A mother caring for a deceased worker’s qualifying child should not be excluded from Mother’s Insurance Benefits simply because the child’s parents were never married.

Petition

My daughter lost her father.

He paid into Social Security during his working life. After his death, our daughter became entitled to survivor benefits based on his Social Security record.

I am her mother. I am also the parent responsible for raising and caring for her.

But I discovered that there is another Social Security survivor benefit—Mother’s Insurance Benefits—that can provide support to certain surviving parents who are caring for a deceased worker’s qualifying child.

The problem is that the current law can exclude a mother who was never married to the child’s father, even when she is the parent actually raising and caring for his child.

That doesn’t make sense.

My daughter did not lose less of a father because her parents were unmarried.

And I did not become less of a mother because there was no marriage certificate.

The law should protect the child—not the marital status of the parents.

A surviving mother who was married to the deceased worker may qualify under the applicable requirements. A surviving divorced mother may also qualify under the applicable requirements. But a mother who was never married to the deceased child’s father can be excluded because there was never a marriage.

Two mothers can be doing exactly the same thing: raising the deceased worker’s child, providing the child’s daily care, making sure that child has food, clothing, housing, transportation, education and medical care, and helping that child cope with losing a parent.

Yet one mother can be treated differently solely because she was never married to the child’s father.

I believe that needs to change.

I am asking Congress to amend Social Security law so that a surviving parent caring for a qualifying deceased worker’s child can be considered for Mother’s or Father’s Insurance Benefits without requiring that the parents were married.

The other eligibility requirements can remain. The deceased worker must still have the necessary Social Security coverage. The child must still meet the requirements for survivor benefits. The surviving parent must still actually have the child in their care.

But marriage should not be the deciding factor.

This isn’t about giving unmarried mothers an advantage. It is about removing a disadvantage.

Children today grow up in many different family structures. A child should not receive less financial protection after the death of a parent because their parents were never married.

Social Security should recognize the reality of the family that remains—not punish a child because of the relationship that existed between the adults.

I am asking Congress to modernize this law.

A mother should not have to prove that she was someone’s wife in order to prove that she is the mother caring for his child.

Mother’s Insurance Benefits should protect mothers caring for children—not only wives.

Please sign and share this petition.

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#MothersInsuranceBenefits #SocialSecurityReform #SurvivorBenefits #ProtectOurChildren #UnmarriedParents #ChangeSocialSecurity #FamilyProtection