What Grandparents Need to Know About Social Security for Kids

“These are more financially vulnerable households,” Romig says. “Among children being raised by grandparents, a large number of them are low-income and disproportionately at risk of financial hardship.”

Many grandparents “are already living on fixed incomes,” she adds. “It can be really difficult to stretch that income.”

For some grandparents, this means delaying retirement. Cathy Callahan, a peer counselor at a nonprofit organization in Auburn, Washington, has adopted two of her grandchildren, ages 5 and 14. With one daughter deceased and the other incarcerated, Callahan, 65, says she would like to retire but needs not just the paycheck that comes with her job but the health insurance — both grandchildren have complex health care needs.

“I hadn’t planned on working this long, but things change,” she says. “Financial circumstances are just one challenge that families like mine face.”

‘A very challenging position’

While some grandparents, like Callahan, can continue working, that’s not an option for everyone, especially because grandparents raising grandchildren are older today than in the past. Census data shows that 60 percent of grandparents living with grandchildren in 2021 were age 60 or older, up from 47 percent in 2012.

Grandparents who adopt their grandchildren can claim them as dependents. But in many families, there is a reluctance to formalize these arrangements, despite the potential financial benefits of doing so.

Doreen Tarrant on her front porch in Virginia Beach. Financially, raising her late daughter's children is "getting harder and harder," she says, but their Social Security survivor benefits help her makes ends meet.

Jared Soares

“Lots of times we have grandparents who have very informal relationships, which puts them in a very challenging position because they’re not eligible for benefits,” says Tracy Fick, CEO of Catholic Charities of Eastern Virginia, which offers support meetings and other resources for kinship caregivers.

In cases where a parent is alive but unable to provide for the child because of circumstances such as addiction or incarceration, Alber says many grandparents hold out hope for reunion and reconciliation. “The caregiver is always hoping that the birth parent will, at one point or another, be able to be a parent again, and they want to leave that door open,” she says.

Cost can be another barrier. “If you’re going to get legal custody like an adoption, you need to get an attorney, which costs money,” Alber says. Some families might be able to secure pro bono legal aid, but its availability is limited, she says.

How to get benefits for your grandchildren

Adult workers generally qualify for Social Security benefits after logging 10 years in the workforce, and their eventual benefit is calculated from their lifetime income history. Most minors who receive benefits do so based on the work record of a late parent. However, in limited circumstances, a living grandparent may be able to file for and collect Social Security for a grandchild (or step-grandchild) they are raising.

“What we call a child’s benefit is typically based on a parent’s work history,” Romig says. “But occasionally, a child can qualify based on a grandparent’s work history.”

The simplest way is if the grandparent legally adopts the child. “If the grandparent becomes the parent through adoption … the child would qualify as their dependent,” just as they might with a biological parent who is receiving Social Security retirement or disability benefits, Romig says.

If the grandparent has already claimed their Social Security, adoption is a requirement for a grandchild to get benefits on their record. If the grandparent is not yet receiving benefits and has not adopted, there are several specific criteria:

• The child’s parents must be deceased or have severe disabilities.
• The parents, if living, must not be making regular contributions to the child’s support, such as paying for food and clothing on an ongoing basis.
• The grandchildren must have been living with you since before they turned 18, and you must have been providing at least half their support for a full year before the month in which you become or became entitled to Social Security benefits.
• If the grandchild was born less than a year before you started getting Social Security, you must have been providing at least half of their support since birth.

You’ll want to keep detailed records of the financial support you are providing your grandkids. “Quite a bit of gray area crops up regarding providing half support, says Stephen Richardson, a former SSA regional communications director and an AARP consultant on Social Security benefit issues. “It can get complicated.”

He notes that grandparents whose initial benefit claims are denied on this basis “always have the option to appeal.”

SSA representatives can walk you through the rules and the claiming process. “They establish in an interview and would be able to guide that individual through the documentation that would be necessary for that claim,” Romig says.

To learn more about securing benefits for grandchildren you are raising, call Social Security’s toll-free national helpline at 800-772-1213 to speak to a representative or make an appointment at your local Social Security office.