The short answer
When a parent retires, becomes disabled or dies, Social Security can pay monthly benefits to the children as well. An unmarried child qualifies if they are under 18, 18 or 19 and still a full-time student in elementary or high school, or 18 or older with a disability that began before 22. A child can receive up to 50 percent of a retired or disabled parent's full benefit, or up to 75 percent of a deceased parent's benefit. The child's benefit is paid on top of the parent's own and does not reduce it, but the total paid to one family on one worker's record is capped by a family maximum, usually between 150 and 180 percent of the worker's benefit, and each family member's share is reduced to fit. Benefits for young children are paid to a parent or guardian as representative payee. You apply by phone or at a Social Security office.
The basics, before the situations
A child can be paid on the record of a parent who is receiving retirement or disability benefits, or who died after working long enough under Social Security. The child must be unmarried and under 18; or 18 or 19 and a full-time student in elementary or secondary school; or 18 or older with a disability that began before 22.
Swipe sideways to see the whole table.
| The parent's situation | The child can receive | Usually until |
|---|---|---|
| Retired | Up to 50% of the parent's full benefit | 18, or 19 if still in high school |
| Receiving disability benefits | Up to 50% of the parent's benefit | 18, or 19 if still in high school |
| Died | Up to 75% of the parent's basic benefit | 18, or 19 if still in high school |
A child's benefit is paid on top of the parent's and does not reduce it. What can reduce it is the family maximum, the cap on the total paid on one worker's record, explained below. Child benefits rise each January with the cost-of-living adjustment.
If you retire with children still at home
More people are retiring with children still at home, after having children later in life or raising a second family. A parent who retires with a full benefit of $2,400 and a 10-year-old daughter, for example, can see her receive up to $1,200 a month until she turns 18, or longer if she is still in high school then. Their combined $3,600 is within the family maximum on the parent's record, so neither is reduced.
The child's share is figured from the parent's full benefit, not the reduced one. A parent who claims at 62 takes a permanent cut in their own check, but the child can still receive up to half of the parent's full retirement amount.
This can change the claiming decision itself. A child's benefit is available only once the parent claims, which can make claiming earlier worth weighing for a parent with young children; our guide to how much Social Security you will get explains the trade-off on the parent's side. If the parent claims early and keeps working above the earnings limit, though, benefits to the children can be withheld along with the parent's.
If a parent has died
After a parent's death, child benefits can be a family's main income for years. Each child can receive up to 75 percent of the parent's basic benefit, and a surviving parent caring for a child under 16 can receive 75 percent too. In a larger family the family maximum often comes into play.
Take a worker whose basic benefit was $2,000, leaving a spouse and two young children. Each could receive $1,500, $4,500 in all. If the family maximum on the record is $3,500, each benefit is cut to about $1,167. When one child turns 18, the others usually rise, because the same maximum is shared among fewer people. Our guide to survivor benefits covers the surviving parent's side.
If a parent is on disability
Children of a parent receiving Social Security Disability Insurance qualify on the same terms, but the family maximum on a disability record is generally lower, no more than 150 percent of the parent's benefit, so benefits for several children are more likely to be reduced. Apply for the children as soon as the parent's disability claim is approved; see how SSDI decides you are disabled.
If your child is 18 or 19 and still in high school
A child who is still a full-time student in elementary or secondary school at 18 can keep receiving benefits until graduation or two months after turning 19, whichever comes first. Social Security needs a statement from the school, usually requested a few months before the 18th birthday. Benefits do not continue for college. If the student stops attending, drops below full time or is expelled, Social Security must be told; payments made after that point are an overpayment the family will be asked to repay.
If your adult child has a disability that began before 22
An adult child whose disability began before 22 can receive benefits for as long as the disability continues, under the same definition of disability used for adults, at any age. After 24 months of these benefits, the adult child generally qualifies for Medicare. Marriage usually ends a child's benefit, with limited exceptions for an adult child with a disability. Families with little income may also find SSI available for a child with a disability, instead of or as well as this benefit.
If you are raising a grandchild, or the child lives elsewhere
Stepchildren, grandchildren and step-grandchildren can qualify in some circumstances. A grandchild may be paid on a grandparent's record, for example, when the grandchild's parents are deceased or disabled and the grandparent supports the child. A child adopted by a worker already receiving benefits can also qualify, generally with conditions about the child's dependency on the worker; bring the adoption decree when you apply.
A child can also be paid on the record of a parent they do not live with, such as a divorced parent who retires. The benefit usually goes to the parent or guardian the child lives with.
What can stop or reduce the payments
A child's benefit is not fixed for the whole of childhood. These are the changes that most often end or reduce it:
- Birthdays and school. It ends at 18, unless the child is still in high school or has a disability that began before 22, and for a student at graduation or two months after turning 19.
- Marriage. A child who marries usually loses the benefit.
- The parent's work. If a parent who claimed before full retirement age earns more than $24,480 in 2026, Social Security withholds benefits on that record, and the withholding can reach the children's payments as well as the parent's; see working while collecting Social Security.
- The child's own work. A teenager who earns above the same limit loses part of their own benefit, and only theirs.
- The parent's disability ending. If a parent's disability benefits stop, the children's benefits on that record stop too.
A surviving parent who remarries does not end the children's benefits, though it can end the parent's own.
Who manages the money
Social Security usually pays a minor child's benefit to a representative payee, normally the parent or guardian the child lives with. The payee must spend it on the child's current needs, such as housing, food, clothing and medical care, save what is not needed, and keep records; Social Security can ask for an accounting. Money saved for a child must be held for the child, not mixed with the payee's own savings. Once a child turns 18 and can manage money, benefits are usually paid to them directly.
Child benefits are the child's income, not the parent's, so the parent does not add them to their own tax return. Few children owe tax on them, because benefits become taxable only when the child's own income passes the same thresholds that apply to adults; our guide to taxes on Social Security explains them. For a family that also receives SSI, SNAP or cash assistance, a child's benefit usually counts as household income, so report it to those programs too.
What Social Security decides
Social Security decides eligibility and the amounts from the parent's earnings record and your family's circumstances, including how the family maximum divides payments. The figures in this guide illustrate the rules; they are not your family's amounts.
Official sources
Calling Social Security
Child benefits generally cannot be claimed entirely online, so call 1-800-772-1213 or visit a local office. Have the child's birth certificate and Social Security number, the parent's Social Security number, and for a student 18 or older, proof of school attendance. A parent can usually apply for the children at the same time as for their own benefit. Apply promptly, because benefits are paid back only for a limited number of months.
