Social Security and Child Support

The Social Security Act provides that one-third of any child support received from an absent parent be excluded from countable income. The remaining child support reduces the monthly SSI benefit on a dollar-for-dollar basis, after considering any other applicable exclusions. An SSI child receiving child support is always better off financially than if he or she is not receiving support.One-third of child support received in-kind from the absent parent is also excluded. Box 1 shows how child support affects the SSI benefit for a child with no other income. Although the preferred evidence for verifying child support is court or other official records, the signed allegation of the custodial parent is often used to verify the amount and frequency of child support.