The whole Social Security disability system is SO CONFUSING! My daughter has been disabled since birth and we're still trying to figure everything out 25 years later! Every time I think I understand the rules, something changes. Good luck to you!!

Since several people have mentioned the transition from SSI to SSDI (as Disabled Adult Child benefits), I wanted to clarify one more thing: your son can potentially receive BOTH benefits if the SSDI amount is low. If the DAC benefit (on your husband's record) is less than the SSI federal benefit rate ($943/month in 2025), your son might get a reduced SSI payment to supplement the SSDI up to that amount. This is called "concurrent benefits," and it's designed to ensure that people don't end up worse off when qualifying for SSDI. The calculation gets complicated with the SSI income disregards, but SSA will figure that part out.

One thing that hasn't been mentioned - if your father was receiving Social Security benefits when he passed away, your mother should not cancel his direct deposit or close his accounts until any final benefits are recovered. SSA will want to reclaim his benefit for the month of death (if he wasn't eligible for the full month). Also, while survivor benefits and widow's benefits are essentially the same thing, there are important distinctions in when you can claim them: - Widow's benefits can start as early as age 60 (50 if disabled) - Regular retirement benefits can't start until 62 Since your mother is 62, she has options for either benefit, but the reduction factors are different. Widow's benefits taken at 62 are reduced by about 28.5%, while retirement benefits at 62 are reduced by about 30%. Some widows find it advantageous to take their reduced retirement at 62, then switch to unreduced widow's benefits at their FRA. Others do the opposite. It depends entirely on the benefit amounts involved.

my condolences on ur loss. when my wife died it was so confusing. i think they said widows benefits but the check just says social security. good luck

One thing no one has mentioned yet - even though you're still working with employer insurance, you might still want to look into applying for Medicare. You became eligible at 65, and while Part A (hospital insurance) is free for most people, there can be penalties for delaying Part B (medical insurance) unless you're covered by a qualifying employer plan. If your employer has fewer than 20 employees, Medicare would actually be primary and your employer plan secondary, which means you really should have enrolled when you turned 65. You'll want to verify your specific situation when you talk to SSA.

i had a friend who kept working until 73 before filing and she lost like $40,000 in benefits she could have had! so sad. definitely file asap!!

Congrats on reaching FRA! Something no one mentioned yet - even though the earnings limit is gone, you still have to pay income tax on your combined income (work + SS benefits) if it goes over certain thresholds. For most people, up to 85% of SS benefits become taxable when your combined income gets high enough. Just something to budget for!

One final clarification for you: to maximize your benefits, remember that: 1. You can work unlimited amounts after FRA without benefit reduction 2. If you're switching to your own retirement benefits, consider whether it makes sense to delay claiming your own retirement past FRA to earn delayed retirement credits (8% per year until age 70). You could potentially continue receiving survivor benefits while delaying your own retirement benefit, depending on which is higher. 3. Any new earnings that replace lower earnings in your 35-year calculation will increase your benefit. SSA recalculates annually. 4. Watch those IRMAA thresholds for Medicare premiums - for 2025 (based on 2023 income), the first tier starts around $97,000 for individuals. Based on everything you've shared, you're making good decisions. Starting work in January 2025 after reaching FRA gives you complete freedom from the earnings test.

Based on all the information shared, here's what I recommend: 1. Your aunt should request a detailed explanation of the denial in writing 2. Request your uncle's earnings record to verify he had sufficient work credits 3. Ask specifically how her SSI is affecting her eligibility for survivor benefits 4. Find out if waiting until her Full Retirement Age would make a difference 5. Consider filing an appeal if the denial still doesn't make sense after gathering this information The SSI/survivor benefits interaction is complex, and many SSA representatives don't explain it clearly. Don't give up - understanding the specific reason for denial is key to knowing whether an appeal is worthwhile.

