How to Get SSA Benefits for Disabled Adult Children

Although the typical Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) recipient has worked for a fairly long time before becoming disabled, a young adult who became disabled before turning age 22 can also qualify for SSDI if he or she has a parent who meets certain qualifications. Most people who have a serious disability before turning 22 do not have the work history to qualify for SSDI on their own. But adult children in this situation may instead be able to qualify for SSDI on their parent’s work record, in certain situations.

SSDI is a federal program primarily designed to aid people who have become disabled after having worked for a certain amount of time. Unlike Supplemental Security Income (SSI) which is a welfare program that provides cash assistance and health care coverage to people with low-income and limited assets who are either aged 65 or older, blind or disabled with less than $2,000 in assets.

SSDI is not a needs-based program, which means that there are no income and asset restrictions. Instead, a beneficiary typically has to have paid into the Social Security system for at least 10 years prior to his disability.

An SSDI benefit depends on the beneficiary’s income before he became disabled, the size of his family, and the amount he paid into the Social Security system. Finally, SSDI recipients can receive Medicare two years after qualifying for SSDI.

Social Security may be able to pay disability benefits to your eligible son or daughter from a parent’s record if the child was disabled before the age of 19. If at least one of your parents receives Social Security benefits, you could qualify for disability benefits and Medicare as a Disabled Adult Child (DAC).

Here is all you need to know about this category of Social Security disability benefits

Disabled Adult Child (DAC) is a special category of Social Security designed to help individuals that were disabled prior to entering the workforce.

This classification does not mean that you are considered an adult child, simply that you were disabled as a child. In order to qualify for DAC benefits you must be able to show that you were disabled prior to the age of 19 years.

Your State will evaluate your disability to determine if you meet the disability requirements for payment. It should be noted that one of your parents must be currently receiving Social Security Disability or Retirement benefits.

It may be necessary for you to wait until one of your parents become eligible to apply. If your one or more of your parents are deceased, you may be eligible on their record. There is an additional requirement that you must be unmarried when applying for DAC benefits.

How much will I receive?

Once you are qualified for benefits you will receive a payment based on the amount your parent receives. If both your parents are receiving Social Security benefits you will be paid from the parent’s record that is receiving a higher amount.

You will typically receive 50% of this parent’s amount. If your parents are deceased the amount is increased to 75% of their amount.

To learn more about qualifying for disability benefits from Social Security contact us for a free evaluation from The Disability Champions today.

error: Content is protected !!