My child has a disability. What are the requirements for benefits?

Social Security Income and SSDI benefits for children can provide critical support for parents caring for a disabled child.  When submitting the application for benefits for your child it is important to provide documentary evidence for every eligibility requirement in order to receive swift approval for benefits.

Eligibility Requirements

To be eligible a child must be able to document the following:

• The disabled child must have a parent who is disabled, retired or has the required earnings to be entitled to Social Security benefits
• A parent that worked on a job and paid the required amount of eligibility worker credit Social Security taxes before their death.
• The child must be under age eighteen and unmarried.  If the child is a full time student the child may be eligible for benefits up to age twenty two.
• Disability must have begun before age twenty two years.
• Disabling condition or combination of disabling conditions must meet requirement on the “Childhood Listings, (Part B).”
• The child must not be engaging in any substantial work and his disabling condition must have lasted or be expected to last for at least one year.  

The parent must review the requirements of needed to medically evidence the existence of the child’s disabling condition as shown in “Childhood Listings, (Part B).”  Every disability has different and unique requirements that need to be documented. 

Getting Legal Help

If you are a parent of a child with a disability and you would like to apply for Social Security benefits for that child then it may be very helpful to consult with a disability lawyer concerning the application requirements before submitting your application.