Do I need to report my son's DAC benefits to SSI? Transitioning from SSI to Disabled Adult Child benefits
My daughter (29) just transitioned from receiving SSI since age 18 to getting Disabled Adult Child (DAC) benefits on my work record this month. The DAC payment is about $1,250, which is significantly higher than her SSI was. Today I received a thick envelope from Social Security with what seems like contradictory information. From what I can decipher, it looks like I'm supposed to report her new DAC benefits back to SSI as countable income? This seems circular since she's no longer getting SSI because she's now on DAC. The paperwork is extremely confusing and I can't figure out if I need to do anything or just let SSA handle it. Has anyone dealt with this transition from SSI to DAC benefits? What exactly am I supposed to report, and to whom?
17 comments
Sofia Hernandez
Dont worry about it. Social Security knows shes getting DAC now, they're the ones paying it! They just send out all these notices automatically. My nephew went through this last year. The SSI stops automatically when the DAC starts.
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Dylan Campbell
Thanks for your reply! So I don't need to contact anyone or fill anything out from this packet? I'm just worried about them saying later that I failed to report something and creating an overpayment situation.
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Dmitry Kuznetsov
This is a common confusion when transitioning from SSI to DAC benefits. What you're experiencing is normal, and here's what's happening: When your daughter becomes eligible for DAC benefits under your record, SSA automatically recalculates her SSI. Since DAC benefits count as unearned income for SSI purposes, and her DAC amount ($1,250) exceeds the SSI federal benefit rate plus the $20 general income exclusion, her SSI eligibility is terminated. The important thing: SSA's computer systems handle this automatically. Those papers you received are likely a combination of:1. Notice of SSI termination2. Award notice for the DAC benefits3. Explanation of how the income affects SSIYou don't typically need to report the DAC to SSI since it's all within the same agency and systems. However, it's always good practice to keep all these notices in case there's any confusion later. Your daughter should maintain her Medicaid eligibility under special rules that protect former SSI recipients who lose eligibility due to DAC benefits (called \
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Dylan Campbell
This is incredibly helpful, thank you! The packet does have something about Medicaid continuing. So I don't need to fill out any of these forms they sent or contact them? I just want to make sure I'm not missing something important.
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Ava Thompson
THE SSA IS SOOOO BAD AT EXPLAINING THINGS!!!! When my son went from SSI to SSDI they sent us 22 PAGES of paperwork that made no sense!!! I called like 10 times and got different answers each time. Then they said we had an overpayment but it was THEIR MISTAKE!!!! Spent 6 months fixing it. 😡😡😡
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Dylan Campbell
Oh no, that sounds awful! That's exactly what I'm worried about. Did you eventually get it resolved?
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Ava Thompson
Yes but only after filing a formal appeal and getting help from my congressman's office!!! The SSA is a disaster with these transitions!
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Miguel Ramos
I had a similar experience but found a service called Claimyr that helped me actually reach a real SSA agent without waiting hours on hold. It saved me so much stress! You might want to check out their video at https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU to see how it works. Their website is claimyr.com - I used it to verify everything was processed correctly with my son's transition from SSI to SSDI.
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Dylan Campbell
Thanks for the tip. I might try that if I need to speak with someone directly. The thought of sitting on hold for hours is making me put off calling them.
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Zainab Ibrahim
The transition from SSI to DAC benefits is actually a really good thing for your daughter! My son did this 2 years ago. The DAC benefits will increase with COLA each year, there's no asset limit like with SSI, and she should keep her Medicaid automatically in most states. They call it the
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Dylan Campbell
That's great to hear about the benefits being better long-term. I was happy to see the payment amount increase, but all this paperwork made me nervous something was wrong. Has your son had any issues since the transition?
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Zainab Ibrahim
No real issues after the initial transition period. One thing tho - make sure she doesn't get married in the future because DAC benefits stop if the disabled adult child gets married (unless it's to another DAC recipient I think). That's different from regular SSI.
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StarSailor
wait marriage stops the benefits??!! thats so unfair! my brother gets these and nobody ever told us that! he has a girlfriend and they been talking about marriage someday. this is ridiculous why would they punish people for getting married??
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Dmitry Kuznetsov
Yes, unfortunately, marriage typically terminates entitlement to Disabled Adult Child benefits unless the marriage is to certain other Social Security beneficiaries (like another DAC beneficiary). This is different from SSI and SSDI, which don't automatically terminate with marriage. It's an important consideration for DAC beneficiaries and their families to understand when planning for the future.
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Dylan Campbell
Thank you all for this information. I feel much better about the transition now. I'll keep all the paperwork just in case, but it sounds like I don't need to take any immediate action. I appreciate everyone sharing their experiences!
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Connor O'Brien
My daughter went thru this last yr. Make sure u call SSA to confirm everything is correct in their system! They made mistakes with my daughters case and we ended up with a $3200 overpayment notice 6 months later!!! It was a nightmare to fix. Don't assume they did it right.
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StarSailor
this happened to my cousin too!!! social security is so incompetent sometimes smh
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