SOCIAL SECURITY Q & amp;A

Q: I am 68 years old and get monthly Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments. I have just been diagnosed with cancer. Will the amount of my SSI check go up?
A: No. You qualify for SSI because you are over 65 and you have limited income and assets. People with disabilities can also qualify for SSI, but they do not get a higher rate than elderly people do. SSI payment rates depend on your income and living arrangements.
Q: My wife and I have been married for 40 years. We are both about to turn 62 and start receiving our Social Security benefits. She has always made a little more money than I have. Can I get husband's benefits on her Social Security earnings record?
A: When you file for benefits, Social Security will pay you the most you are entitled to receive. In general, a spouse is only entitled to one-half of his or her spouse's benefit amount. Unless your wife earned substantially more than you, your own retirement benefit would probably be higher. In any event, you should check with your local Social Security office.
Q: My brother recently died. He has twin daughters, age 20, both in college. Their mother said the local Social Security office told her the daughters were not eligible for Social Security survivor benefits on their father's earnings record. When we were young, my brother and I got Social Security benefits while in college after our father died. Was my sister-in-law misinformed?
A: No, she was given accurate information. We used to pay benefits to the children of a worker who died until the children turned 22, as long as they were in college. But Congress eliminated these so-called "student benefits" many years ago. Today, surviving children collect benefits only until they turn 18, or possibly until age 19 if they are still in high school.
Q: I have friends who are fairly well-to-do. They have a 25-year-old son with Down syndrome who lives with them. They said he gets SSI. How can this be? I thought SSI was only for poor people.
A: When a child is younger than age 18 and living at home, we generally consider the income and assets of the parents when determining the child's eligibility for Supplemental Security Income. But after the child is older than 18, we generally look only at the income and assets of the "child," who is considered an adult for most legal purposes, including eligibility for Supplemental Security Income benefits.
XThis column was prepared by the Social Security Administration. For fast answers to specific Social Security questions, contact Social Security toll-free at (800) 772-1213.
Knight Ridder Tribune