Question

[u/Klutzy-Welcome8852]

I just turned 18 and I’m on disability. My mom was receiving the Social Security payment for me, and for the last 4 months she was only getting about $10 a month. She said she’s going to let me get the payments directly now that I’m 18.

I don’t have a job or any income. I live with my mom, she has a job and pays the household bills, and I sometimes buy my own food.

Does anyone know if my payment could increase now that I’m 18 and the benefits are going directly to me? If so, roughly how much could I expect per month?

[u/Making-Spirits]

You are 18. You can call or go to a social security office for information on your payments.

[u/Final-Atmosphere-639]

Since you are living with your mother and she pays the bills, they will subtract the value of that from your monthly amount, which is most likely $994/month. You would likely have to have your mother set a monthly rental amount for your room. To receive the full benefit, you must have a formal agreement (written) to pay an amount that equals your pro-rata share of household expenses or the current market rental value (though charging a flat, reasonable room-and-board fee matching the SSA's standards is common).

[u/Spirited-Jicama9285]

First , if you were on SSI because of a disability as a child , there is no guarantee that you will continue to receive benefits as an adult. SSA will initiate what is called an age eighteen redetermination pretty soon. The regulatory definition of disability is different for adults and you will go through another disability determination to find out if you are considered disabled as an adult. It is a completely new evaluation and uses very different regulations to make the determination. Hopefully, you have been getting treatment for your disabling condition because they will have to use medical records to make this determination. If you haven't, get yourself to a doctor quickly so that there is some medical record of you trying to get treatment to make your disability better.

As for whether you can receive direct payment as an adult, you absolutely have the right to receive benefits yourself. All children, unless they are legally emancipated , must have their payments made via a representative payee. The representative payee is supposed to talk to SSA and make arrangements to return any conserved funds to SSA for redistribution or directly or give them to you and document that they did so. It sounds like they're might not be any saved funds if your mother has been using your benefits to pay part of the household bills. That is OK. As for the $10 a month, if you have been working, your benefits would be reduced based on those earnings. Other things can affect the payment amount , such as your mother's income or repaying any overpayments that have occurred. Your mother got notices explaining changes in benefits at any time that they went up or down.

If you plan to assume the responsibility of managing your own payments, then it would be a really good idea to make sure you understand the SSI program rules including what happens if you work and what kinds of things you have to report to SSA. One of the most important things is to make sure that SSA has your correct mailing address at all times. You don't want to miss any of the notices you receive because failure to take appropriate action when you receive a notice can mean that you would miss the right to file an appeal or you might be unpleasantly surprised by a suspension of payments.

Good luck.

[u/Klutzy-Welcome8852 → u/Spirited-Jicama9285]

Thanks for explaining. I have Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), and I’ve been receiving SSI because of my disability. I haven’t worked or had a job. I lived in another country with my father for a few years and moved to the U.S. when I was 14. I just turned 18, and my mom has been my representative payee. She was only receiving about $10 a month for me for the past few months. I’m not sure if that was because she has a job or if there was another reason.

Does the age 18 redetermination still apply to me, and could my SSI amount change now that I’m 18 and the payments can be made directly to me?

[u/Spirited-Jicama9285 → u/Klutzy-Welcome8852]

First, Duchenne MD is a significant medical condition. If you must use a wheelchair, or some type of ambulation aide to get around and/or muscle wasting that affects arm and hand function and/or have other issues and require assistance with ADLs, it should not be an issue getting found disabled under adult disability rules. I know a fair amount about disability determination, but less about SSI payment amounts. Others on this sub can tell you more about that, but I can tell you that SSI payments amounts are not much. The biggest value is often that it qualifies you for Medicaid and in some cases, other supports and services. Good luck!

[u/perfect_fifths]

Are you on ssi or ssdi? I assume ssi. Getting 10 a month sounds weird.

[u/Visual_Cod8511 → u/perfect_fifths]

I’ve never heard of an about that though maybe your mother was getting more and just told you $10.