People who are already getting Social Security benefits may be surprised to learn that their benefits can be taken away for a number of reasons. This is usually done in line with the rules of the different programs that the Social Security Administration oversees, and the receiver is always told ahead of time.
Nevertheless, it does happen sometimes, and as a person receiving Social Security payments, you need to know the main parts of this process. People who are part of the Survivors’ Insurance program are especially likely to have to do this.
More than 2.4 million children got their benefits in January 2024, which is when the SSA’s annual payment plan for the Survivors program says they should have. This number dropped by at least 30,000 in July, which might seem strange if you don’t know how to understand who is eligible for this program.
Knowing how these things work can help you understand why other programs, like Supplemental Security Income (SSI), might think about stopping or lowering the money they give out. Keep reading to get a better idea of what’s going on.
How much do children receive from Social Security Benefits?
The most up-to-date information from the Social Security Administration says that a child getting Survivors Program payments in August 2024 will get an average of $1153.59. This isn’t a set amount; the amount the family of a dead worker can get depends on how much the worker paid into the SSA during his or her lifetime.
The payout for survivors is bigger if the worker pays into Social Security for a longer time (earns more Social Security credits). This is also true for people who pay more into social security because they make more money.
In general, each kid can only get half of the pension that their parent gets for old age or disability. There is a plan for survivors that lets a child get up to 75% of the basic Social Security payment.
But the amount is based on both how much the kid can get and how much the family can get. This is because each family can only get up to 150% to 180% of the parent’s total benefit amount. If this limit is pushed too far, the value of each person changes in a way that makes sense.
What are the requirements for children to receive Social Security benefits?
If a kid gets Social Security benefits through the Survivors Program, it depends on a number of factors. He must not be married, which is the first condition. Second, it can get the benefit if it is seventeen years old or younger. He might still be able to get benefits if he is older, but it will depend on how much learning he has.
The applicant’s age can be raised to eighteen or nineteen if they are still in full-time kindergarten through grade twelve. You can also get survivor benefits if the person has a disability or got one before they turned 21. To find out if you can ask your stepchildren, grandchildren, or adopted children to benefit from this program, please call the Social Security Administration office in your area.
Why are a substantial number of children saying goodbye to their Social Security benefits?
So you can see, the requirements for kids to get Social Security payments depend on how old they are and how much schooling they’ve had. It’s not a surprise, then, that as the number of beneficiaries goes up and the birth rate goes down, the number of children in the program goes down as they hit the age when they can leave.
Currently, looking into the reasons behind the decrease in the number of kids using the program is still up for debate. This can be done with more information from cases in other programs, like Supplemental Security Income (SSI).
Also See:- A Social Security change that was unexpected affects millions of retirees in the US