Knowing the Disability Benefits for Children

Having a disabled child can be a heartbreaking experience for any parent. The emotional toll that this exacts on any caregiver is staggering and the attendant financial cost can be steep. The difficulties can seem insurmountable, but there are ways to get help; one of these is to apply for social security benefits for your child.

The benefits available for your disabled child come in two types: Social Security Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income. The two are often confused, each is distinct from the other. First, SSDI is dependent on whether the parent has paid for social security benefits in the past, while the SSI looks at the limited resources of the family and the disability of the child. The child’s disability should be severely limiting, and that he or she must have had it for more than a year.

SSI is also more limiting since it has no dependent benefits. This means that families under SSI receive only what the plan offers. SSDI is more flexible—for the disabled sole wage-earner, for instance. SSDI allows to provide fifty percent each (of the main claimant’s benefits) to the disabled’s spouse and dependents for as long as the awarded disability payments fall within the 150%-180% total maximum range, and not more.

To claim benefits from SSDI or SSI, the parent of a disabled child must apply for them. Though it can be relatively uncomplicated to accomplish this, most people need help from federal benefits eligibility services like DECO Recovery Management to ensure that they stand a higher chance for approval.