Qualifying for Social Security Disability is something you can do if you have become disabled and are unable to work. Qualifying for yourself is one thing, but what you may not realize is that some of your family members may also qualify for disability benefits if you are receiving them. There are very specific situations in which this may occur and it is quite possible that your family members should be receiving benefits. If you are unsure about how the process works, simply consider the following information. Disability benefits may be able to assist you with your financial needs.
What Are the Types of Benefits?
Individuals who qualify for disability benefits receive an income or monthly payment from the SSA. These individuals are unable to work, or are unable to work in such a way as to support themselves. If you qualify for disability, this means that your physical condition is in some way limited. Your family, then, may be in need of additional financial support since you are unable to provide it. Because of your condition, your family members may also qualify for benefits from the SSA. However, there are limits and other steps that need to be taken to make this happen.
Who Is Your Family?
Not everyone living with you will qualify for disability. Although you may have numerous people counting on you to provide for them, only a select few will qualify under the SSA's guidelines for family benefits. These include:
Your spouse will qualify for benefits.
If you are divorced, your ex-spouse is likely to qualify unless he or she has remarried or does not meet the requirement of the SSA.
Your children will qualify, usually until they reach 18 years of age.
If you have a disabled child, he or she also qualifies.
If you have these members in your family, it may be beneficial to encourage them to apply for disability benefits under the family benefits plan offered by the SSA. Keep in mind that there may be additional qualifying members, such as children you have adopted. If you are unsure whether a family member qualifies, simply request additional information from the SSA or discuss your options with a disability attorney.
What Benefits Are Available?
Simply qualifying for disability benefits is not sufficient. Rather, it is important to know how much can be received. Unfortunately, this is a set number and is based on a variety of factors. The first factor is the amount of money you are receiving. Keep in mind that your family members will each receive their own benefits check from the SSA. In doing so, the family members will be able to use those funds as needed. The family member does not receive a portion of your disability insurance, but the amount he or she does receive is based on the amount of your benefits.
Each family member may receive up to 50 percent of the disability rate you are receiving. If you are earning $1000, for example, each family member may be eligible up to 50 percent of that, or up to $500. However, the Social Security Disability benefits also factors in how many family members are receiving disability payments and the total amount received. There is a limit to the amount the SSA will pay out to your family.
What does this mean for your family? The total amount that is paid out in family benefits will be unique to your family, based on your circumstances. However, in general, the total amount of money received by your family members will be about 50 to 80 percent of your disability benefit. Going back to the earlier example, if you qualify for benefits of $1000 per month, the combined total for benefits for your family will be between $500 and $800 per month. In some situations, it may be less than this, too. In situations where the sum of the benefits is more than the family limit in place, the benefits to each family member will be reduced along the same scale.
Keeping this in mind, Social Security Disability benefits like this should be applied for by each member of your family. You will need to provide the SSA with your Social Security numbers, birth certificates and marriage licenses, as they apply, to help determine the amount each family member will receive. The process of determining the value of family benefits seems difficult, but the SSA will handle the processing for you.
Social Security Disability
Disability Benefits
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