Understanding Child’s Benefit Amounts in Social Security, § 404.353

As a parent, you want to make sure that your child is well taken care of, even if you’re no longer around.

Social Security offers child’s benefits to provide financial assistance to children of disabled, retired, or deceased parents. In this post, we’ll discuss the basics of child’s benefit amounts in Social Security.

According to § 404.353 of the Social Security Act, a child’s monthly benefit is equal to one-half of the insured person’s primary insurance amount if the insured person is alive, and three-fourths of the primary insurance amount if the insured person has passed away. This means that your child’s benefit amount will depend on whether you, as the parent, are alive or deceased.

It’s important to note that the amount of your child’s monthly benefit may change as explained in § 404.304. This section explains that a child’s benefits will be adjusted annually based on cost-of-living increases. The adjustment will be effective in January of each year.

In some cases, a child may be entitled to benefits on more than one person’s earnings record. According to § 404.353(b), if you are entitled to a child’s benefit on more than one person’s earnings record, you will usually receive only the benefit payable on the record with the highest primary insurance amount. However, if your benefit would be larger on an earnings record with a lower primary insurance amount, you can receive benefits on that record if no other person entitled to benefits on any earnings record would receive a smaller benefit as a result of your receiving benefits on the record with the lower primary insurance amount.

If you are entitled to a child’s benefit and to other dependent’s or survivor’s benefits, you can only receive the highest of the benefits. This means that you won’t be able to receive multiple benefits for the same period.

Example:

Let’s say that John is a retired individual who has a primary insurance amount of $2,000 per month. John has a child named Sarah who is under 18 years old and living with him. Since John is alive, Sarah’s monthly benefit amount would be one-half of John’s primary insurance amount, which is $1,000 per month.

Now let’s say that John also has a deceased spouse, who had a primary insurance amount of $1,500 per month. If Sarah were entitled to benefits on both John’s and her deceased mother’s earnings record, she would only receive benefits on the record with the highest primary insurance amount, which is John’s record. However, if Sarah’s benefit would be larger on her deceased mother’s record with a lower primary insurance amount, she could receive benefits on that record if no other person entitled to benefits on any earnings record would receive a smaller benefit as a result of Sarah receiving benefits on the record with the lower primary insurance amount.

If Sarah were also entitled to other dependent’s or survivor’s benefits, such as benefits on her grandparents’ earnings record, she would only be able to receive the highest of the benefits. This means that Sarah couldn’t receive multiple benefits for the same period.

In conclusion, child’s benefit amounts in Social Security are an essential part of providing financial assistance to children of disabled, retired, or deceased parents.

Understanding the basics of child’s benefit amounts and how they may be adjusted can help ensure that your child receives the appropriate support they need. If you have any questions about child’s benefits in Social Security, we recommend consulting with a Social Security representative or a financial advisor.

https://www.ssa.gov/OP_Home/cfr20/404/404-0353.htm