Sometimes readers take me to task for not explaining a particular facet of the law when I write a column about some Social Security topic or another. I usually respond by pointing out that if I tried to cover every “if, and, or but” associated with whatever Social Security topic I am trying to explain, my column would fill up half the newspaper or website in which it appears. And I recently came across a good example of this.
A reader asked me when benefits to his daughter would end. He is getting retirement benefits and has one minor daughter left at home collecting dependent benefits on his record. I responded by saying this: “Student benefits end when the child reaches age 18 but can continue until 19 if the child is still in high school.”…