Can I add my custody niece and nephew (6&9) to my SSDI benefits after collecting since 2015?

Yes, it's absolutely possible! As their legal guardian, you CAN get auxiliary benefits for dependent children under your care. SSA doesn't require them to be your biological children - being their court-appointed guardian is enough. These benefits come from your earning record but don't reduce your SSDI payment. Each child could receive up to 50% of your disability benefit amount, though there is a family maximum that might apply. You should definitely contact SSA about this right away, as benefits can be retroactive but usually only for 6 months. Bring your guardianship papers and the children's birth certificates when you apply.

My sister did this with her grandkids! She got custody of them and SS gave her extra $ for them. They did make her bring the court papers to prove she had legal custody tho.

There's a lot of misunderstanding about this. These would be called "Child's Benefits" on your record. The key requirements are: 1) You must have court-ordered legal custody (which you do), 2) The biological parents cannot be providing significant support, and 3) You must be providing at least 50% of their support. The family maximum usually limits total benefits to 150-180% of your SSDI rate, so with two children, they might each receive somewhat less than the full 50% each. You'll need to file an application for each child separately using form SSA-4-BK. This won't affect your personal SSDI benefit amount at all.

BE CAREFUL!!!! I tried to do this with my grandson and they started investigating my whole case and ended up cutting my benefits saying I wasn't disabled enough anymore!!!! The system is RIGGED against us!!! They look for ANY excuse to cut people off!!!

I had a similar situation with my grandchildren and successfully got them auxiliary benefits. Getting through to SSA on the phone was impossible though - I spent days trying to reach someone. I eventually found a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to an agent within 20 minutes. There's a video explaining how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU. Saved me so much frustration! For the actual application, make sure you have their birth certificates, your guardianship papers, and evidence that the biological parents aren't supporting them. You'll need to schedule a specific appointment for dependent benefits.

wait i'm confused... are SSDI and SSI different?? I thought they were the same thing??

You should definately apply! My cousin got benefits for his step kids after he got disability so it's definately possible. Just be prepared for SSA to ask for tons of paperwork and take forever to process it lol. But its worth it in the end!!

my kids got benefits on my record but they stoped when they turned 18 even tho they were still in school which i think is SO unfair

After reading through all these responses, I want to highlight something important: You mentioned you haven't applied because you thought you were at your "max amount" - but that's not how it works. Your personal SSDI benefit is fixed based on your earnings record. The children's benefits are additional and separate, though subject to the family maximum. So applying for them won't reduce your current payment at all. I really encourage you to move forward with this application as soon as possible since there's a limited retroactive period.