Title II of the Social Security Act
(Act) provides for the payment of monthly benefits to children of
an insured retired, disabled, or deceased worker. Section 202(d) of
the Act discloses the conditions and requirements the applicant
must meet when filing an application. An unmarried child who has a
parent who is retired or has a disability and is entitled to Social
Security benefits, or who has a parent who died after having worked
long enough in a job where they paid Social Security taxes, is
entitled to receive benefits. An unmarried child can receive
benefits if they meet one of the following criteria: (1) the child
is younger than 18; (2) the child is a full-time student at an
elementary or secondary school (grade 12 or below); (3) the child
is age 18 to 19 and attending elementary or secondary school
full-time; or (4) the child is age 18 or older with a disability
that began before age 22. Under certain circumstances, SSA can also
pay benefits to a stepchild, grandchild, step-grandchild, or
adopted child. Respondents can download and complete Form SSA 4 BK
at www.ssa.gov and mail it back to SSA, or they can call SSA to
schedule an appointment at the field office, where an SSA employee
can interview respondents and enter information into our Modernized
Claims Systems (MCS). When applying for benefits for a child, the
respondent needs to provide SSA with the following information: (1)
the child’s birth certificate or other proof of birth or adoption;
and (2) the parent’s and child’s Social Security numbers. Depending
on the type of benefit involved, SSA may require other documents
for example: if applying for survivors benefits for the child, SSA
requires proof of the parent’s death; and if applying for benefits
for a child with a disability, SSA requires medical evidence to
prove the child’s disability. The SSA representative helping the
respondent with their application tells them what other documents
they may need, or the respondent can find the information on SSA’s
website. SSA uses the information on Form SSA-4-BK to determine
entitlement for children of living and deceased workers to monthly
Social Security payments. The respondents are guardians completing
the form on behalf of the children of living or deceased workers,
or the children of living or deceased workers.
US Code:
42
USC 404(d) Name of Law: Social Security Act
When we last cleared this ICR
in 2023, the burden was 115,896 hours. However, we are currently
reporting a burden of 199,033 hours. This change stems from an
increase in the number of responses from 515,602 to 572,113. There
is no change to the burden time per response. Although the number
of responses changed, SSA did not take any actions to cause this
change. * Note: The total burden reflected in ROCIS is 833,947
while the burden cited in #12 of the Supporting Statement is
104,964. This discrepancy is because the ROCIS burden reflects the
following components: field office waiting time + a rough estimate
of a 30-minute, one-way, drive burden + learning costs. In
contrast, the chart in #12 of the Supporting Statement reflects
actual burden.
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that
the collection of information encompassed by this request complies
with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR
1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding
the proposed collection of information, that the certification
covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a
benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control
number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of
these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked
and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.
03/23/2026
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Application for Child's Insurance Benefits / Death Claim / SSA-4-BK