Can I receive both Social Security retirement and CIC benefits or are CIC benefits only for spouses?

CIC benefits are specifically for spouses (or divorced spouses) who are caring for the children of a worker who is receiving retirement or disability benefits. These benefits are NOT something you can claim in addition to your own retirement benefits. They're part of spousal benefits with special rules when young children are involved. What you should look into is survivor benefits for your grandson since he lost his mother. As his guardian, you can apply for these benefits on behalf of your grandson based on his mother's work record. The child survivor benefit is generally 75% of what your daughter's full benefit would have been.

my sister got benefits for her grandkids after their mom died. not called CIC tho, think its just regular survivor benefits for the kids. SSA is confusing with all these different names!!

To expand on the previous answers, here's what you need to know about this specific situation: 1. You cannot receive both retirement and CIC benefits yourself. CIC benefits only apply to spouses or ex-spouses caring for the worker's child. 2. What your grandson likely qualifies for is a child survivor benefit based on your daughter's earnings record. This is generally 75% of what your daughter would have received at her full retirement age. 3. As your grandson's legal guardian, you would apply for these benefits on his behalf and manage them for him, but they belong to him. 4. Your claiming retirement benefits will not affect your grandson's survivor benefits in any way since they're based on different earnings records. 5. There is a family maximum limit (around 150-180% of the worker's benefit) that applies when multiple people receive benefits on one person's record, but since it's just your grandson claiming on your daughter's record, this likely won't be an issue. I suggest making an appointment at your local SSA office specifically to apply for child survivor benefits for your grandson. Bring his birth certificate, your daughter's death certificate, and documentation of your legal guardianship.

I think ur confused about what CIC actually is. It's not a separate benefit type, it's a situation that lets spouses get benefits early without reduction. If ur taking care of a kid under 16 who gets benefits on ur spouse's record, then u can get ur spousal benefit without early claiming penalties. But it doesn't sound like that's ur situation at all.

I went through something similar with my grandkids last year. You should apply for survivor benefits for your grandson ASAP because they can only backpay up to 6 months!!! So you might have already lost out on 4 months of payments since it's been 10 months. The local office was completely booked when I tried but I finally got through on the phone by using this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com). They connected me to a real person at SSA in under 20 minutes when I had been trying for weeks. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU The SSA rep helped me file everything right over the phone and we got the benefits started for my grandkids much faster than waiting for an in-person appointment.

The SSA system is INFURIATING with all these complicated rules and impossible phone lines!!!! I spent THREE MONTHS trying to get survivor benefits for my nephew after my sister died. They kept losing paperwork and giving me wrong information. One office told me he qualified, another said he didn't. Complete bureaucratic nightmare!!! DefInitely apply RIGHT AWAY because they limit retroactive payments and you're already at 10 months. And don't take the first answer they give you if it doesn't sound right - sometimes the reps don't know all the rules either!!!

To answer your earlier question about time limits - yes, there is unfortunately a limit on retroactive benefits. For survivor benefits, SSA can only pay up to 6 months retroactively from the date of application. Since it's been 10 months since your daughter passed, you've potentially lost 4 months of payments for your grandson. One other important thing to note: if your grandson receives survivor benefits, you might be eligible for something called a "representative payee fee" since you're managing his benefits. It's a small amount, but it acknowledges the responsibility of managing the funds properly. You'd need to specifically ask about this when you apply for his benefits. Also, these benefits will continue until he turns 18 (or 19 if he's still in high school).

my neighber gets Survivor benefits for her grand kids to. but be careful they make you account for every penny spent from those benefits! keep all reciepts for clothes school stuff etc as proof