SS was designed to pay those who had paid into the fund. If it’s not doing that than it needs to change to the original idea of paying only those who paid in.
Each month during 2021, we paid an average of $2.8 billion in benefits to 4 million children whose parents (one or both) were retired, deceased, or were disabled. These benefits provide necessities for eligible family members and help make it possible for those children to complete school. When a parent develops a disability or dies, Social Security benefits help stabilize the family’s financial future.
Who can get child’s benefits?
To get benefits, a child must have either:
• A parent who is retired or has a disability and is entitled to Social Security benefits.
• A parent who died after having worked long enough in a job where they paid Social Security taxes.
Your unmarried child can get benefits if they are:
• Younger than age 18.
• Between ages 18 and 19 and a full-time student at an elementary or secondary school (grade 12 or below).
• Age 18 or older with a disability that began before age 22.
Under certain circumstances, we can also pay benefits to a stepchild, grandchild, stepgrandchild, or adopted child.