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When you think of Social Security, you probably think about retirees collecting checks, or maybe disabled individuals who received Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI). However, there are other benefits that Social Security provides as well.

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In fact, if you are an older parent, you may actually be able to have your kids claim Social Security with you, giving your family's income a significant boost.

Here's how you might be able to do this, along with some details on how having your kids get benefits could affect your family's finances.

How older parents can help their kids get Social Security benefits

If you are a parent of a child who is unmarried and either under 18, between ages 18 and 19 and attending high school, or disabled by a condition that began before age 22, then you may be eligible to claim Social Security dependent benefits for your child.

You can claim a dependent care benefit for your child only if you are retired, disabled or if your child's other parent is deceased. So, this means if you turn 62 and your child meets the age requirements, you can get your own retirement benefit, and you can get the dependent care benefit for your kid(s).

Many people don't know of this rule, especially because it's not necessarily that common for someone who is 62 to have a child under 19. In fact, as of January, just 1% of Social Security beneficiaries were kids of retired workers.

However, more people are having children later in life, with government data showing the number of women ages 40 and over having kids actually surpassing the number of new teen mothers in 2023. One study published in 2017 said births to fathers over 40 now comprise nearly 9% of all births in the U.S., more than double the share in 1972 (1).

That means a growing number of people may be eligible to claim the dependent care benefit.

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How much could the dependent care benefit be worth?

Children of retired workers collected an average monthly benefit of $919.02 per month, as of January, according to the Social Security Administration. However, the specific amount available to you depends on your situation, including your own work history and the number of kids you have.

A dependent child can receive up to half of the eligible parent's full retirement benefit. If the parent is dead, the child can receive up to 75% of their benefit.

If there is more than one eligible child in a family, the children can each receive the dependent care benefit but there is a family benefit limit that can be about 150% to 180% of the parent's benefit at full retirement age.

If the family limit is reached, the Social Security Administration reduces the benefits of each child proportionately until the total paid comes under that upper limit. Benefits received by the retired parent don't count toward this limit, though, so they aren't impacted even if many kids claim the benefit.

How will this affect your benefit?

If you are a parent interested in claiming the dependent care benefit for your kids, it's worth remembering that if you claim early to get access to it, you could shrink your own monthly retirement checks.

You have to wait until your full retirement age, which is 67 if you were born in 1960 or later, to prevent your benefit from being reduced. The SSA says if you turn age 62 in 2025, your benefit would be about 30% lower than it would be at your full retirement age of 67. The reduction in benefits lasts for life.

Reducing your benefit by 30% could potentially reduce your total lifetime income, depending on how long you live. However, this could be offset by the extra dependent care income you collect for your kids. You could use the dependent care income to help your child save for college or otherwise save for the future, or you could use it to help cover basic costs such as child care so you can invest more of your other funds.

If you work before you reach full retirement age and make more than the earnings limit, that could affect your children's benefits too.

Should you claim the dependent care benefit?

You may decide to claim the dependent care benefit if you want or need extra income coming from Social Security at the time, and your kids are young enough to qualify after you start your retirement benefits.

However, if you want larger benefits later in life, then you may not want to claim Social Security early. And if you wait to claim until at least your full retirement age, or maybe longer, your kids may age out of eligibility for the dependent care benefit.

To decide if you should take it, do the math. See how much money you and your kids will get if you claim at 62 and claim the dependent care benefit. Then, compare that to the lifetime income you'd likely collect if you waited until at least full retirement age to get a bigger benefit for yourself. Doing this will help you to see if this is the best approach for you.

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