[dollymom]

I just received a bench award for SSD from the ALJ at my hearing. I know I still have to wait for the confirmation letter from the ALJ and the award letter from SSA. I have a fairly good idea of how much money I should get monthly and what my backpay should be.

My question involves my step-grandchildren, who according to SSA, do qualify for SSD under my award. My husband and I have had court granted guardianship for the last 5 years, and the children's mother is not living nearby, has never contributed to their support, and is receiving SSI for a mental disability. The children's father is unknown.

Will the children receive back pay just as I will? There was a form filled out by me at the request of my attorney when my case was accepted by the law firm who represented me at the hearing. This form provided all of the information about the children and their mother.

[Hoosier_Daddy]

Good question. I do know step children are not granted benefits. My brother in law just won and was trying to claim his step daughter and was told no.

[dollymom]

Thank you for your response...Although under my circumstances it appears the children do qualify, I am not sure if they will receive any backpay. I have not found that particular information on the SS website, but I was told by a friend that even though claim was awarded back to my file date of over 2 years ago, the children's backpay only goes back one year. Is that correct?

This is the information I copied and pasted from the SS website.

For Social Security purposes, the definitions of eligible adopted children, step children, grandchildren, and children of divorced parents are:

Adopted children are eligible for Social Security benefits including those children adopted after the recipient has already started receiving benefits.
Stepchildren are eligible for Social Security benefits provided they are dependent upon the step-parent/recipient of Social Security and the step-relationship has existed for at least twelve months prior to applying for benefits. Also the child must depend on the stepparent for at least one-half of her financial support and maintenance. If the parent and stepparent divorce, the stepchild’s benefits will end the month following the month in which the divorce is final. Grandchildren may be eligible for benefits provided they meet several conditions:
Benefits are not payable on the work record of a parent.
Generally, the biological parents of the child must be deceased or disabled, or the grandchild must be legally adopted by the grandparent.
The grandchild must have begun living with the grandparent before age 18 and received at least one half of his or her support from the grandparent for the year before the month the grandparent became entitled to retirement or disability insurance benefits.
If the grandchild was born during the one-year period, the grandparent must have lived with and provided at least one-half of the child's support for substantially all of the period from the date of birth to the month the grandparent became entitled to benefits; and
The natural parent(s) of the child must not be making regular contributions to his or her support.
The grandchild may qualify for benefits under these circumstances, even if he or she is a step-grandchild. However, if the grandparents are already receiving benefits at the time they acquire the child, they would need to adopt the child before she can qualify for benefits.

[Janke]

Did you get any public assistance payments for the children? If you did, you might not meet the 1/2 support rule throughout their lives.

Retroactivity of children's claims depends upon a variety of things, including whether or not you listed them on your application.

Have you filed a claim for the children and provided proof of what you allege?

[dollymom]

Thanks for the information. Unfortunately, we were not aware that we could get any support for the grandchildren, so they have not received anything except what we provided. The children were never in foster care; they were just abandoned by their mother and left with us. I believe she is on SSI, but we have not seen nor heard from her in 5 years.

SSA is supposed to call this month to get all of the information on the children and their situation. We have all of the supporting documentation regarding our guardianship, which was appointed in March 2005. I don't really care about the backpay, but any future payments would be sooooo helpful. I lost a high paying job 2 years ago after 33 years of employment because of my disability, and my husband had to change jobs so that he could have the flexibility to be available to help with the children and care for me when necessary.

The kids should qualify for a benefit under my SSDI, and hopefully will qualify for the death benefit in the future. If they do get any backpay, that would make things better for them, too.