Do I need to complete SSA student forms if my child turns 18 on the last day of school?

Yes, you should absolutely complete these forms! Even though your daughter is turning 18 on the last day of school, the SSA Form 1372 (Student Statement) is necessary to continue benefits for the month she turns 18. If you don't submit it, her benefits will terminate the month BEFORE she turns 18, not on her birthday. The rule is that child's benefits continue until age 19 as long as they're a full-time student at a secondary school. So technically, she could receive benefits through the end of the semester she turns 19, but since she's graduating on her 18th birthday, she'll just receive them until the end of that month (June). Don't ignore SSA paperwork - it's always better to submit it even if you think it might not apply. The school portion needs to be completed by a school official to verify her enrollment status.

Omg the SAME thing happened with my son last year!! His bday was right at graduation too. I DID fill out the forms and I'm glad I did because we got an extra month of benefits. The SSA is really strict about their paperwork deadlines though. If you miss it they'll stop payments and then you have to go through this whole appeal process which is a nightmare!!! Make sure you get the school part filled out ASAP because our school took FOREVER and we almost missed the deadline.

To clarify what others have said, here's exactly how this works: 1. Without the student forms (SSA-1372), child benefits terminate the month BEFORE the 18th birthday 2. With properly filed student forms, benefits can continue until the earlier of: graduation or age 19 3. Benefits are paid for the entire month in which eligibility exists In your daughter's case, if you file the forms, she'll receive benefits for June (her birthday month) since she was a student for part of that month. Without the forms, her last payment would be for April, not May (due to SSA's policy of terminating benefits the month before the 18th birthday without student verification). The official SSA rule is under Section 202(d) of the Social Security Act regarding child's benefits. It's absolutely worth completing the paperwork.

my daughter turned 18 in april and i didnt fill out the forms and they stopped her payments in march! had to go back and do it all after the fact huge hassle

I spent HOURS trying to call SSA about this exact situation last year with my son. Kept getting busy signals or disconnected. Finally found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me through to an agent in 20 minutes! They have a video showing how it works at https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU - seriously worth it because you need to talk to someone to make sure those forms are being processed correctly. The SSA agent explained everything and confirmed we'd get the extra month of benefits once the form was processed.

I think its always better to just fill out whatever they send you rather than trying to guess what applies to your situation. The SSA is very bureaucratic and doesn't make exceptions easily. But one question - is your daughter going to college in the fall? Cuz I thought the benefits continue if they go straight to college?

THE SSA TAKES AWAY MONEY ANY CHANCE THEY GET!!!! Fill out EVERYTHING they send you and keep copies!!! I lost 2 months of my daughters benefits because the school sent back the form 3 days late. THREE DAYS!!! And they wouldn't backpay even with proof we submitted on time. The system is RIGGED against us!!!

Following up on my earlier comment - make sure you get the school's portion completed before your daughter actually graduates. Some schools are difficult to get paperwork from after the school year ends. And to be completely clear: if you submit the forms, she'll get benefits for May AND June. If you don't, her last payment would be for April. So definitely worth doing.