Update: I asked my sister who works for a retirement planning company about this. She says it's DEFINITELY because of the SSI offset. If your aunt's potential survivor benefit is less than her SSI payment, she won't receive an additional payment. However, being entitled to survivor benefits might make her eligible for Medicare before 65, which would be a huge advantage over just SSI/Medicaid. So even if there's no immediate financial gain, there could be healthcare benefits worth pursuing. Definitely worth appealing just for that reason!

my cousin gets this benefit for taking care of her stepdaughter while her husband is on ssdi. they said income doesnt matter its not like retirement benefits. but the ssa people kept giving conflicting info so she had to talk to a supervisor to get it straightened out

To address some of the follow-up questions that have come up: 1. Your wife will need to submit a separate application after your SSDI is approved. This is Form SSA-2-BK (Application for Wife's or Husband's Insurance Benefits). 2. For documentation of caregiving, SSA may want statements describing your wife's role in your daughter's care - things like helping with homework, preparing meals, taking to appointments/activities, etc. 3. The step-relationship is not an issue as long as your wife is living in the same household and providing care during your custody time. 4. There's no minimum number of days required per month, but SSA will look at the overall caregiving arrangement to ensure there's genuine parental responsibility being exercised. 5. Be prepared for possible questions about why the representative payee (your ex-wife) and the person claiming child-in-care benefits (your current wife) are different people. Having the custody agreement ready helps explain this. The most important thing is to be completely truthful about the caregiving arrangement. SSA can verify these situations if there's any question.

One more important thing to consider: If you're married or divorced after a long marriage (10+ years), you might also be eligible for spousal benefits that could be higher than your own benefit. This adds another layer to your decision-making process. In your specific situation with the zero years, here's a useful rule of thumb: each year of work at your current salary replacing a zero year will likely increase your monthly benefit by approximately 2-3%. With 7 zero years and a $68,000 salary, working 3-4 more years could potentially increase your benefit by 8-12% on top of the increase you'd get from delaying benefits. The combination of replacing zeros and delaying claiming is powerful.

Just wanted to share my experience - I had about 5 zero years and worked until 64 before claiming. Each zero year I replaced increased my benefit, but I found the biggest increase came from just waiting to claim. The delayed retirement credits were more significant than the earnings record improvements. One thing nobody mentioned yet: don't forget that working longer also means more years of potentially saving in your 401k or IRA, which can be just as important as the SS benefit increase.

Don't SSI and SSDI get confused all the time? I think my cousin got SSI because his disability wasn't from working. Or maybe it was the other way around? The whole system is super confusing.

Another thing nobody mentioned - track EVERYTHING! Every doctor visit, every medication, every bad day when you couldn't function. Keep a disability journal. When I applied for SSDI, they wanted details from the past 2 YEARS about my treatment history. I wish someone had told me to document everything from day one. It would have made my application so much stronger and possibly prevented my initial denial.

As others have said, you're correct that you can suspend retirement benefits at FRA even if they originated as SSDI. However, regarding survivor benefits, there's an important distinction: when your spouse passes away, you'll have the CHOICE between: 1. Continuing your suspension to earn delayed credits on your own benefit 2. Ending your suspension to take survivor benefits Since your benefit is already higher than your spouse's, the survivor benefit (which would be based on their benefit amount) would almost certainly be lower than your own benefit would be at age 70 after earning delayed credits. One exception: if your spouse was also receiving SSDI or had significant delayed retirement credits, their benefit amount might be higher than you expect. It's worth getting a precise benefit estimate from SSA.

wait im confused. so you CAN suspend disability benefits?? i thought once ur on SSDI ur stuck forever?

31 months, wow. Did you have a lawyer? My brother's attorney hasn't been very communicative about what this exam means.

ya i had lawyer. they take 25% of backpay up to $7500. most lawyers dont talk much till theres actual news. they handle 100s of cases. def keep the lawyer cuz appeals council is complicated. btw my CE dr was actually nice but exam was really basic