Colorado Social Security and SSI for a Grandchild in Kinship Care
Federal Social Security benefits and SSI are among the largest potential income sources for children in kinship care — and they interact with Colorado's state benefit programs in ways that can either help or hurt a family's total support, depending on how the benefits are classified.
Social Security Survivor and Dependent Benefits
When a child's parent is deceased, disabled, or retired and receiving Social Security, the child may be eligible for monthly benefits on that parent's record under Title II of the Social Security Act.
- Survivor benefits: available when a parent has died, if the deceased parent had sufficient work credits. Children can receive up to 75% of the deceased parent's benefit amount.
- Dependent benefits: available when a parent is receiving Social Security retirement or disability benefits. The child receives a percentage of the parent's benefit.
These benefits are paid to the child's representative payee — typically the person who has physical custody. If you're a grandparent or relative raising the child, you can apply to become the representative payee through your local Social Security Administration (SSA) office.
The critical thing to understand about these benefits in Colorado: Social Security survivor and dependent benefits paid to or on behalf of the child count as the child's unearned income for Colorado Works purposes. This means they're factored into the child-only grant calculation and can reduce the Basic Cash Assistance amount.
For a child receiving $400 per month in survivor benefits, the county counts that amount as the child's unearned income when determining the child's Colorado Works eligibility and grant amount. Ask the county to explain how it applied the child's countable income in its calculation.
SSI Is Different
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) — Title XVI — serves children with disabilities who have limited income and resources. It's fundamentally different from Social Security survivor or dependent benefits in how Colorado treats it.
SSI payments received by the child are fully excluded from the Colorado Works income calculation. An SSI-recipient child is also removed from the assistance unit entirely without penalizing any siblings. If you're raising two grandchildren and one receives SSI, the SSI child's payment is ignored completely, and the other child's Colorado Works eligibility is calculated as if the SSI child weren't in the household.
SNAP uses different income and household rules from Colorado Works. A child under 18 who lives with a relative exercising parental control generally must be included in that relative's SNAP household, and the child's SSI is counted as unearned income in the SNAP calculation if the child is included.
How This Affects Other Programs
| Benefit type | Colorado Works impact | SNAP impact | Medicaid impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| SS survivor/dependent benefits | Counted as child's unearned income | Counted as household unearned income | Not counted under MAGI rules if child qualifies independently |
| SSI | Fully excluded; child removed from unit | Counted as unearned income if the child is included in the SNAP household | SSI recipients have categorical Medicaid eligibility |
The Medicaid interaction is important. Children receiving SSI are categorically eligible for Health First Colorado — no separate application needed, no income test. Children receiving Social Security survivor benefits may still qualify for Medicaid based on their age and household income under MAGI rules, but there's no automatic categorical link.
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Applying for Social Security Benefits
Social Security is a federal program. Apply at your local SSA office or call 1-800-772-1213. You'll need:
- The child's birth certificate and Social Security number
- The deceased or disabled parent's Social Security number
- Your identification as the person seeking representative payee status
- Documentation of your relationship to the child and your caregiving arrangement
If a parent died and you haven't checked whether the child qualifies for survivor benefits, do it now. Many kinship families leave these benefits unclaimed because they don't realize the child has an independent entitlement. This is the child's benefit based on the parent's work record — it has nothing to do with your income or assets.
The GPO and WEP Repeal
If you're a grandparent receiving your own Social Security benefits and worried about reductions: the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) were repealed by the Social Security Fairness Act (H.R. 82, signed January 5, 2025). If your spousal or survivor benefit was previously reduced because of a government pension, SSA has processed retroactive adjustments back to January 2024. Verify your benefit statement reflects the correction.
This repeal affects your personal Social Security income — not the grandchild's benefits. But since your income is excluded from the child-only Colorado Works calculation anyway, the main impact is on your household budget, not the child's program eligibility.
Getting the Full Picture
Social Security, SSI, Colorado Works, Medicaid, and SNAP all interact differently depending on which benefits the child receives and which legal arrangement you have. The Colorado Kinship Financial Help Guide maps out these interactions program by program, so you can see how each dollar of federal benefit affects (or doesn't affect) the child's state benefit eligibility.
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