Can my 14-year-old receive Social Security benefits while I delay until 70? Parents with age gap question

i had ALMOST the same situation last year. turns out ur daughter CAN get benefits but ONLY if ur collecting. the whole family benefits thing only kicks in when the retirement-age parent starts taking ss checks. so basically u have to decide if getting benefits for her now is worth taking ur ss earlier than u planned... for us it was worth it, but our age gap was different (i was 66, wife 60, kid 15).

Your friend is partially correct, but there's an important catch. For your daughter to receive benefits as a minor child of a retired worker, you must be collecting your own retirement benefits. There's no way around this requirement. If you were to file now at 68, your daughter would be eligible for up to 50% of your Primary Insurance Amount (your benefit at Full Retirement Age), not 50% of your age-68 increased amount. These are called "auxiliary benefits" or "child's benefits." The application process requires Form SSA-4-BK (Child's Application) in addition to your retirement application. You'll need to provide her birth certificate, your marriage certificate, and possibly school records. As for payment, benefits for a minor under 14 must go to a representative payee (typically a parent). The funds must be used for her benefit, but they don't require a separate account in her name. To decide if this makes financial sense, calculate: 1. What you'd lose by filing at 68 instead of 70 (roughly 16% of your monthly benefit for life) 2. What your daughter would gain (approximately 50% of your FRA amount until she turns 18) This is a highly individual calculation that depends on your benefit amount, life expectancy, and family needs.

I suspended my benefits after filing for similar reasons and my son's payments stopped immediately. They don't tell you this clearly but dependent benefits end during suspension periods!! Found out the hard way.

It's good you're thinking about this! My brother-in-law went through something similar last year with his 16yo. What he did was just start collecting his SS at 68 and his son got the extra benefit. It worked out well for them!

This is a common strategic question for parents with younger children. Yes, your daughter is eligible for benefits as a child of a retired worker, but ONLY if you file for your own retirement benefits first. She would receive up to 50% of your Primary Insurance Amount (PIA, which is your benefit at Full Retirement Age), not 50% of your age-adjusted amount. But here's where strategy comes in: You need to compare 4 years of child benefits against the permanent reduction in your own benefit by filing before 70. For example: - If your PIA is $3,000, and you file at 68 instead of 70, you'll get about $3,480 instead of $3,960 per month for life (a difference of $480 monthly) - Your daughter would receive about $1,500 monthly (50% of PIA) for 4 years until she turns 18 So that's potentially $72,000 in child benefits ($1,500 × 48 months) versus $480 less per month for the rest of your life. If you live to 85, that's 17 years of reduced benefits (204 months × $480 = $97,920). As for administrative details: Yes, there's specialized paperwork (Form SSA-4-BK). Since she's 14, you would be the representative payee and the funds can go to your account, but must be used for her benefit.

I just went through this exact situation last year! Dealing with Social Security for my daughter (she was 15) while deciding when to take my own retirement. The wait times to speak to someone at SSA were INSANE - I spent three different days on hold for hours and got disconnected twice. Finally I used Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to SSA without the wait. They have this service that gets you to a Social Security agent usually within 15-20 minutes instead of waiting hours. There's a video showing how it works here: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU Once I actually got to speak with someone, they explained all the math about my daughter's benefits versus waiting until 70. In my case, it made more sense to file right away and get the dependent benefits started. The forms weren't too complicated once I knew exactly what to ask for.

Why not just have your wifes income support your daughter? Your SS will likely be taxed anyway if your household income is high enough. Have you calculated that part too?

forgot to mention in my first comment... for the bank account thing, they made me set up a separate account as a "representative payee" for my son. didnt have to be IN HIS NAME exactly but i had to be listed as rep payee for him. they're pretty strict about keeping the money separate and they can audit u to make sure ur spending it on the kid.

My cousin had a child benefit situation and Social Security made ALL KINDS of mistakes with his paperwork! Just warning you to double-check everything they tell you.

To answer your follow-up question: No, if you file for benefits and then suspend them (using the voluntary suspension option available after Full Retirement Age), ALL benefits based on your record - including your daughter's - would stop during the suspension period. This is due to changes made by the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015. So unfortunately, there's no way to "have your cake and eat it too" in this situation. You either: 1. File now at 68 - you get reduced benefits for life but your daughter gets benefits until 18 2. Wait until 70 - you get maximum benefits for life but your daughter gets nothing until you file (by which time she'll be 16, so only 2 years of eligibility) Given your family history of longevity (parents living to their 90s), waiting until 70 might still be your best financial strategy, despite missing out on some child benefits. At age 90, you would have received substantially more by waiting, even accounting for your daughter's benefits.