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Often, when someone dies, we seek to support the grieving family in a meaningful way. In a sign of solidarity and love, we attend memorials or funerals, send condolences, prepare meals, and sometimes participate in athletic events or donate to fundraisers for a related cause.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n When a child or teenager loses a parent, their lives can be upended. Beyond losing the relationship, a child may experience food or housing insecurity, loss of healthcare, or even logistical challenges attending after-school programs. Their school may struggle with compassionate policies and procedures and seek to have the student return to school as soon as possible to ensure educational continuity (see our list of <\/span>helpful ideas for compassionate schools here<\/span><\/a>). <\/span>Even university students report similar challenges following a death<\/span><\/a> (see Evermore’s efforts in advancing bereavement support among universities here<\/a>).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Yet, there is a little-known economic benefit that a bereaved child may be eligible to receive if either of their parents participated in the United States workforce. This <\/span>Social Security benefit is available to some bereaved children, payable upon their parents\u2019 death. <\/span>However, some experts project that more than half of America\u2019s parentally bereaved children are not receiving the benefit, resulting in upwards of $15 billion in benefits not being conferred to bereaved children and families).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n More than 2.2 million children in the United States today have experienced the death of a co-resident mother or father.<\/span><\/a> Dr. David Weaver estimates that<\/span> 45 percent of children with one parental death receive the Social Security Administration (SSA) benefit, and 49 percent of fully orphaned children receive the benefit. Why so many children do not receive their eligible benefits is poorly understood. In some cases, families do not know about the benefit, or an administrative error denies an eligible child. In other instances, bereaved children or orphans do not qualify because their parents did not achieve fully insured status. This means that either parent did not earn enough wages to receive the benefits.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n According to the SSA, an <\/span>unmarried child may be eligible for benefits if they are:<\/span><\/p>\n Once the child reaches age 18, they will no longer be eligible to receive benefits unless they are a student or disabled.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n If you know a child who has experienced the death of a parent, please share Evermore’s guidance on how to apply for these benefits.<\/a> Also, consider sharing\u00a0 <\/span>SSA\u2019s application for benefits<\/span><\/a> with their caretakers.<\/span><\/p>\n SSA guidance states, \u201cA child can receive up to half of the parent\u2019s full retirement or disability benefit. If a child receives Survivors Benefits, he or she can get up to 75 percent of the deceased parent\u2019s basic Social Security benefit.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Weaver\u2019s study revealed that \u201c<\/span>when Social Security and other government programs are accessed, evidence suggests that child well-being is stabilized, thus plausibly facilitating better educational, health, and economic outcomes\u2014a benefit not only to individuals, but also to the nation in terms of elevated human capital, productivity, and innovation.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt takes a village to raise a child. The potential for lifelong success, well-being, and prosperity depends on us \u2014 the community \u2014 to support a grieving family. As the nation reels from concurrent mortality epidemics, it\u2019s important to understand the public benefits system, especially for our nation\u2019s most vulnerable children,\u201d says Joyal Mulheron, Executive Director of Evermore.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Resources:<\/b><\/p>\n SSA Blog Post: Social Security Pays Benefits to Children After the Death of a Parent<\/a><\/p>\n SSA Fact Sheet: Benefits for Children<\/a><\/p>\n Evermore Fact Sheet: How to Apply for Child Survivors Benefits<\/a><\/p>\n\n