Source: http://www.socialsecurity.gov/OP_Home/rulings/oasi/09/SSR78-10-oasi-09.html
Timestamp: 2015-07-28 03:32:02
Document Index: 158812846

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 402', '§ 402', '§ 1252', '§ 401', '§ 402', '§ 1381', '§ 402', '§ 402', '§ 402', '§ 402', '§ 402', '§ 402', '§ 402', '§ 402', '§ 306']

Old Age and Survivor's Insurance SSR 78-10c: SECTIONS 202(d)(1)(D) and 202(d)(5) (42 U.S.C. 402(d)(1)(D) and 402(d)(5)) CHILD'S INSURANCE BENEFITS -- TERMINATION -- MARRIAGE OF DISABLED CHILD TO A NON-BENEFICIARY -- CONSTITUTIONALITY
The question presented is whether Congress has the power to require that a dependent child's Social Security benefits terminate upon marriage even though his spouse is permanently disabled. Answering that question in the negative, the District Court held that 42 U.S.C. § 402(d)(1)(D) and § 402(d)(5) deprive appellee of property without due process of law. 368 F.Supp. 909. We reverse.
The Secretary appealed directly to this Court. 28 U.S.C. § 1252. Noting that Mr. Jobst and his wife had become entitled to benefits under a newly enacted statute authorizing supplemental security income for the aged, blind, and disabled,[4] this Court remanded the case for reconsideration in light of that program. 419 U.S. 811-812. The District Court reviewed the new program, concluded that it had no relevance to the issues presented by this case, and reinstated its original judgment. The Secretary again appealed, and we noted probable jurisdiction. 429 U.S. 1089.
[1] Mrs. Jobst was receiving welfare assistance from the Division of Welfare of the State of Missouri, but was not receiving any Social Security benefits under 42 U.S.C. §§ 401-432.
[2] Section 202 of the Social Security Act, 49 Stat. 623, as amended, 42 U.S.C. (and Supp. V) § 402, provides in pertinent part:
[4] See Title XVI of the Social Security Act, as added by the Social Security Amendments of 1972, 86 Stat. 1329, 42 U.S.C. (Supp. V) § 1381 et seq.
[8] The idea that marriage changes dependency is expressed throughout the Social Security statute. Most secondary beneficiaries are eligible only if they have not married or remarried. See 42 U.S.C. § 402(b)(1)(C) (divorced wives); Id., § 402(e)(1)(A) (widows); id., § 402(f)(1)(A) (widowers); id., § 402(g)(1)(A) (surviving or divorced mothers); id., § 402(h)(1)(C) (parents). With some limited exceptions, id., §§ 402(e)(4)(5), marriage or remarriage marks the end of secondary benefits. Id., §§ 402(b)(1)(H), 402(e)(1), 402(f)(1), 402(g)(1), and 402(h)(1). In each case, however, Congress has excepted marriages to some social security beneficiaries. Id., §§ 402(b)(3), 402(e)(3), 402(f)94), 402(g)(3), and 402(h)(4).
[16] In the very Act that created the exception for marriages between beneficiaries, Congress showed its reluctance to use individualized determinations in allocating Social Security benefits. The 1958 Amendments abolished a requirement that disabled children over 18 prove their individual dependency on the wage earner to qualify for benefits. Pub. L. 85-840 § 306, 72 Stat. 1030. Congress concluded that these beneficiaries should be "deemed dependent" because "the older child who has been totally disabled since before age 18 is also likely to be dependent on his parents." H.R. Rep. No. 13549, 85th Cong., 2d Sess., 17.