Who Gets a Pension When They've Never Worked? Let's Talk About Parents Raising Multiple Kids
- Author: Matthias Urbach
- Estimated Reading Time: 3 minutes
Generous pension received without work or contributions made. - Failure to work or pay your pension returns unfortunate consequences, as highlighted in this account.
Let's cut to the chase: If you haven't worked a day in your life, you probably won't be eligible for a pension. But there's an exception for parents who've raised more than one child. This blog post will shed some light on that special case.
- Pension
- Basic Security
- Retirement Provision
- Pension Claim
Parenting as a Job: Understanding the Pension Claim
Parents might feel like they're working two jobs, but did you know that some pension systems recognize this “invisible labor?” Parents who've raised more than one child can claim a pension entitlement.
Understanding the specifics varies depending on the type of pension and the jurisdiction providing it. Check out some relevant contexts:
U.S. Veterans Affairs
- Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) benefits: The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs offers a base monthly rate that can be boosted depending on the number of dependent children. Each kid under 18 typically receives an additional amount in the monthly rate. However, the primary focus is on the surviving spouse's status and child count, not on the parents' pension for raising multiple offspring.
- Survivors Pension: This benefit's eligibility can be influenced by the family's net worth and income, but it doesn't specifically reward parents for rearing multiple children[1][2].
U.S. Social Security and SSI Benefits
- Social Security: It doesn't provide a pension claim for parents solely based on raising multiple children. However, Supplemental Security Income (SSI) for children with disabilities can be affected by family income, which is deemed differently based on child count and family composition[5].
General Pension Provisions
- In most pension systems, benefits aren't directly increased for raising multiple children. Instead, they're often based on individual or couple work history, income, and pension contributions[3].
In summary, though families with multiple children might be entitled to certain financial benefits, these aren't usually framed as a direct pension claim for raising children. Instead, they're linked to specific programs or conditions, such as military service or disability.
In light of the special case for parents who've raised more than one child, it is crucial to understand that while they might not receive a traditional pension based on their work history, some pension systems recognize their hard work as "invisible labor" and offer a pension entitlement. However, securing this pension claim often depends on the specific type of pension and jurisdiction providing it, with personal-finance factors, such as family income and net worth, often playing a significant role [1][2][3][5]. Remarkably, vocational training is not directly connected to pension claim entitlement for raising multiple children, as it is usually based on individual or couple work history and contributions [3].
