Last page edit 12/17/07

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Children, Survivor or Dependent - Social Security

Name Children, Survivor or Dependent - Social Security
Non-Financial Eligibility Conditions You must be an unmarried dependent child of the wage earner and you must be either:
  • under 18 or
  • over 18 and
  •  have a disability that began before age 22 or
  • a full time student (elementary or secondary)
  • The wage earner must either be eligible for Social Security retirement or disability benefits or deceased.

    Income Eligibility Conditions None
    Asset Eligibility Conditions None
    Benefit Your benefit is based on the wage earner's work history, under Social Security. Your benefit amount is one-half the full benefit if the wage earner is alive, or three-quarters of the full benefit if the wage earner is dead.

    How are the benefits calculated?

    Apply At Social Security office.  Locate your Social Security Office.
    Appeals

    • You can appeal any denial, termination, or reduction of benefits

    • You must file an appeal within 60 days of the date of the written notice with which you disagree.

    • In addition, you have a 5 day "grace period" to allow for mailing the notice to you, making the total amount of time you have to file an appeal 60+5 days.

    Source of the Funds Social Security Trust Funds
    You Also Would Be Eligible For
    Sources of Law

    Federal Law: 42 U.S.C. § 402(d)  [Section 402 is a very long page.  Scroll down about 1/4 of the way to find subsection (d)]

    Federal Regulations: 20 C.F.R. §404.348 to §404.368 

    Policy Materials

    Other
    Source: Maryland Legal Assistance Network (MLAN)

    Last legal review March 2007 (MLAN/gg)

     
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    About this website. The Maryland State Law Library, a court-related agency of the Maryland Judiciary, sponsors this site. The website was developed (1999-2007) as part of an access to justice initiative by the Maryland Legal Assistance Network (MLAN) in collaboration with a number of legal services providers serving low and moderate income Marylanders.  In the absence of file-specific attribution or copyright, the Maryland State Law Library may hold the copyright to parts of this website. You are free to copy the information for your own use or for other non-commercial purposes with the following language “Source: Maryland's People’s Law Library – www.peoples-law.org. © Maryland State Law Library, 2007.”

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