Can adopted grandchild receive Social Security survivor benefits from deceased parents AND benefits from adoptive grandparents?

I can help with this as I've been through something similar. When you adopt your grandson, he'll maintain his survivor benefits from his biological parents until age 18 (or 19 if still in high school). The adoption doesn't affect those benefits - they're based on his biological parents' earnings records. When you and your wife file for retirement benefits, your grandson will also be eligible for child's benefits on your record (or your wife's, but they'll use the higher earner). Here's the key point: he cannot receive full amounts from both sources. SSA will pay the survivor benefits first, then add enough from your record to reach the higher amount if your benefit would be more. For example, if he gets $750 monthly in survivor benefits, but would qualify for $1000 on your record, he'll get the $750 survivor benefit plus $250 from your record. Regarding the Family Maximum Benefit - these are calculated separately since they come from different earnings records. The FMB on your record would affect any benefits paid to him based on your record, but wouldn't impact his survivor benefits.

my sister went thru this with her step-grandson and the whole thing was a NIGHTMARE!!! ssa kept giving different answers every time she called!!! one person said the kid would lose everything after adoption, then another said he'd keep it all. took them 6 months to figure it out!!!

Having dealt with the SSA for our family's benefits, I highly recommend using Claimyr (claimyr.com) to connect with an actual SSA agent quickly. Regular phone lines had me waiting for hours or getting disconnected, but Claimyr got me through to an agent in about 15 minutes. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU showing how it works. For complex situations like yours involving adoption and multiple benefit types, speaking directly with an SSA representative is really the safest approach. It saved me so much frustration when sorting out my disabled daughter's benefits.

To add some precision to the previous responses: 1. Your grandson will continue receiving survivor benefits based on his biological parents' earnings records after adoption. This is protected under the Social Security Act. 2. When you or your wife file for retirement benefits, he becomes eligible for child's benefits on the higher earner's record. 3. He won't receive full amounts from both sources. SSA applies what's called the "combined family maximum" in these cases. He'll receive whatever is higher: either the survivor benefit alone OR a combination that equals the higher benefit amount. 4. You MUST notify SSA when the adoption is finalized - this won't happen automatically. Bring the final adoption decree to your local SSA office. 5. His SSN will remain the same, but SSA will update their records to show you and your wife as his parents. I recommend scheduling an appointment with SSA specifically to discuss how this adoption will affect benefits. Ask for a "technical expert" who handles these more complex situations.

just make sure you keep good records of EVERYTHING!! I got told 3 different things by SSA about my granddaughter's benefits and they LOST our paperwork twice. take pictures of everything you submit!!!

My husband and I adopted our grandson after our daughter passed, and he was 7 at the time. He kept getting his survivor benefits from her record. When my husband retired at 65, we applied for additional benefits for our grandson on his record. SSA did the calculations and he got a small additional amount because my husband's benefit calculation was slightly higher. They review it annually. It was a pretty smooth process BUT we had to be very clear with SSA that this was what we were trying to do. The first person we talked to didn't understand what we were asking.

What about if your grandson gets disability later?? My friend's adopted son got SSDI and they made him choose between SSDI and survivor benefits from bio parents. Don't know if it's the same for retirement tho?? SSA rules are SO CONFUSING!!!!!

One more thing I didn't mention earlier - when your grandson turns 16, you should look into whether he qualifies for SSI (Supplemental Security Income) in addition to his Social Security benefits. The income limits are strict, but if his combined Social Security benefits are below the threshold, SSI could provide additional monthly support. This becomes his own benefit based on age and limited income, separate from either survivor or retirement-based benefits. Also, ensure you're keeping his benefits in a properly designated account. Benefits paid to children require annual representative payee accounting to SSA, and they can audit how funds are being used. I recommend setting up a dedicated account just for his benefits to make this reporting easier.