Questions regarding Social Security

[jfranklyn]

I have a question regarding Social Security. My husband is 64 and retiring next year as soon as he turns 66. I am only 45. We have two children together, aged 10 and 5. I work and make a decent salary. Someone mentioned to me the other day, that when the parent of a minor child retires, the children can get social security until they are 18. Is this true? I thought it was only if a parent died? Does anyone have any first hand experience with a situation like this?

 

[antmaril]

I don't know if it's still true, but many years ago my father retired while my sister was still in high school. My parents received SS for her until she graduated.

 

[PatsMom]

I have a question regarding Social Security. My husband is 64 and retiring next year as soon as he turns 66. I am only 45. We have two children together, aged 10 and 5. I work and make a decent salary. Someone mentioned to me the other day, that when the parent of a minor child retires, the children can get social security until they are 18. Is this true? I thought it was only if a parent died? Does anyone have any first hand experience with a situation like this?

It is absolutely true. There is a family maximum benefit amount and with two eligible children you might reach that cap. But you will receive benefits until the children turn 18 - they get their last check the month prior to their birthday. Your husband will be what is called a designated payee or something like that. He receives the benefits and must use them for the intended recipient. You will need to account annually for the money - not dollar by dollar but on an overall basis. I suppose you could just report that the funds were spent for the children.

You may save the money for the children but it must be in a way that the social security people can verify that it is indeed for the benefit of the children. We chose to save my daughter's social security checks in a 529 college savings account. I just accessed it to pay her first semester tuition. Saving those social security checks really gave a great boost to her college savings.

There is no income cap. Your salary won't affect eligibility.

 

[sbell111]

I have a question regarding Social Security. My husband is 64 and retiring next year as soon as he turns 66. I am only 45. We have two children together, aged 10 and 5. I work and make a decent salary. Someone mentioned to me the other day, that when the parent of a minor child retires, the children can get social security until they are 18. Is this true? I thought it was only if a parent died? Does anyone have any first hand experience with a situation like this?

It is true. Here's more info.

 

[LuvOrlando]

Really, this is very interesting. Would this hold true for retired grandparents that legally adopt their grand kids because if so, it might make a whole lot of kids' lives much better.

 

[PatsMom]

Really, this is very interesting. Would this hold true for retired grandparents that legally adopt their grand kids because if so, it might make a whole lot of kids' lives much better.

I believe that if the child is legally adopted, they are eligible for social security. At that point, the grandparent is a parent, not a grandparent if that makes any sense.

When my husband did his application for social security they asked him about dependents and their ages. We already knew about my daughter's entitlement but even if we hadn't, the social security people would have told us about it.

 

[jfranklyn]

Wow. This is completely unexpected, out of the blue news to me. I had no idea this would be a possibility for us. How is the amount determined? Is it based on my husbands ss payment somehow? It doesn't reduce his payment, does it? Or somehow affect the kids ability to claim in the distant future on their own?

 

[PatsMom]

Wow. This is completely unexpected, out of the blue news to me. I had no idea this would be a possibility for us. How is the amount determined? Is it based on my husbands ss payment somehow? It doesn't reduce his payment, does it? Or somehow affect the kids ability to claim in the distant future on their own?

If I recall correctly, the child's entitlement is 1/2 of your husband's full retirement age benefit. But there is definitely a family maximum which might reduce the children's benefit. The child's benefit has no impact on your husbands benefit or on the child's own future claim for benefits.

 

[sbell111]

Wow. This is completely unexpected, out of the blue news to me. I had no idea this would be a possibility for us. How is the amount determined? Is it based on my husbands ss payment somehow? It doesn't reduce his payment, does it? Or somehow affect the kids ability to claim in the distant future on their own?

The link that I gave explained how it is calculated, but if I remember correctly, the amount is half of the adult's amount, up to whatever the family cap is. It doesn't otherwise affect that adult's amount, nor does it have any affect on the child's future retirement benefit.

 

[DisneyBamaFan]

The link that I gave explained how it is calculated, but if I remember correctly, the amount is half of the adult's amount, up to whatever the family cap is. It doesn't otherwise affect that adult's amount, nor does it have any affect on the child's future retirement benefit.

Wow! Who came up with this scam?

 

[trip]

You should be able to see the estimated payments on your husbands' yearly Social Security Statement that we all receive yearly. I know ours show the estimated payment our children would receive along with the family limit. It is listed under "Your Estimated Benefits".

