How Can You Get SSI Benefits for Your Child with a Disability? Our Lancaster Disability Law Firm Can Help You File a Social Security Appeal.

When your child has been denied SSI, our PA disability lawyers can help obtain benefits for your child who has a disability before age 18 or, sometimes, an adult with disabilities who became disabled before age 22 may be eligible for child’s Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits. Children under the age of 18 (or in some cases, under the age of 22) can also be considered for SSI. In order to be eligible for SSI, a child must be blind or have a disability. For the purposes of SSI, there is no minimum age requirement for eligibility; thus, a child can be determined to be disabled as early as birth.

A child under age 18 may be disabled, but the Social Security Administration does not need to consider the child’s disability when deciding if your child qualifies for benefits as your dependent. The child’s benefits normally stop at age 18 unless a full-time student in an elementary, middle, or high school (benefits can continue until age 19) or is disabled.

Similar to benefits for adults, the child’s disability must last or be expected to last for at least one year. The disability can be physical or mental, and it must also result in severe functional limitations.

If a child is awarded SSI benefits, he or she may receive these benefits until reaching the age of 18 (or in some cases, the age of 22). After that, the child will then be evaluated for impairments based on the definition of disability/blindness for adults.

Adults  Who Became Disabled Before Age 22

An adult who became disabled before age 22 may be eligible for child’s SSI benefits if a parent is deceased or starts receiving retirement or disability benefits. The SSA considers this a “child’s” benefit because it is paid on a parent’s Social Security earnings record.

The “adult child”—including an adopted child, or, in some cases, a stepchild, grandchild, or stepgrandchild—must be unmarried, age 18 or older, have a disability that started before age 22, and meet the definition of disability for adults.

When applying for SSI benefits for a child, it is also important to consider SSA’s practice of “deeming.” If a child is determined to be eligible for SSI, the Administration will then look at the parents’ income to see what resources are available to the child. The amount of income a child’s parents earn may impact the amount of SSI benefits that a child can receive. It is important to note, that once the child reaches the age of majority, deeming will cease and the child will be eligible for full benefits (assuming he or she still qualifies for benefits as an adult).

If you have been denied benefits for SSI, contact us for a free consultation; there is limited time to exercise your appeal so it is important not to hesitate. At Rankin & Gregory, we provide our clients with strong representation and we will not take a fee unless you receive a favorable outcome.

Call our Lancaster PA or New Holland – Leola – Leacock PA Social Security Disability SSI lawyers helping clients throughout Pennsylvania at 717.656.5000

Rankin & Gregory, LLC, RG Injury Law fights for fair compensation for clients injured in car accidents, personal injury accidents, and Workers’ Compensation workplace incidents, slip and fall accidents, wrongful death cases, veterans disability appeals, and Social Security disability claims throughout Pennsylvania, including our beautiful hometown of Lancaster County.