Social Security Has Cut 30,000 Children From Benefits Since January

Around 30,000 children of deceased workers were removed from Social Security this year, according to data from the Social Security Administration (SSA).
Social Security supports some of the most vulnerable Americans with monthly benefits. The checks are available to seniors, those living with disabilities and survivors of deceased workers who met the SSA’s criteria.
Tim Walz, Minnesota’s governor and Kamala Harris’ running mate, said his family relied on the Social Security payments when his father died, but recent data reveals the agency saw fewer children receive monthly benefits since the start of the year.
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While roughly 2.04 million children of deceased workers were getting benefits in January of this year, that number moved down to around 2.01 million in July. All in all, around 30,000 children were removed from Social Security’s survivor benefits.
“This has been a topic of confusion in recent months, and for good reason,” Alex Beene, a financial literacy instructor for the University of Tennessee at Martin, told Newsweek. “We’ve seen declines in many sub-groups of Social Security recipients, including children of deceased workers, but it’s unclear why the reduction occurred, and the administration hasn’t responded to questions on it.”
Newsweek reached out to the SSA for comment via email.
It’s unknown why the number of children earning Social Security through survivors’ benefits came down from January to July, but there are many reasons why the number of beneficiaries may drop.
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Occasionally, the SSA engages in a review of eligibility, which can kick people off the program based on income, age or the child no longer qualifying for the benefit, said Kevin Thompson, a finance expert and the founder of 9i Capital Group.
“There are income thresholds they may need to be maintained, and if the income threshold goes beyond those limits, the earnings test may kick in and the benefits may be reduced or eliminated,” Thompson told Newsweek.
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If a parent decides they need to take on another job to make ends meet, this could impact the eligibility for survivor benefits, Thompson said, adding that birth rates could also play a role.
“It is a delicate balance for something that is actually owed to you, especially if you have a child under the age of 18,” Thompson said. “I have not seen a push to lower the number of children receiving these benefits, while many of the kids are likely aging out of the program, and with lower birth rates of Gen Y and Gen Z, we may continue to see this occur.”
The SSA also removed many “older” and no longer applicable worker positions from its list earlier this year, but it’s unclear how that impacted numbers, Beene said.
“We also know that not every state is seeing these reductions in equal numbers,” Beene said. “Some state recipient data has remained the same, while others have seen significant cuts. It may point to an issue at a state level of how data is being handled and corrections being made by Social Security on the backend.”
The average surviving child benefit makes up more than $1,000 monthly, and children are able to get these benefits until they turn 18 or get married.
Stepchildren, grandchildren, and adopted children also qualify in some circumstances.