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Volume 16, Issue 3
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Spring 2004 |
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| published quarterly by: The New Hampshire Challenge, Inc. P.O. Box 579, Dover, NH 03821-0579 |
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| In This Issue |
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Dear Jan,
Would you explain to me how child support might affect the SSI (Supplemental Security Income) my youngest child gets? My husband and I have been separated for some time but he has never given me any support. We will be going to court soon so I want to know what I can expect.
Sincerely,
Divorcing
Dear Divorcing,
For the purposes of this question, the Social Security Administration (SSA) defines Supplemental Security Income (or SSI), as a monthly cash benefit for children and adults who have a disability, have little or no work history, and have limited income and assets. SSI eligibility for children with disabilities under the age of 18 is based on two major criteria: an income formula that counts a portion of the parent(s)' income as available to the child, and a medical determination of the child's disability by the SSA.
The simplest answer to your question is that the amount your son receives from SSI would decrease by the amount of the child support, minus $20.
But this isn't as simple a question as it seems! The larger questions are: What is the age of your child? Do you have other children and, if so, what are their ages? What is your income? Are you receiving alimony? How much are your household expenses each month?
When a child with a disability is under 18, SSI is based on the income of the parent(s). If your child is under 18, and you are working and/or receiving alimony, the amount of this income is used to calculate whether the child with a disability is eligible to receive SSI. (Alimony is counted as extra unearned income.)
Social Security has a formula to "deem" monthly income depending on the size of the family. If you are paid weekly and the amount of your four paychecks for the month is under the allowed limit, your child would receive an SSI check for that month. In the months when you receive five paychecks, parental income could be over the limit for the month, and your child would not receive a check.
Any income beyond $20 a child receives is deducted from the total amount that child would receive from SSI. Child support is considered the child's unearned income. SSA takes into account, however, the number of children in your house when determining how much of the child support is considered the income of the child with the disability.
If there are additional children in the household, SSA divides the amount of child support by the number of children in the family. For example, if there are three children under 18 and the amount of child support is $300, only $100 would be counted. Because the first $20 is "disregarded," it would be deducted from the $100 amount. As a result, of the $300 you received in child support, SSA would deduct only $80 from the maximum SSI amount your child was eligible to receive.
Another factor is whether your child can pay his or her "fair share" of the monthly household expenses. SSA counts rent/mortgage, all household insurance, heat, lights, sewer, water, and food as household expenses. This monthly amount is divided by the number of family members. Assuming your child has no income now, Social Security is reducing the maximum amount of SSI your child receives by 1/3 because you are subsidizing your child. If your child is able to pay his or her fair share of the monthly household expenses, he or she would be eligible to receive the maximum benefit amount (which right now is $564 a month). So, if the $100 of child support plus the amount of SSI received by the child equals the "fair share" as determined by SSA, your child might actually receive more money!
If you have more than one child, as your other children reach their 18th birthday, they are not counted in the equation. If you continue to receive the same amount of child support, the income of the child with a disability goes up, according to SSA rules. For example, if you have three children and are receiving $300 and one of the other children turns 18, the $300 is now divided by two. As a result, the amount counted for the child with a disability is now $150, which will reduce the SSI benefit amount by $130 (because of the $20 disregard).
Some parents have worked out arrangements that don't affect SSI or have a positive effect. If your husband pays the mortgage or even a portion of it, as long as the check is made out to the mortgage company, it doesn't count as income. By reducing or eliminating the mortgage as part of the monthly household expenses, you could make it possible for the child with a disability to pay his or her fair share, thus increasing the amount of SSI the child receives. Also, payments into a trust would not be income until the money comes out of the trust and possibly not even then, depending on what is purchased with the money.
In cases where the parent who is supposed to pay child support is in arrears, some courts have determined that the non-custodial spouse be required to pay child support beyond the age of 18. There have also been cases where the non-custodial parent is ordered by the court to pay child support beyond the age of 18 because the child with the disability will not be self-sufficient.
As I said, this isn't as simple as it seems. SSI benefits are subject to complex rules and regulations. For more complete information, call Social Security at 1-800-772-1213 from 7 AM to 7 PM. To avoid surprises regarding benefits, or before making changes, call SSA to ask questions. For State benefits, call your local office of Health and Human Services, department of Family Assistance case technician.
Questions for the "Ask Jan" column may be submitted to:
Ask Jan
The New Hampshire Challenge
P.O. Box 579
Dover, NH 03821-0579
Or may be e-mailed to: askjannhchallenge@msn.com |
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Related Story:
How I Know What I Know |
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