More young children in the U.S. are living with older adults who collect Social Security — and that’s changing the landscape of how kids are supported financially.
As the Brookings Institution reports, the number of children living with someone 62 or older has doubled since 2000, jumping from 5.3% to 10.5% in 2023.
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That’s one of the key findings in a 2025 National Bureau of Economic Research study that found that the number of kids living in households with Social Security benefits grew over the same period — from 6.9% to 9.1%.
Social Security outpacing traditional aid for kids
When it comes to financial support for children in lower-income households, the shift is dramatic.
Back in 2000, children in low-income families were 2.5 times more likely to live in households receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) than in households receiving Social Security benefits.
By 2023, that had changed. More children from lower-income families lived in households collecting Social Security (12.8%) than in households receiving support from TANF (10%).
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One factor at play is that TANF participation has fallen over the years due to tougher eligibility requirements and reduced benefits.
In contrast, Social Security isn’t explicitly targeted at children. It’s a broad-based program for retirees, their survivors or disabled individuals. Benefits flow to children indirectly when they live with an eligible adult.
The rise in children living with older adults has occurred across all racial and ethnic groups. Asian children are most likely to live with an older adult, while white children are least likely.
Black and Hispanic children are more likely than others to live with grandparents, though those grandparents tend to be younger than 62.
When it comes to Social Security income benefits, Black children are the most likely to live in such households (13.1% in 2023), followed by Asian (9.9%), Hispanic (8.6%) and white (8.0%) children.
Impact on child poverty modest but real
In general, Social Security accounts for less than 3% of family income. But in families with older adults, especially those with a grandparent caregiver, the share is much higher, and it can reduce the likelihood that children live in deep poverty.
It may also free up older adults’ time for childcare which eases financial strain on parents.
Brookings reports that in 2023:
About 70% of households with an older adult who was also a grandparent caregiver received Social Security income. In households with an older adult but no grandparent caregiver, 63% received Social Security.
Still, access is uneven. Some low-income families don’t benefit because the older adult in the home lacks sufficient work history to qualify.
The growing reliance on Social Security to indirectly support children raises significant questions about the program’s future.
In June 2025, the Social Security Board of Trustees warned that the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund would run out by 2033, triggering across-the-board benefit cuts if lawmakers don’t act.
Although policymakers didn’t design Social Security as a child poverty program, it now plays a bigger role in keeping some families afloat — even as doubts grow over its long-term financial stability.
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