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SSA

RIN: 0960-AF78

Publication ID: Fall 2003

Title: Stepchild Entitlement and Termination Requirements (934P)
Abstract: SSA proposes to amend its regulations to incorporate the changes to the entitlement and termination requirements for stepchild's benefits introduced by the Contract with America Advancement Act of 1996. The statutory changes allow a stepchild to be considered dependent upon an insured stepparent for purposes of entitlement to benefits as a stepchild, only if he or she is receiving at least one-half support from the insured person (stepparent). The changes also require benefit termination when the stepchild's natural parent and the insured stepparent divorce. We propose to extend the termination requirement to include: (1) a divorce that ends the marriage between a stepchild's adoptive parent and the insured stepparent; and (2) a prospective annulment that ends the marriage between a stepchild's natural or adoptive parent and the stepparent. We also propose to include in the regulations our longstanding policy that a stepchild's benefits are terminated when the marriage between the stepchild's parent and the stepparent is annulled from the beginning (ab initio). These proposed rules also correct a cross-reference affecting entitlement to mother's or father's benefits, and reintroduce an inadvertently deleted definition concerning dependency determinations for grandchildren and stepgrandchildren born during the one-year support period relevant to a child's entitlement on the basis of those relationships to insured persons. These rules will reflect enacted legislation and provide accurate and complete guidelines for determining entitlement to benefits.
Agency: Social Security Administration(SSA)	Priority: Substantive, Nonsignificant
RIN Status: Previously published in the Unified Agenda	Agenda Stage of Rulemaking: Long-Term Actions
Major: No	Unfunded Mandates: No
CFR Citation: 20 CFR 404.339 20 CFR 404.352 20 CFR 404.363 42 CFR 404.364
Legal Authority: 42 USC 402 42 USC 403(a) 42 USC 403(b) 42 USC 405(a) 42 USC 416 42 USC 423 42 USC 425 42 USC 428(a) to 428(e) 42 USC 902(a)(5)

Legal Deadline: None

Timetable:

Action	Date	FR Cite
NPRM	08/12/2003	68 FR 47877
NPRM Comment Period End	10/14/2003
Final Action	To Be Determined

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis Required: No	Government Levels Affected: None
Small Entities Affected: No	Federalism: No
Included in the Regulatory Plan: No
Agency Contact: Sherry Pollack Social Insurance Specialist Social Security Administration Office of Income Security Programs, 6401 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21235-6401 Phone:410 965-7915