Is SSI Eligibility for a Disabled Child Based on Parents’ Income?

Children with disabilities are sometimes eligible to receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits from the Social Security Administration (SSA). SSI is a federal program that pays benefits to adults and children who have limited income and limited resources.

If the SSA decides that a child is disabled, the agency will consider the child's household income to determine their eligibility for SSI benefits and how much the child is eligible to receive.

A child's SSI eligibility is based on their parents' income because the child's parents are financially responsible for their children. The agency assumes part of the parents' income is used to house and feed their children. So the SSA attributes (sets aside) some of the parents' income to the child in a process called "deeming."

Does the Parents' Income Count for the Child Toward SSI?

Yes, to determine a disabled child's eligibility for SSI benefits and the SSI benefit amount, Social Security considers part of a parent or stepparent's:

• earned income (wages), and
• unearned income (like benefits).

Earned income is money received for working a job or from self-employment (from running your own business or freelancing). Unearned income is money that is not "earned" and includes things like Social Security benefits, workers' compensation, pensions, and unemployment. The SSA considers both earned and unearned income when calculating the parent(s)' total income for deeming purposes. But not all of a parent's income is counted.

What Kind of Parental Income Isn't Counted Against the Child?

Social Security doesn't consider all of a parent's income in the deeming process. For example, the SSA doesn't consider the following types of income:

• Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
• Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) (also known as food stamps)
• foster care payments
• federal housing assistance, and
• disaster assistance.

In addition, the SSA doesn't count the first $20 per month of any unearned income. This is known as the "general income exclusion."

For earned income, the SSA doesn't count the first $65 per month, plus one-half of the remaining earned income (the "earned income exclusion"). This sounds complicated, but we'll illustrate how it works with an example below.

What Are the Income Limits for the Parents of a Disabled Child?

The parental income limits depend on how many parents and children live in the home. Before "deeming" the parents' income to a child, the SSA makes adjustments to the parents' income to account for the living expenses of anyone else in the home. This includes the parents themselves and any other children whose basic needs the parents also pay for.

How Much Does the SSA Allow for Family Members' Living Expenses?

The money allowed for each parent and other children is called an "allocation" for living expenses. These allocations reduce the amount of a parent's income that's deemed to be available to the disabled child. (The SSA only applies these allocations to the income of parents who are not also eligible for and receiving SSI benefits.)

Allocation for other children. The SSA makes an allocation for nondisabled children's living expenses—an amount that isn't considered part of the parent's income that can be deemed to the disabled child.

In 2023, the amount allocated to each nondisabled child in the family is $457 (this is the difference between the SSI rate for an individual and the SSI rate for a couple). But if a nondisabled child has his or her own income, the allocation amount may be lowered. And if nondisabled children in the family receive public income maintenance (PIM) payments, the SSA won't make an allocation for these children.

Parental living allowance. The SSA provides a parental living allowance, and that amount reduces the amount of income deemed to a child. The amount of the parental living allowance depends on how many parents are in the disabled child's home (including stepparents). The parental living allowance for one parent is $914 (the federal SSI benefit rate for 2023); for two parents, the allowance is $1,371. This allowance is not given to parents who receive PIM payments.

How Does the SSA Calculate the Child's Income?

To decide the amount of income that will be deemed to be available to a disabled child, the SSA will:

1. Subtract the nondisabled children's allocations from the parents' income.
2. Deduct certain amounts from the parents' income, such as the general income exclusion and the earned income exclusion (see above).
3. Deduct the parents' living allowance.

What remains is the income that Social Security will count as the child's income for SSI eligibility purposes.

What Is the Child's Income Limit for SSI?

After all of the calculations are made, the child's income limit is the maximum SSI rate of $914. If the child's income is over that amount, they won't be eligible for SSI. If the child's income is under that amount, the income will be subtracted from the SSI maximum to come up with the child's SSI payment.

Here's an example to help explain the child's SSI income limit.

When Does the SSA Count Parental Income as Belonging to the Child?

The SSA uses the process of deeming parents' income if the disabled child:

• is under the age of 18
• is unmarried, and
• lives at home with parent(s) who are not SSI recipients.

When Parents' Income Stops Being Counted

The SSA will stop deeming parents' income:

• when the child turns 18 years old
• when the child marries, or
• when the child stops living with the parent(s).

Counting parents' income can also stop for a few other reasons.

Changes in Living Circumstances

If your family experiences a change in status or family structure, the SSA may change how it deems the amount of family income available to the child. So be sure to keep the SSA updated if any of these changes occur in your family.

Parent becomes eligible for SSI. Counting the parent's income for the child stops when a parent becomes eligible for an SSI payment.

Parent stops receiving SSI. If a parent who was receiving SSI becomes ineligible for benefits, Social Security will begin to count part of the income the parent makes as belonging to the child, in the month the parent becomes ineligible for SSI benefits.

Death of parent. If a parent dies, the SSA will stop deeming income from the deceased parent the month after the parent dies.

Child moves into a treatment facility. If a child moves into a medical treatment facility, the SSA stops deeming the parent's income; additionally, the child may become ineligible for a full SSI payment.

Child turns 18 years old. The SSA stops deeming the parents' income the month after a child turns 18 years old. After that, only the child's own income is used to determine eligibility for SSI.

Parent and child stop living together. If the parent and child stop living in the same household, the SSA will no longer deem the parent's income, beginning the month following their separation.

Child starts living with stepparent only. If the biological or adoptive parent leaves the child living with a stepparent, the SSA stops deeming income from the stepparent. In this situation, the SSA will consider only the child's own income to determine eligibility for SSI.

What Happens During Temporary Absences

If a separation between the parent and child is temporary, then Social Security won't stop deeming the parents' income. The SSA looks at several factors to decide if the agency will stop deeming the parental income:

Length of time. The SSA looks at how long the parent and child intended to be separated and how long they were actually separated to determine if the separation is permanent.

Away at school. If an eligible child goes away from home for school, but occasionally comes home for weekend visits, holidays, or vacations, then the SSA will continue deeming parental income, regardless of how long the child was away from home. An exception to this is where the parent no longer has "parental control" over the child (for example, if parental control was taken away by court order).

Living in a private non-medical facility. If a child moves to a private non-medical facility that doesn't provide educational or vocational training to the child, the separation from the parent is generally considered permanent; this means that the SSA won't deem the parent's income to the child.

Exception to Deeming for Children Living in Institutions

The SSA won't deem parental income if all of the following criteria are met:

• the child lives in a medical facility
• the child receives reduced SSI payments
• the child is eligible for Medicare under a state home care plan, and
• deeming would make the child ineligible for SSI.

Do a Parent's Assets Count as the Child's for SSI?

Like income, Social Security doesn't consider all of a parent's assets as "resources" that are available to the child. The SSA won't count the following as resources for the child:

• the parents' home
• one car
• household goods and personal effects, and
• retirement accounts.

If the child lives with one parent, the resource limit for all other assets is $2,000. If the child lives with two parents, the resource limit for all other assets is $3,000.

Contact Social Security for Help

The resource and income limits for the parents of a disabled child are not straightforward, and Social Security considers many factors when deciding what income is, and is not, subject to being deemed. But how much income of a parent's income is deemed available to the child is key in determining whether a disabled child is eligible for SSI (and the amount of SSI payments the child can receive).

You can contact the SSA at 800-772-1213 to discuss how your income parental will affect your child's eligibility for benefits.

_{Updated May 30, 2023}