• @jaybone@lemmy.world
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    443 months ago

    How much does an orphaned 8 year old get a month from social security? I would assume that all goes directly to the orphanage or foster home?

    What is he supposed to pay his own rent and not drop $2k on Paw Patrol.

    • @Duranie@leminal.space
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      373 months ago

      If I remember correctly, the money goes to a guardian for the benefit of the child.

      20 years ago I knew someone who’s husband was on a motorcycle and was run over and killed by a commercial truck driver (I think he was falling sleep or something.) She was a stay-at-home mom of 4 kids at the time. In the end between the settlement and the social security, she was able to continue to stay home to raise the children and college wasn’t going to be a problem either.

      I haven’t thought of that family in years. In typing that out, I’m realizing that the American dream is still alive and well! Kids just have to be ready to sacrifice one of their parents to get it.

      • @jaybone@lemmy.world
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        63 months ago

        But that kid wasn’t orphaned. And I’m guessing that kid wasn’t getting social security. It’s possible parts of the settlement went into some kind of trust fund which the child wouldn’t have access to until reaching a certain age, or however else it was structured.

        • BlueCollarRockstar
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          93 months ago

          Kids get survivor benefits through social security from each parent lost. My 8 year old son gets $900/mo. I’m sure it varies by… everything.

        • @Lyrl@lemm.ee
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          3 months ago

          I have a pair of cousins twice removed whose father died, and their mom gets Social Security checks to help support them. Messed up part is the cousins live with my aunt (their great grandmother) because their mom and grandma are both too messed up to care for them, but if my aunt tried to get the SS money their mom would try to get the kids back (and neglect them) so she wouldn’t lose the check.

    • @IonAddis@lemmy.world
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      223 months ago

      I don’t know about orphaned, but my guardians got $300/month in the 90s because my mom was on social security disability. And when I was still with my mom, I think she got $700/month on social security disability. That’s with me included?

      Obviously this is different from what orphans would get, and 25+ years ago. But if Musk had stolen it from us then, our situation would’ve been even worse…and it wasn’t great to begin with. Even back then, with my mom having an incurable disability, she had to be careful of how much money extra she made from odd jobs lest they take it all away (people on disability aren’t allowed to save or have above X amount in income or the benefits will be revoked). And apartments in the area were $700/month, and we weren’t in section 8 housing so all of her benefits went to rent–and that was before utilities, food, etc.

      From what I’ve heard, similar restrictions are in place now. Nobody’s getting a plush ride on benefits, ever, and it’s a struggle to even get on them to begin with. Even with things that are 100% disabling and incurable.

      • @qarbone@lemmy.world
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        143 months ago

        I’ve heard that before and it still baffles me. People on disability aid have to maintain poverty to or else be subjected to greater poverty. It sounds like an obvious joke from Futurama. Except it’s real and the joke is the system.

    • @shalafi@lemmy.world
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      163 months ago

      Doesn’t have to be an orphan. My grandparents adopted me and I got $600/mo. from dad’s Social Security (80s money) until I graduated high school. He was a WWII vet, so I’m sure that played into it a bit.

      • @andros_rex@lemmy.world
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        63 months ago

        When I was in college, I received no money for aid because my parents made too much. My friend, whose mother had abandoned him to be raised by his extremely wealthy grandmother, was still considered to be getting $0 of parental help, so he got tons of federal aid.

        I worked full time through college; he didn’t. He loved to argue that free college would be “regressive” because rich kids wouldn’t have to pay for it.

    • @Fredselfish@lemmy.world
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      83 months ago

      Musk should get prison time for this. But instead he will bs rewarded from Republicans for saving money and when the rest of social security checks stop coming in, yet they keep taking the money from our pockets, where exactly will all that money go?

      Trump and Musk about to rob us of our social security benefits and what you bet part of it ends up in Puntins pockets.