419.When are father's or mother's insurance benefits NOT payable?

Father's or mother's insurance benefits may not be payable for some months if any of the conditions below are met:

  1. You work and earn more than the yearly exempt amount (see §1803);

  2. You work outside the United States (U.S.) for more than 45 hours in a month (see §1823);

  3. You are an alien who is outside the U.S. for more than six calendar months in a row. For information on payments while you are outside the U.S., see Publication “Your Payments While You Are Outside the United States” www.socialsecurity.gov/pubs/10137.html;

  4. The deceased worker had been deported and you are an alien who is outside the U.S. For information on payments while you are outside the U.S., see Publication “Your Payments While You Are Outside the United States” www.socialsecurity.gov/pubs/10137.html;

  5. You do not have in care a child of the deceased worker under age 16 or disabled who is entitled to benefits on any Social Security record; or, if you are a surviving divorced father or mother, you do not have in care a child of the deceased worker who is:

    1. Your natural or legally adopted child (as defined in §324);

    2. Under age 16 or disabled; and

    3. Entitled to benefits on the deceased worker's record;

    (see §§312 - 315 for definition of “in care”)

  6. You are married to an individual entitled to retirement insurance benefits and those benefits are not payable because of that individual's work activity;

  7. You are married to an individual entitled to disability insurance benefits and those benefits are not payable because the individual is subject to workers' compensation offset;

  8. You are entitled to a government pension (Federal, State, or a political subdivision of a State not covered by Social Security) based of your own employment and:

    1. The entitlement requires offset against the Social Security payment; and

    2. The exceptions in §1836 do not apply;

  9. You do not have a Social Security Number and you refuse to apply for one; or you are in the U.S. for a full calendar month, and you are not a U.S. citizen, U.S. national, or alien lawfully present in the U.S.

  10. You are confined within the U.S. to a correctional institution for more than 30 continuous days, as a result of a conviction of a criminal offense or a court of competent jurisdiction issues a verdict, finding or a ruling that declares you are:

    • guilty, but insane with respect to a criminal offense;

    • not guilty of such a criminal offense by reason of insanity;

    • incompetent to stand trial under an allegation of a criminal offense;

    • determined to have a similar verdict or finding with respect to a criminal offense based on similar factors (such as mental disease, mental defect or mental incompetence) and

    you are confined to an institution at public expense for more than 30 continuous days.

    or;

    Immediately upon completion of confinement in a correctional institution, (confinement in the correctional institution was based on a crime an element of which was sexual activity), you were confined by court order to an institution for more than 30 continuous days at public expense because you were determined to be a sexually dangerous person or a sexual predator or similar finding.

  11. You have an unsatisfied Federal, State or international law enforcement warrant for more than 30 continuous days for:

    • A crime, or attempted crime, that is a felony or, in jurisdictions that do not classify crimes as felonies, a crime that is punishable by death or imprisonment for more than one year (regardless of the actual sentence imposed); or

    • Violation of a condition of probation/parole imposed under Federal or State law (see §1854).

  12. You requested voluntary suspension of your retirement benefits on or after April 30, 2016.

The conditions regarding nonpayment of benefits are discussed in more detail in Chapter 18.

Last Revised: Sept. 23, 2016