Title II Retirement, Survivor, Disability Insurance (RSDI)

Title II RSDI is an entitlement program financed with Social Security taxes paid by workers, employers, and self employed individuals. These are earned benefits and rates are determined by the wage earner’s work history and are not affected by any other income, including federal funds such as AFDC-FC or SSI.

Foster children are entitled to benefits when they have a parent who is receiving RSDI or a parent is deceased that has earned enough income (determined by SSA) to allow payment of survivor’s benefits. Eligible beneficiaries are the wage earner’s biological children, adopted children, or dependent step-children.

Once a child qualifies for RSDI benefits, eligibility continues until 18 or until 19 years if still in high school. SSA will send a notice three months before the youth turn 18, advising of the date benefits will be discontinued. If the youth is still in high school on or after their 18th birthday, the Analyst must provide a certified statement of attendance from the youth’s school providing an expected graduation date. Benefits may be continued if the youth is disabled, as long as the disability was determined before the age of 22.

Disabled Adult Child (DAC)

SSA will pay benefits to adults based on the parent’s RSDI eligibility. The disability must have been documented before the youth turned 22. When the youth in receipt of RSDI benefits approaching 18 years old with a disability, an application for DAC must be completed. This includes NMDs.

SSA considers this a “child’s” benefit because it is paid based on a parent’s SSA earnings record. The NMD may have received RSDI benefits prior to 18 but it is not a requirement for DAC benefits. When an NMD is eligible for DAC benefits, the benefits will continue as long as they remain disabled (there is no age limit). A person receiving DAC benefits may also receive SSI when the DAC benefits are less than the SSI rate.

Note: Youth are eligible for DAC benefits at 18 years or older even when they are not dependents of the court.

Rates

RSDI benefits rates are determined based on the earnings of the disabled, retired or deceased parent(s). The rates are calculated by SSA.

Income and Resource Limits

Assembly Bill (AB) 2906, ACL 25-27
Effective June 22, 2025, AB 2906 prohibits using SSA Survivor benefits to reimburse (abate) the county for foster care costs. This applies regardless of who the authorized representative payee (ARP) is for the youth. These benefits must be kept in a dedicated account and managed carefully to prevent exceeding federal resources and income limits. 
AB 2906 does not change existing income and eligibility regulations for Foster Care or SSA benefits. While the SSA does not set an income limit for children placed in foster care to receive RSDI benefits, there is a resource limit of $10,000 at the initial intake for foster care. If the child has resources in excess of $10,000 (usually the result of retroactive RSDI benefits), a blocked account must be established (Maintenance of Benefits).

When a child or youth is eligible for both SSA and SSI benefits, the resource limit is based on the SSI limit of $2,000. When the county acts as the authorized representative payee (ARP), the Analyst is responsible for reviewing the accounts to ensure the resources do not exceed limits and for establishing blocked accounts.

RSDI Applications

When the SW/PO or FC EW discovers that one of the following occurs, they must notify the Analyst to determine next steps:

• A court dependent child or youth is receiving RSDI benefits not payable to SCCSSA,
• The parent(s) is currently receiving RSDI benefits, or
• One or both parents are deceased and the child is not receiving benefits on behalf of the deceased parent.

Refer to the Analyst Responsibilities topic for further Information.

Related Topics

Social Security Administration Benefits