26 Mar Will a disability claim change affect other benefits?

Q. If an adult child receiving Social Security Disability on the work record of one parent transfers to the work record of the other parent because it will significantly increase the monthly benefit, how might that impact other disability benefits such as Medicare, Medicaid or Section 8 housing?
— Helping

A. Let’s take a look at each.

The switch from the work record of one parent to another parent should not affect the adult child’s Medicare benefits, said Shirley Whitenack, an estate planning attorney with Schenck, Price, Smith & King in Florham Park.

“If an individual qualified as a §1634 Disabled Adult Child (DAC), then Medicaid eligibility will continue unless the individual receives income from another source or exceeds the asset limit,” she said.

A person qualifies as a DAC if he or she is at least 18 years old, has a disability or blindness which began before the age of 22, was receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI) prior to receiving SSDI benefits from the parent’s work record and lost SSI income due to the receipt of those benefits, she said.

“Section 8 housing is income-based, therefore the receipt of the higher benefit may affect the voucher amount,” Whitenack said.

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This story was originally published on March 26, 2021.

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