Confused about Social Security retirement with disabled adult son on SSDI - CiC eligibility and account lockout issues

First, I'm so sorry you're dealing with all this stress. Let me try to help with what I know about your situation: 1. If your son is receiving SSDI based on his own work record, that doesn't directly impact your retirement benefits. But if he's receiving benefits based on his father's record, that's a different situation. 2. Childhood in Care (CiC) benefits are available to divorced spouses who care for the child of a worker who is disabled, retired or deceased. You can receive these until your child turns 16 typically, but since your son is an adult with disabilities, different rules may apply. 3. As for collecting both - generally, you'll receive whichever amount is higher, not both. For account lockout issues, try the "forgot password" option first. If that doesn't work, you'll need to contact SSA directly or visit a local office.

omg the 8pm cutoff is THE WORST! happened to me 2 times already!!! they just hang up no matter where you are in the conversation. so rude!!

I've been through similar with my daughter! The benefit situation is complicated when you have adult disabled children. From what I understand, if your son is receiving SSDI on his OWN record (not as a disabled adult child on yours or ex's record), then your benefits are calculated separately. The real question is whether you qualify for spousal benefits on your ex's record if you were married 10+ years. That might be higher than your own retirement benefit if you were out of workforce for a while.

To answer your specific questions: 1. Your retirement benefits are calculated based on YOUR work record (or potentially your ex-spouse's if you were married 10+ years and that would give you a higher amount). Your son's SSDI doesn't reduce your retirement benefit. 2. CiC benefits (Child-in-Care spousal benefits) typically only apply when caring for a child under 16 OR a disabled child who became disabled before 22. But here's the key - if you're collecting CiC benefits, you ARE subject to earnings limits if you're under your Full Retirement Age (FRA). For 2025, you can earn up to $22,300 without reduction, but benefits are reduced $1 for every $2 earned above that. 3. You can't collect both your own retirement and CiC/spousal benefits simultaneously at their full amounts. SSA will pay the higher of the two. For your account lockout - call the dedicated tech support line at 1-800-772-1213, press "4" for the automated service password reset option.

When I was dealing with similar SSA phone issues, I found a service called Claimyr that got me through to an agent in about 20 minutes instead of waiting all day. It basically calls SSA for you and then connects you when an agent answers. Saved me hours of frustration! They have a video showing how it works here: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU and their website is claimyr.com Regarding your situation, definitely find out if you're eligible for benefits on your ex's record. Since you were married over 10 years, you should be, and if he was a higher earner it might be more than your own benefit amount.

DONT WASTE UR TIME WITH THE PHONE!!! Just go to ur local SSA office, you can make an appointment through the website. The people at my office were super helpful and gave me a print out of all my different benefit options with actual numbers. Take all ur ids and paperwork about ur son's disability status.

I think there's some confusion in this thread about CiC benefits. Child-in-Care benefits are specifically for when you're caring for a child under 16. What you're likely thinking of are disabled adult child benefits (DAC), which continue past age 18 if the disability began before age 22. Also, regarding your MySocialSecurity account, lockouts typically expire after 24 hours. If it's been longer, you may need to create a new account. The online account is essential for getting benefit estimates without calling, so I'd prioritize fixing that issue.

For your account lockout - try using a different browser or clearing your cookies. That fixed mine last time. They've been having a lot of website issues lately.

One other important thing to consider: if you do qualify for benefits as a divorced spouse caring for a disabled adult child, and you decide to reduce your work hours to stay under the earnings limit, make sure to calculate how that will affect your own future retirement benefit. Those reduced earnings years will be part of your benefit calculation. Sometimes it's better financially to keep working and wait until your own retirement age to claim benefits.