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Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) is a federal program run by the Social Security Administration. It provides monthly payments to people with disabilities or special health care needs.
SSDI benefits may also be provided to children of people who have worked and paid enough in Social Security taxes to qualify.
Minor children (age 17 and younger) can qualify for SSDI based on their parents’ income.
Adult children (age 18 and older) with disabilities or special health care needs can qualify for SSDI in two ways:
In both cases, your child can get Medicare health insurance after receiving SSDI benefits for 24 months.
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and SSDI are not the same. They have different rules and requirements. Getting one of them sometimes affects how much you can get from the other.
Some people can get SSI, SSDI and Medicaid at the same time. It’s best to check with the Social Security Administration before applying for SSDI if your child already gets another benefit. Attorneys or case workers can also help you navigate the benefits programs.
For adult benefits, any worker who has a disability that keeps them from working like they used to may be able to get SSDI. This includes adults with disabilities or special health care needs.
An adult applying for SSDI must have earned a minimum amount of money in a specific number of quarters. A quarter is defined as three months. You can find these amounts on the Social Security Administration’s Benefits Planner page.
Your child must also have a disability or special health care need that prevents them from working. The Social Security Administration defines the disability requirements for SSDI. This “Listing of Impairments” includes hundreds of medical conditions such as epilepsy, cerebral palsy and diabetes.
The Social Security Administration considers your child’s situation before approving or denying SSDI benefits. The decision is largely based on whether the following three statements are true:
SSDI generally pays monthly benefits to people who can't work for one year or more because of a disability. Once the payments start, the Social Security Administration keeps the payments going until a “redetermination” review to see if your child still needs the benefits.
Each person gets a different amount based on their “work credits” and total yearly income.
Worker’s compensation and other public disability benefits can impact your child’s SSDI benefits. However, lawsuit settlement payments from a private insurance company do not.
Using the SSDI benefit, a child can receive up to half of their parent’s full retirement or disability benefits or 75% of their deceased parent’s basic Social Security benefit. The actual amount your child receives will depend on:
A child’s benefit payments begin only after the parent starts collecting disability or retirement benefits or is deceased and worked long enough to draw Social Security. If a parent dies before collecting retirement or disability benefits, their child can’t get SSDI based on the parent’s earning record.
Your child can lose SSDI benefits if they:
Whether your child applies on their work record or yours, start by downloading and reviewing the Adult Disability Starter Kit. You or your child can also visit a Social Security office to get forms or ask questions. Find the one closest to you using the Social Security Office Locator.
An SSDI application requires certain documents. The Social Security Administration Adult Disability Starter Kit page has a document checklist. Here are some examples:
To apply in person at your local Social Security office:
If your child is applying for adult SSDI benefits, they can do so online. It should take one to two hours to apply. At this time, you cannot apply for SSDI child’s benefits online.
Once your child has applied, they should expect a letter in the mail to let them know if they were approved.