Past due child support received as lump sum; determined by SSA as monthly income

[smith122]

Good evening,

I began receiving SSI payments for my son on June 13th of this year. I was approved retroactively for the months of March-June and I received a $200 lump sum child support payment in March ($100 of which was due for November 2010/and $100 of which was due for December 2010)and a $300 lump sum child support payment ($100 for Jan, $100 for Feb, and $100 for March.) in May. SSA determined this was "monthly" income and not only deducted that amount from the benefit two months later but SSA also used these lump sum payments as "estimates" of future income after being provided with four court order stipulating monthly child support at $100/month. I submitted an appeal to have only $100 factored into my son's benefit amount from the inception of my claim but it was denied. Ive been looking for case law on this matter for the past 3 hours and I ended up here. Please send any relevant information my way. My next step is to avail myself of my Senator's office but I would like to have the majority of the "evidence" and use their office solely to expedite my claim. Thank you in advance for your time!

Best,
smith122

[JILLSHYE]

I have the same thing happen in my case as well. They figure in 300 dollars a month whether or not you get it. What I do is get a print out (summary statement) monthly from the Friend of the Court and turn it in monthly to SS office and have them post it to sons account. They will adjust the amount and you will get the correct amount monthly. If you have additional children by the father, make sure this is reflected, or posted to son's account as well. It is a pain to do this monthly but that is how it was corrected. Hope that helps

[Rich Feingold]

Hello, Smith122. I searched on SSA's webiste, the POMS - https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/poms.nsf/lnx/0500830420, which may be on point. I am not sure if this directly answers your question - just giving a general direction here. The portion of the page says: 1. Treatment of Child Support as Income
Child support payments (including arrearage payments) made on behalf of an SSI child (as defined in SI 00501.010) are unearned income to the child.

One-third of the amount of a child support payment made to or for an eligible child by an absent parent is excluded. This exclusion does not apply when determining the income of ineligible children in a deeming computation (SI 01310.110D.).

NOTE: Current child support payments and arrearages received by a parent on behalf of a deceased SSI child are income to the parent who receives them.


Rich