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    Brachial Plexus injury

    Hello, my son is now 32 yr. old he is collecting SSD since age 20.
    The amount is based upon what little he earned after completing a 2 yr college.

    He worked part time following college, in the state of Indiana at a resteraunt, that didn't go well because of his injury, he came home, we did the process and received SSD.
    He now is married two children trying to manage financially
    .
    Can his SSD be reviewed or changed to a larger amount by using my income?
    Had we known how difficult it would be for him to work we would have just done the SSD to begin with, instead of trying to become an employee.
    Also should he have been entitled to SSD while finishing high school, and college?

    Are his children entitled to SS benefit's now? They are ages 4 nad 5.
    He has a brachial plexis injury, paralyzed arm, sever chronic pain, nerve root avulsion's, he's on narcotic pain management.
    We live in the state of Pa.
    Any info you would be willing to share is greatly appreciated.
    Thx

    ** Moderator's note - Post broken into paragraphs for easier reading. Many people with MS have visual difficulties that prevent them from reading large blocks of print. **

    #2
    Are his children entitled to SS benefit's now?

    Typically each dependent is entitled to receive a monthly benefit payment equal to 50% of the parent's monthly SSDI benefit.

    For example, a parent receiving $1,000 in monthly SSDI benefits, each dependent child is eligible to receive a SSDI monthly benefit of $500, or $1,000 for the two children.

    Dependent children are usually entitled to the monthly benefit until age 18, or upon completing high school, unless one or both dependents are disabled.

    Comment


      #3
      Hello dragon72:

      Your son's situation is complicated, so the best place for him and you to get information is directly from the Social Security Administration. You're asking some questions now that should have been settled years ago, so the SSA will have to straighten everything out.

      If your son was disabled before age 18 he might have been eligible for SSI, not SSDI, if your family was low income. If not, no SSI. Even if he had been eligible, that benefit would have ended at age 18 and would not have covered his college years.

      If your son became disabled between ages 18 and 22, he would have been eligible for benefits as a disabled adult child under a parent's Social Security account ONLY IF one parent was deceased at the time (and eligible for Social Security retirement) or one of his parents was disabled at the time and receiving SSDI. If your son's other parent was not dead or disabled at the time your son became disabled, or you were not disabled and collecting SSDI at the time he became disabled, he was not then, and will never be, eligible for benefits under a parent's account.

      There is no way to join your income to your son's Social Security account. Social Security accounts are based only on the individual's work history and payments into the system. Your income is irrelevant to your son's SSDI and can't be used to change any aspect of his benefits.

      Once someone's SSDI benefit amount is established, it is never changed for the rest of the time the person receives SSDI. So there's no way for your son's SSDI amount to be raised, ever. The only increases are the annual (usually) cost of living increases that all Social Security beneficiaries get.

      I'm not aware of any reason why your son could not have applied for dependent's benefits for his children as soon as they were born. So I'm not clear on why you're asking if the children are eligible now. Unless there's a really unusual circumstance, they always have been eligible.

      Dependents are each eligible for up to 50% of the disabled person's monthly benefit. However, there is a maximum family limit of 150% to 180% of the disabled person's benefit. So your son's two children will not each get 50% of his benefit because that would amount to his family getting 200% of his benefit, which will exceed the maximum. His children's benefits will be reduced so that the family total doesn't exceed the maximum they're eligible for.

      Again, your son will need to get all of this verified by the SSA and have them address questions specific to his account. And certainly he needs to contact them to apply for benefits for his children.

      Comment


        #4
        Hi, everyone. Thank you for your post, dragon72. Sorry to hear about your son's severe problems.

        I don't agree with MSer102's comment that the questions should have been settled years ago. Maybe in an ideal situation, however, sometimes one does not know enough to ask.

        Let me be more specific regarding the eligibility of children as beneficiaries of a disabled individual. Children of an individual receiving Social Security Disability Insurance can receive benefits on the disabled individual's account until age 18, or until age 19 if still in high school, or as disabled adult child if they became disabled prior to age 22.

        Also, in some cases, e.g., where a claimant's benefit amount is low, there are no additional benefits available to the children/spouse of the disabled individual so yes, one should check with SSA concerning one's specific situation.

        As mentioned, an adult claimant who became disabled as an adult prior to age 22, can be eligible on a parent's account as a disabled adult child if the parent is receiving Social Security retirement or disability benefits, or if the parent is deceased and was insured at the time of death. Marriage of the disabled adult child can prevent them from receiving benefits, though. The amount of the benefit is based upon the parent's account. Don't forget that retirement of a parent can make the disabled adult child eligible for benefits; that was not mentioned by MSer102 in her response.

        MSer102 stated in part: "If your son became disabled between ages 18 and 22, he would have been eligible for benefits as a disabled adult child under a parent's Social Security account ONLY IF one parent was deceased at the time (and eligible for Social Security retirement) or one of his parents was disabled at the time and receiving SSDI. If your son's other parent was not dead or disabled at the time your son became disabled, or you were not disabled and collecting SSDI at the time he became disabled, he was not then, and will never be, eligible for benefits under a parent's account."

        Let's be careful here folks in giving out information. There is an unbelievable amount of information out there (just search the web), however, not all of it is accurate. One does NOT have to be eligible to apply for disabled adult child benefits at the time of onset of the disabled adult child's disability.

        If one became disabled before age 22, but no parent is retired, disabled or deceased (and insured) at the time, one cannot apply for disabled adult child (DAC) benefits. However, when the parent later becomes retired, disabled or deceased, the disabled adult child can apply at that time, even if over age 22, as long as the disability commenced prior to age 22. So an individual who became disabled at age 21 might have to wait until age 41 to apply for DAC benefits if one of the parents does not become disabled, retired or deceased until the disabled adult child reaches age 41...or age 50 for that matter.

        Those cases may be more difficult to win based upon problems in securing medical evidence, so be sure to retain medical records.

        Rich
        Attorney Richard Feingold concentrates his law practice in helping disabled individuals obtain the monthly Social Security disability benefits and health insurance that they need to survive. Although based in Chicago, Illinois, Rich helps disability claimants nationwide. He has been answering posts in this forum since June 11, 2003. Twitter handle: @RichFeingold.

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