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Social Services: Supplemental Security Income (SSI) for
patients living in the United States
What is it?
Children under age 18 who are disabled or blind may be eligible for monthly
cash payments from the Federal Government through a program called Supplemental
Security Income. As its name implies, Supplemental Security Income supplements
a person's income up to a certain level. The level varies from one state
to another and can go up every year based on cost of living increases.
Check with your local Social Security office to find out more about the
SSI benefit levels in your state.
Eligibility
To get SSI, a child must fall within the following requirements:
1. SSI Benefits for Children: These are benefits payable to disabled
children under age 18 who have limited income and resources, or who come
from homes with limited income and resources.
2. Social Security Dependents Benefits: These are benefits payable
to children under age 18 on the record of a parent who is collecting retirement
or disability benefits from Social Security, or survivors benefits payable
to children under the age of 18 on the record of a parent who has died.
Therefore, a child is eligible for Social Security merely because he/she
is the dependent child of someone getting retirement or disability benefits,
or of a parent who has died.
3. Social Security Benefits for Adults Disabled since Childhood:
Benefits can continue to be paid into adulthood if a child is disabled.
To qualify for these benefits, an individual must be the son or daughter
or someone who is getting Social Security retirement or disability benefits,
or of someone how has died, and that child must have a disability that
began prior to age 22.
Although most people getting these benefits are in their 20's and 30's,
the benefit is considered a "child's" benefit because of the
eligibility rules.
For More Info:
Phone: 1-800-772-1213
Web Site: www.ssa.gov
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