Homeschooled 18-Year-Olds Can Keep Social Security Payments — With the Right Proof

If your homeschooled teen receives Social Security supplemental payments — survivor or disability benefits for a dependent child — here's a practical heads-up: those payments stop by default when the student turns 18, unless a parent can prove the teen is still in school. Homeschooled students absolutely qualify, but officials sometimes get this wrong.

HSLDA recently helped two Michigan families through exactly this. In one case, an official mistakenly told the family that homeschooled students don't qualify for extended payments at all. In another, officials got tangled up over the name the parents had given their homeschool program. Both were resolved once the families documented that their students were still enrolled and progressing.

The lesson is simple: this is usually a paperwork and education problem, not a real disqualification. Knowing the proof requirement before your student turns 18 prevents a lapse in payments — and saves you from an official's incorrect assumption.

1. Before your homeschooled student turns 18, gather documentation that they're still enrolled and progressing in your homeschool program.
2. If an SSA official claims homeschoolers don't qualify, that's incorrect — escalate or seek help (HSLDA assists member families with exactly this).