Description

SSKID identifies "children" (in this case, persons under age 19) who received Social Security Income during the previous calendar year. These recipients may have received Social Security payments themselves directly as beneficiaries, or the payments may have been made to a parent or guardian on behalf of the child beneficiary.

While the ASEC CPS for these years generally defined "children" as persons under age 15, Social Security uses a broader definition of "child." Thus, for example, persons can qualify for benefits as "children" under Social Security's eligibility rules if they are unmarried and under age 18 or are unmarried, under age 19, and attending secondary school full-time. Thus, some of the "children" identified in SSKID as the beneficiaries of Social Security would be defined as "adults" by other CPS variables, such as POPSTAT.

To qualify for Social Security child's benefits, a child must have a parent who is disabled or retired and entitled to Social Security benefits or a parent who died after having worked long enough in a job where he or she paid Social Security taxes.

Comparability

The universe for this variable changed between 2001 and 2002. In 2001, only persons 18 and under in a household where at least one person under 19 received Social Security Income are in universe. In all years, persons between 15 and 18 who have a positive value for INCSS are not in universe for SSKID.

The variables WHYSS1and WHYSS2report the first and second reasons why individuals age 15 and older received income from Social Security, including payments on behalf of a child beneficiary. For persons age 15 and older, the total amount of Social Security income received during the previous calendar year is reported in INCSS. Dollar amounts for Social Security payments to a child beneficiary under age 15 are included in a parent's or guardian's reported Social Security income for INCSS; dollar amounts for Social Security payments to a "child" beneficiary are included in the reported Social Security income for the individual if the "child" is age 15 and older.

Universe

Flags

Unharmonized Variables

• UH_SSKIDYN_A1