 

[Carly_Roach]

Wow! Who came up with this scam?

This "scam" as you call it came from the administration of Franklin Delano Roosevelt during the Depression. This "scam" has been in effect for 70 years and is a normal part of SS. http://www.ssa.gov/history/studentbenefit.html

Research Note #11:
The History of Social Security "Student" Benefits
The Concept of Social Security Child's Benefits

The original Social Security Act of 1935 contained no provisions for the payment of any type of dependents' benefits. However, even before monthly payments began, the law was significantly changed in the 1939 Amendments to transform the program into a family-benefits social insurance system. In addition to benefits for the survivors of deceased workers, the program was broadened to include dependents' benefits paid to the spouse and/or minor children of the retired worker.

If you're going to express wounded indignant outrage over what you perceive to be some sort of a new law, it might be a good idea to bone up on your history first to lend a little credibility to your opinion.

 

[brerrabbit]

I was in my senior year of college when my Father retired and started receiving SS. Since I was a dependent still in school I received benifits from January till I graduated in December. If the rules are still the same the dependent can collect benifits till they graduate from college.

 

[Carly_Roach]

I was in my senior year of college when my Father retired and started receiving SS. Since I was a dependent still in school I received benifits from January till I graduated in December. If the rules are still the same the dependent can collect benifits till they graduate from college.

No, Reagan changed the rules. See the link.

The final version of the legislation concerning student benefits consisted of the following provisions:

Benefits paid to post-secondary students ages 18-21 are to be phased-out;
The phase-out is to be completed by April 1985;
Benefits to elementary and/or secondary school students older than 18, are to end in August 1982;
Current post-secondary students, or those entering school before May 1982, may continue to receive benefits until April 1985, except that their benefit amount will be reduced 25% each year starting in September 1982;
During the phase-out students will not receive COLA increases:
During the phase-out student benefits will not be payable during May through August.

Thus, under the provisions of the Omnibus Budge Reconciliation Act of 1981, student benefits for post-secondary and for elementary and/or secondary students older than 18, were phased-out and finally eliminated by April 1985. This change in the law was estimated to save the Social Security program $10.6 billion over the first five years.

Student benefits are still payable to elementary and/or secondary school students provided they are under age 19. Currently about 100,000 students receive this type of Child's Benefit each year--about one-tenth the volume prior to the change in the law.

 

[DisneyBamaFan]

...If you're going to express wounded indignant outrage over what you perceive to be some sort of a new law, it might be a good idea to bone up on your history first to lend a little credibility to your opinion.

Actually, I meant all of SS, aka the greatest ponzi scheme in the history of the world...

 

[Carly_Roach]

Actually, I meant all of SS, aka the greatest ponzi scheme in the history of the world...

Then don't participate in it.

 

[DisneyBamaFan]

Then don't participate in it.

I wish...

 

[LuvOrlando]

I don't think drawing parallels between taxes and ponzi schemes is the same thing as saying both are bad. To be honest, the mechanisms behind these systems are genius... that is until things go down the tubes, that's why they are illegal in our day to day lives, because they are so dangerous. Our gov't is allowed to participate however, because they are supposed to KNOW better and be above the flaws that doom these set-ups in our day to day lives. Not just SS but all taxes are a ponzi scheme-esque aren't they? A large group on the bottom makes contributions towards a pinnacle and as time moves on you move up the ladder until you get a turn with a take home. Look at what's happening right now in our States. People without jobs can't pay taxes, so they can't support the infrastructure, so the infrastructure can't pay businesses, so more people lose jobs, and these people need support, but the tax money is not there because the people who NEED the support aren't generating income upon which taxes could be collected... and so on & so on. Round and round it goes, where it stops, nobody knows....

 

[Carly_Roach]

Not just SS but all taxes are a ponzi scheme-esque aren't they? Look at what's happening now. People without jobs can't pay taxes, so they can't support the infrastructure, so the infrastructure can't pay businesses, so more people lose jobs, and these people need support, but the tax money is not there because the people who NEED the support aren't generating income upon which taxes could be collected... and so on & so on. Round and round it goes, where it stops, nobody knows....

I know. If only we hadn't lost those million upon millions of decent waged American jobs over the past decade to Corporatism....oops, I mean Capitalism.

 

[DisneyBamaFan]

I know. If only we hadn't lost those million upon millions of decent waged American jobs over the past decade to Corporatism....oops, I mean Capitalism.

LOL - I like your spunk...