Annuity Benefits for Disabled Children

Typically a child whose parents have passed on can continue to collect on their annuity benefits until they reach the age of 18, with an exemption made if the child in question is a full-time student in a university. But there are a few other exemptions too where the benefits can continue past that second cutoff age of 22, and that’s if a child is a.) disabled so that they are not able to take care of themselves, b.) that disability had occurred before the age of 18, and c.) they are not married. If a child meets these particular criteria, they may be entitled to continue collecting benefits for the rest of their life.

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To receive such benefits, the disabled child must have someone give the OPM all the requisite data need to approve them: where they live, where they work (if they work) and what their level of education is. The child’s doctor must also sign off on the form verifying the child’s condition and diagnosis.

Form RI 25-43 on www.opm.gov is the form that you’ll want to fill out for that. Make sure you have proof any other benefits the child may be receiving, such as Social Security, as those will have to be submitted alongside the application.

As the benefit is identical whether their parent was under FERS or CSRS, the particulars are as follows: if the child has a surviving parent who was not the person who was initially covered, the monthly benefit is 537 dollars per child, topping off at $1,611, or three children can be covered. If both parents have passed, the monthly benefit bumps up to 644 dollars, with that maxing out at 1,932 dollars. All these numbers are subject to adjustments such as cost of living.