Can my 70-year-old client get Social Security benefits for his teenage son? Confused about dependent benefits

Yes, dependent children can absolutely get benefits when a parent collects Social Security retirement! It's not just survivor benefits. Children under 18 (or up to 19 if still in high school) can receive up to 50% of the parent's PIA when the parent claims retirement. It's one of the most overlooked benefits in the Social Security system. The child's benefits don't reduce the parent's amount either. Given your client's age, it was smart to file now rather than waiting longer since his son only has 4-5 years of eligibility left.

ya i get this for my kid too! im 68 and have a 16 yr old and she gets a check every month. makes a big diff for her college fund!

This is absolutely a legitimate benefit, but there are LIMITATIONS to be aware of. There's something called the 'family maximum benefit' that caps the total amount one worker's record can pay out. It's usually between 150-180% of the worker's PIA. So if your client's wife also gets spousal benefits, plus the child gets dependent benefits, they might hit that maximum and not get the full 50% each. Also, if your client is still working and earning above the earnings limit (doesn't apply after FRA), it could temporarily reduce family benefits too. But at 70, that's not an issue.

I was confused by this too when I first learned about it! A lot of people don't realize the SSA pays benefits to dependents of retired workers. The benefit can be up to half of the retiree's amount. The child has to be unmarried and under 18 (or up to 19 if still in high school). Kids with disabilities can even get benefits into adulthood if the disability started before 22! The retirement has to have started though - children don't get benefits from parents who are eligible but haven't claimed yet.

When I tried to get my grandson his benefits, it took FOREVER to get through to SSA on the phone. I spent WEEKS calling and getting busy signals or being disconnected after waiting for hours!!! Finally I found a service called Claimyr that got me through to a real person at SSA in under 20 minutes. You can see how it works at https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU - website is claimyr.com. Totally worth it to avoid the headache, especially if your client needs to ask questions about how these dependent benefits work with the family maximum limit.

theres something else ur client should no... the kid gets benefits til 18 (or 19 if still in high school) but he MUST apply for them! SSA doesnt automatically give them. my friends kid missed out on a whole year of payments cuz they didnt know they had to apply

One thing that might be confusing you - there are THREE different ways children can get Social Security: 1. Child survivor benefits when a parent dies 2. Child dependent benefits when a parent retires and collects Social Security 3. Child dependent benefits when a parent becomes disabled and gets SSDI In all three cases, the child must be under 18 (or 19 if still in high school), unless the child is disabled. Your client's situation is #2. Maximum benefit is 50% of the parent's PIA, subject to family maximum.

I used to work for SSA, and I can confirm this is 100% legitimate. The technical term is "child's insurance benefits" and they're available to minor children of retired, disabled, or deceased workers. Given your client's age (70), he's maximized his own benefit with delayed retirement credits, which also increases the value of his son's dependent benefit (though the child's benefit is based on the PIA, not the increased amount). Your client should contact SSA immediately if he hasn't already applied for his son - benefits can only be backdated 6 months maximum.

Something important to consider - even though the child receives these benefits, they technically belong to the parent/guardian to use for the child's benefit. For tax purposes, if the benefits exceed certain thresholds, they may be taxable. Your client should keep this in mind for future tax planning. The child should have received a separate SSA-1099 for his benefits, which would need to be reported if they exceed the taxable thresholds.