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Social Security Disability Insurance provides benefits for people who worked but are no longer able to. SSD benefits are designed to help disabled workers and their families. There are thousands of people in South Carolina who rely on SSD benefits to help them support their families. When they pass away, their survivors may be eligible for continued benefits. The amount of money they receive will depend on factors including their own age and disability status.
UNDERSTANDING SSD
SSDbenefits are paid out to people who have accumulated work credits. At its heart, this is an insurance program. By paying into Social Security via taxes over a number of years, workers become insured and, therefore, eligible for these benefits. When the insured party passes away, survivors they helped to support may continue to collect some of these benefits.
Survivorswho are eligible for benefits include spouses, minor children, adult children with disabilities, and parents. There are different criteria for all of these parties. A widow or widower over retirement age may receive the full benefit. Surviving spouses at younger ages will receive partial benefits. Even divorced partners may be able to receive a partial benefit, provided the marriage lasted at least a decade.
Minor children, or disabled children, are eligible to receive up to 75% of the parent’s benefit. If the insured party had financially dependent parents, they may be eligible to receive partial benefits. One surviving parent may be able to receive 82.5% of the full amount. If both parents are dependents, they may each be eligible to receive 75% of the full benefit.
These are just guidelines regarding SSD benefits. There are other factors that can affect benefits eligibility. There are, for example, caps on how much a family can receive in total. These benefits can also be affected by how much a surviving spouse earns. Should a widow or widower get remarried, that can also affect their eligibility.
