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Can SS cut my adult's son disability check because he is living with me?
Anonymous8 views3 answers
My adult son (23) has a mental disability and has been on permanent disability for several years. He was placed in a mental institution for a little over a year. His monthly payment has been resumed, but now he is getting a lot less than what he was getting before he was institutionalized. He was told that because he is living with me (his mother) he is only entitled to a little over $300. I make under 20k last year because I was unemployed for the last 4 months. I now have a job but my son is an adult, and I don't have the means to take care of him. What can I do? Would getting power of attorney over him give me more power to deal with this situation?
Your question does not state the program under which your son receives a monthly disability check, but your description would be consistent with Supplemental Security Income (SSI). SSI is a means-tested welfare program in which the household income is taken into account in determining the size of the benefit. The Social Security Administration manages this program and issues written notices revealing the data they used to calculate the benefit. From that document you can learn whether they have correctly understood your income. Having a power of attorney over your son would not change the application of the law to the facts of his and his household's income in determining his benefits.
Best wishes for an outcome you can accept, and please remember to designate a best answer.
Getting a POA has nothing to do with your situation. Your income - wages, unemployment, ect - and other assets that help your son live without him paying for it - are what reduce his benefits if it is SSI, as I believe.
SSI is need based and his needs are seen by SSA as reduced because you help pay rent, utilities, food, etc. Unless your son starts paying you his fair share of the bills or rent, he will be charged with receiving help which will reduce his benefits. And it takes SSI time to get caught up - they look back and average things out every 3 months or so, so there are sometimes underpayments and /or overpayments that occur because of the 3 month review cycle.
Hope this helps. Good luck to you.
A power of attorney would do nothing to raise the amount. If your son is on SSI it is based on the family income while disability is based on what the person payed into the system through the form of disability insurance. Due to his age you are probably dealing with SSI.
You might try getting your records together to show your income and asking for a reevaluation. If you were evaluated recently they may be basing the award on your present income rather than the income when you were unemployeed.
