Does Old-Age Social Security Help Children? The Impact of Social Security on Grandchild Resources

Though Social Security is typically considered a program to support retirees, nearly one in ten children live in a home reporting Social Security income, twice as many as traditional cash welfare. We use the sharp increase in eligibility for Social Security benefits at age 62 to investigate the role that Social Security plays in childhood economic resources among children who live with their grandparents. We do not find that Social Security eligibility increases household income on average, but it is associated with reductions in deep poverty. We also see increased availability of household members' time for home production.