Being able to provide for a family is a privilege in which many working people take pride. While this is no easy task from the beginning, it becomes increasingly more difficult to provide for the needs of loved ones while limited by a medical impairment. Social Security recognizes how situations such as this can pose a significant threat to the well being of these once-hardworking Americans and those that depend on their income support. As Tallahassee social security disability lawyers, we recognize the impact a disability can have not just on an individual but their entire family.

The Social Security Act provides for auxiliary benefits to provide the needed extra support for children, grandchildren, and other dependents that rely on the disabled individuals that take care of them. These auxiliary benefits- they’re also known as dependent benefits- are provided to dependents of those who have paid Social Security taxes and are eligible to receive Social Security benefits based on their work credit.  Your Tallahassee disability lawyers can answer your questions about auxiliary benefits.

For more information on how work credits are accumulated and your eligibility to receive SSDI benefits please read our past article “Do I Qualify for SSDI?

You should ask a disability attorney about your specific situation.  But generally auxiliary benefits are provided to the children, disabled or not, of any person currently receiving benefits or who was entitled to receive benefits through Social Security prior to becoming deceased. For a dependent to receive auxiliary benefits based on the wage earners work credits, the dependent must be:

– Unmarried;

– Under the age of 18, or

– Under the age of 19 and be enrolled as a full-time student at a secondary school;

Once these requirements are no longer met, the child will no longer receive auxiliary benefits unless the child qualifies as a “Disabled Adult Child.”  To qualify as a disabled adult child, the child must be unmarried, over the age of 18 and became medically disabled prior to becoming 22 years old. He or she may qualify for indefinite DI benefits based on the work credits of their parent.  Our Tallahassee disability attorneys can answer your questions regarding benefits for Disabled Adult Children.    It is important to apply for these benefits as early as possible when your disability lawyers in Tallahassee or elsewhere can most easily access relevant medical records from before age 22.

Grandchildren and step-grandchildren can be eligible for dependent’s benefits if there is no living parent, they have lived with the wage earner for at least the last 12 months, and if they receive at least one-half support from the wage earner regularly.

“How much will auxiliary benefits help?”

Auxiliary benefits will only increase the total amount a beneficiary’s family receives each month! Social Security will never reduce benefits due to a disabled individual’s family size. Auxiliary benefits for any child can reach up to half of the parent’s total monthly benefit amount. With family limits set by the Social Security Administration, benefits are equally distributed among multiple children. The typical limit for a family is around 150% – 180% of the benefits the disabled individual receives.  Call our Tallahassee disability lawyers today to learn how dependents benefits can help your family.

A quick example: Tom, a disabled factory worker who has earned sufficient work credits, has two non-disabled children both aged 15 years old. He receives exactly $500/month in disability insurance benefitd. If Tom only had one child, that child could possibly receive an additional $250/month in auxiliary benefits. Instead, since he has two children both of his children would receive their own monthly benefits slightly reduced from the $250 amount.

This extra financial support can be so critical for the health of a family dealing with a disability.  Liebenhaut Law offers a free case evaluation from disability lawyers in Tallahassee and is prepared to fight for you and your family’s unique disability case from the application through appeal. We won’t collect a penny unless you win and are guaranteed your due benefits!