Can A Minor Apply For Disability Benefits?

Disability benefits help those who cannot work to survive, but is it possible for a child to receive benefits through Social Security? In this video, Tulsa SSDI attorney Steve Troutman explains the difference between SSI and SSDI as well as under what circumstances minors are able to file for disability.

If you are unable to work and are seeking disability benefits, reach our Tulsa disability attorneys at (918) 265-1404 or fill out our online case review form.

Video Transcription

There are essentially two types of disability benefits. One of them is sometimes referred to as SSDI. The other one is called SSI. SSI is a type of welfare. SSDI is based on what a person has paid into the Social Security system.

There’s a little bit of a twist to that in that a person who is the child of a deceased or disabled person, if that child is disabled themselves, can apply for benefits based not only on their own earnings record but on their parents’ earnings record. There are a lot of requirements to that. One of them is that you have to prove that the child was disabled before the age of 22. So if, for example, they were in a motor vehicle accident at the age of 24 and had brain damage or something that caused them to be disabled, then that wouldn’t apply. But if you can prove that the child’s been disabled since they were 22 years of age, they can get benefits on their either deceased, retired or disabled parents’ earnings.

For more information, call us at (918) 587-0050 or visit our website at TroutmanLaw.com.