SSI for children
Children under 18 can receive SSI if they have a qualifying disability or blindness and their family's income and resources are limited. The medical test for children is different from the adult test: it looks at how the condition limits the child's daily functioning compared with other children the same age, rather than at the ability to work.
- Childhood disability is judged by functional limits, not by work capacity.
- A parent's income and resources are usually deemed to the child — see the deeming rules below.
- Students under 22 can exclude up to $2,410 a month in earnings (2026), up to $9,730 a year.
The childhood disability test
SSA first checks whether the child has a medically determinable condition that causes marked and severe functional limitations, has lasted or is expected to last at least 12 months, or is expected to result in death. Some conditions are on SSA's listings and qualify on diagnosis alone; others are assessed by looking at six functional domains — learning, completing tasks, interacting with others, moving about, self-care, and health and well-being. Two marked limitations, or one extreme limitation, generally meet the test. Medical evidence from doctors, therapists, and schools all matters, and school records are often decisive.
Parent-to-child deeming
When a child under 18 lives with a parent, SSA usually deems part of the parent's income and resources to the child, using a formula that subtracts a living allowance for the parent and for other children in the home. That is why a child from a higher-income household may not qualify even with a severe disability, and why the same disability can qualify in one family and not in another. Deeming stops when the child turns 18 — and at 18, SSA re-decides the case under the adult rules, which is why many recipients see their payments change at that birthday. The age-18 redetermination is covered in redeterminations and overpayments.
Students and the earned-income exclusion
A student under 22 who is regularly attending school can exclude up to $2,410 a month in earnings in 2026, up to a yearly maximum of $9,730, before the normal earned-income rules apply. This student earned-income exclusion (SEIE) is one of the most generous rules in SSI: a part-time job or internship during school generally does not reduce the payment at all until those caps are reached. The exclusion ends at 22 or when regular school attendance stops, whichever comes first — and it applies to blind and disabled students alike.
Sources to check: SSA, Benefits for Children with Disabilities (ssa.gov/ssi/text-child-ussi.htm); SSA Red Book, Student Earned-Income Exclusion 2026 (ssa.gov/redbook/newfor2026.htm).