Social Security Helps More Children Than Previously Thought

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Since 2001, due to larger socioeconomic forces, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of children benefiting indirectly from Social Security. Economic inequality, income stagnation, immigration, and the recession have all contributed to the rise of extended, multi-generation families with shared living arrangements.

In 2014, 3.2 million children under the age of 18 received Social Security. Certain families receive benefits through the survivor insurance program that provides income to the dependents of covered workers how have passed away. Children under the age of 18 also qualify for benefits if they are dependents of a parent or guardian who is disabled or retired.

According to the Social Security Administration, with longer life expectancies, elderly Latinos will live more years in retirement and benefit from Social Security’s cost-of-living protections. Latinos tend to have higher life expectancies at age 65 than the majority of the population.

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A new study by the Center for Global Policy Solutions found that official reports often overlook children who live in “extended families” where someone in the household receives Social Security benefits. Data from the U.S. Census and the Social Security Administration, an additional 3.2 million children receive support indirectly from Social Security. The total number of children receiving benefits, bringing it to 6.4 million which accounts for 9% of all children in the U.S.

One recommendation from the Center is to expand benefits for Social Security to benefit economically vulnerable families. Social Security, according to the Center, is an underappreciated mechanism that, along with the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit could be helpful anti-poverty mechanisms.

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