October 30 – Arrearages Child Support for an Adult Child
Question: I am working with a 19-year old Supplemental Security Income (SSI) beneficiary who lives in his own apartment. His father pays his mother a child support arrearage payment of $100 per month. How does Social Security treat a child support arrearage payment?
Answer: When a parent or other person receives a child support arrearage payment on behalf of an adult child:
- Any amount of that payment that the parent or other person receives and doesn’t give to the adult child is unearned income to the parent or other person in the month they receive it. The portion of the arrearage payment the parent or other person retains is not income to the adult child and does not affect the adult child’s SSI eligibility or payment.
- Any amount of that payment that the parent or other person gives to the adult child is unearned income to the adult child in the month given.
- Any child support arrearage payment an adult child receives directly from the absent parent is unearned income to the adult child.
Would you like to find out more about WIPA and your benefits? Contact your statewide WIPA Program-Project 20/20 if you have questions like our Daily Tips or want to learn more about working while receiving social security disability benefits. Call our North Augusta office at 803-279-9611 or the Ticket to Work Helpline at 1-866-968-7842. You can also complete a Contact Us or Self-referral Form.