A claimant for mother's/father's, surviving divorced mother's/father's, or spouse’s (under age 62) benefits must have in-care an entitled child of the NH. In order to receive an unreduced benefit, a spouse age 62 to full retirement age (FRA) must have a child of the NH in their care. The in-care child must meet all of the following:

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  be entitled to a child’s insurance benefit,

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  meet the conditions for entitlement, (For mother's/father's or spouse’s (age 62 to FRA) benefits, the child may be entitled on any earnings record (E/R). For surviving divorced mother's/father's and spouse’s benefits (under age 62), the child must be entitled on the NH's E/R.)

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  meet the relationship requirements to be considered a child of the deceased NH; and

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  be under age 16 (age 18 prior to 9/81) or, be disabled.

  Child-in-care also applies when the child was entitled to childhood disability benefits (CDB) prior to age 22 termination and became re-entitled to a new period of disability as a CDB after age 22.

REMINDER: If the situations in RS 00208.001D apply, there is no entitlement.

NOTE: Use the DEPENDENT CHILD IN CARE (DCIC) common screen to collect data for each child in the care of a child-in-care beneficiary

A mother/father must have in-care an entitled child of the NH when:

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  he or she files an application for benefits; or

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  he or she seeks entitlement within the retroactive period; or

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  we convert a spouse's benefit to a mother's/father's benefit.

RS 00202.001 Spouse

RS 00202.050 Spouse’s Benefits-Evidence and Forms Requirements

RS 00203.001 Child’s Benefits for Entitlement and Non-Entitlement Provisions

RS 00203.060 Child’s Entitlement on Two or More Earnings Records

RS 01310.001 Conditions for Entitlement and Definitions

RS 01310.020 Claimant and Child Under Age 16 Living Together Regularly

RS 00203.085 Childhood Disability Development and Determination

RS 00208.001 Mother/Father Definitions and Requirements