deeming does not apply, and we may pay up to $30 plus the applicable State supplement when:

    small blue and black arrowa disabled child receives a reduced SSI benefit while in a medical treatment facility; and

    small blue and black arrowthe child is eligible for Medicaid under a State home care plan; and

    small blue and black arrowdeeming would otherwise cause ineligibility for SSI benefits.

Also, we do not consider the income of a parent for deeming purposes if the parent receives a Public Income Maintenance payment (PIM) such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and their other income was used to compute the PIM payment.

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NOTE		 See SSI AND ELIGIBILITY FOR OTHER GOVERNMENT AND STATE PROGRAMS for information on TANF.

If either child or parent is temporarily absent from the household (less than 60 days), the rules about deemed income still apply.


CAN A CHILD GET MEDICAID?


In most States, a child who gets SSI benefits can get Medicaid to help pay medical bills.

In some cases, a child may be eligible for Medicaid while in an institution, but not be eligible when living at home either because of the parents' income and resources or because of other income.

At the State's option, children under age 18 who need institutional–level care and live at home may keep Medicaid eligibility while getting home care, if that care is less costly to the government.

Even if the child is not eligible for SSI benefits, the child still may be eligible for Medicaid under other State rules. Always check on Medicaid eligibility with the State.

For more information about Medicaid, you can look on the Internet on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services webpage at http://www.medicaid.gov/index.html or call toll–free, 1–800–633–4227.

In addition, other State services may also be available.

If you have children or grandchildren under age 19 who are not covered by health insurance, there is a Children's Health Insurance Program that may help. To find out more, you can look on the Internet at www.insurekidsnow.gov or call, toll–free, (1–877–KIDS–NOW (1–877–543–7669)). The number connects you to your State program.


CHILDREN OF U.S. ARMED FORCES PERSONNEL LIVING OVERSEAS


Children living with a parent in the military service overseas may receive SSI benefits, but they are not eligible for Medicaid.

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NOTE		 For more information, see the SSI Spotlight on Special SSI Rules for Children of Military Personnel Living Overseas.

WHAT IS A DEDICATED ACCOUNT?


When an eligible child under age 18, who has a representative payee, is eligible for certain large past–due payments covering more than six months of benefits, these payments must be paid directly into a separate account in a financial institution. We call this separate account a dedicated account because the representative payee, or later the child, may use the funds in this account only for certain expenses, primarily those related to the child's disability. You must maintain the dedicated account separately from any other savings or checking account set up for the child. Each year, we will monitor how the representative payee spends the funds in the dedicated account.

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NOTE		 For more information, see the SSI Spotlight on Dedicated Accounts for Children.

DEEMING ELIGIBILITY GUIDELINES


The Deeming Eligibility Chart for Children below gives the highest amount of gross monthly income for this year (before taxes are withheld) that a parent(s) can earn or receive and still have a child qualify for SSI.  Note that we do not count some types of income that a parent may receive; for example, money received for providing foster care to an ineligible child.

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NOTE		For more information on income, see SSI INCOME.

DEEMING ELIGIBILITY CHART FOR CHILDREN FOR 2013


CAUTION:blank spacerBefore using this chart, see SSI FOR CHILDREN . If there is any doubt about whether a child is eligible, please contact us for help.

 

Gross monthly income BELOW the dollar amounts shown means a disabled child may be eligible for SSI benefits.

Amounts given are general guidelines only.

Number of
ineligible
children in
household		All income is earnedAll income is unearned
One parent in
household		Two parents in
household		One parent in
household		Two parents in
household
0

$ 2,965

$ 3,677

$ 1,460

$ 1,816
1

$ 3,321

$ 4,033

$ 1,816

$ 2,172
2

$ 3,677

$ 4,389

$ 2,172

$ 2,528
3

$ 4,033

$ 4,745

$ 2,528

$ 2,884
4

$ 4,389

$ 5,101

$ 2,884

$ 3,240
5

$ 4,745

$ 5,457

$ 3,240

$ 3,596
6

$ 5,101

$ 5,813

$ 3,596

$ 3,952

The Deeming Eligibility Chart for Children does not apply when:

    small blue ballThe parent(s) receives both earned income (for example, wages or net earnings from self-employment) and unearned income (for example, Social Security benefits, pensions, unemployment compensation, interest income, and State disability).

    small blue ballThe parent(s) receives a public income maintenance payment such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), or a needs–based pension from the Department of Veterans Affairs. See SSI AND ELIGIBILITY FOR OTHER GOVERNMENT AND STATE PROGRAMS for more information on TANF.

    small blue ballThe parent pays court-ordered support payments.

    small blue ballThe child has income of his or her own.

    small blue ballAny ineligible child has income of his or her own, marries, or leaves the home.

    small blue ballThere is more than one disabled child applying for or receiving SSI benefits.

    small blue ballYour State supplements the Federal benefit.


Use the Deeming Eligibility Chart for Children in the following States or territory, which do not supplement the Federal benefit for children:

Alaska Arizona Arkansas
Delaware District of Columbia Florida
Indiana Kansas Maryland
Mississippi Missouri North Carolina
North Dakota Northern Mariana Islands Ohio
South Carolina Tennessee Texas
Virginia West Virginia  

 

If you live in one of the States listed below, Social Security administers the State supplement for children. Call us for deeming eligibility information.

CaliforniaHawaii Iowa
Michigan Montana* Nevada*
New Jersey New York Pennsylvania
Rhode Island Utah Vermont

* Montana supplements disabled and blind children in certified foster homes only. Nevada supplements blind children only.

If you live in one of the States listed below, your State administers the State supplement for children. Contact the State for information.

Alabama Colorado Connecticut*
Georgia Idaho Illinois
Kentucky Louisiana Maine
Massachusetts Minnesota* Nebraska
New Hampshire* New Mexico Oklahoma
Oregon* Pennsylvania Rhode Island
South Dakota* Washington Wisconsin
Wyoming    

* Connecticut, Minnesota, and New Hampshire only supplement benefits for blind children.  South Dakota supplements disabled and blind children in residential care facilities.

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