SSDI spouse benefits with child-in-care - does income limit apply with joint custody?

There is no income limit for your wife to receive the child-in-care spouse benefit based on your SSDI record. The earnings limit only applies to retirement benefits taken before FRA, not to spouse benefits when caring for a child under 16. Even if your wife makes $250,000 a year, she can still collect this benefit if she's providing care during your parenting time. However, there are two important things to understand: 1. For your wife to qualify as having a "child-in-care," SSA looks at whether she's exercising parental control and responsibility. Since you have a formal custody arrangement where your daughter is with you approximately half the time, and your wife helps with care during those periods, she should qualify. 2. The family maximum benefit (FMB) would indeed be split, meaning your daughter's benefit could be reduced. The FMB is typically 150-180% of your SSDI benefit amount.

I went through a similar situation last year and learned that stepparents CAN qualify for child-in-care benefits!! But the SSA office gave me TONS of conflicting info. One agent told me there WAS an income limit, another said there wasn't. It was SO frustrating!!! Call SSA directly to verify, but be prepared to get different answers from different people. DOCUMENT EVERYTHING - write down who you talked to and when!!!

To answer your specific question: No, there is no earnings limit for your wife to receive the spousal benefit with a child-in-care under age 16. This is different from early retirement benefits where earnings limits do apply. Regarding joint custody: SSA will look at the actual caregiving arrangement. Since your daughter is with you approximately half the time and your wife participates in her care during those periods, she should qualify for the child-in-care benefit. The step-relationship doesn't disqualify her. Be aware that all benefits paid (to your child and spouse) will be subject to the Family Maximum Benefit limit, which is approximately 150-180% of your primary insurance amount (PIA). Your benefit is paid first at 100% of PIA, then your dependents receive their proportional share of what remains up to the family maximum. One thing to note: When you apply, be prepared to document your custody arrangement and your wife's relationship with your child. Having a copy of your custody agreement will help streamline the process.

Have you tried calling Social Security directly? I spent 5 HOURS on hold last month trying to ask about my disability application. Finally gave up and used Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get a callback in under 20 minutes! They have a video that shows how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU The SSA rep I spoke with confirmed there's no earnings test for child-in-care benefits on a disability claim. Your wife's income doesn't matter for eligibility. What matters is that she's actually providing care during your parenting time.

Your wife should absolutely apply! My situation was similar (I'm on SSDI, wife is stepmom to my son). Your ex will still get something as representative payee, but having your current wife apply maximizes benefits to your household. Just be prepared for your ex to be upset when she realizes the child's benefit amount is reduced.

Wait I'm confused. Is your current wife watching your child when they're with you? Or is she actively picking them up from school and stuff? Because I think SSA looks at who's actually doing the day-to-day care. My friend's stepmom got denied because she wasn't doing enough of the direct childcare even though kid lived with them 50% of time.

To organize what's been said and add a few points: 1. No income limit applies to your wife's child-in-care benefit. This is one of the few auxiliary benefits not subject to earnings tests. 2. For the "in-care" requirement, your wife must exercise parental control and responsibility, which sounds like she does during your custody time. 3. Your wife will need to file a separate application (Form SSA-2-BK) after you've been approved for SSDI. 4. Document your custody arrangement with a copy of the court order. 5. Be prepared for the family maximum calculation, which will reduce both your daughter's and wife's benefit from the full 50% each to a lesser amount. 6. Important: The care-taking spouse benefit automatically ends when your child turns 16, regardless of whether your child's benefits continue.

my cousin gets this benefit for taking care of her stepdaughter while her husband is on ssdi. they said income doesnt matter its not like retirement benefits. but the ssa people kept giving conflicting info so she had to talk to a supervisor to get it straightened out

To address some of the follow-up questions that have come up: 1. Your wife will need to submit a separate application after your SSDI is approved. This is Form SSA-2-BK (Application for Wife's or Husband's Insurance Benefits). 2. For documentation of caregiving, SSA may want statements describing your wife's role in your daughter's care - things like helping with homework, preparing meals, taking to appointments/activities, etc. 3. The step-relationship is not an issue as long as your wife is living in the same household and providing care during your custody time. 4. There's no minimum number of days required per month, but SSA will look at the overall caregiving arrangement to ensure there's genuine parental responsibility being exercised. 5. Be prepared for possible questions about why the representative payee (your ex-wife) and the person claiming child-in-care benefits (your current wife) are different people. Having the custody agreement ready helps explain this. The most important thing is to be completely truthful about the caregiving arrangement. SSA can verify these situations if there's any question.

One thing I haven't seen mentioned yet - make sure you understand the timing aspect of applying for your wife's benefits. She can't apply until after your SSDI claim is approved and you're actually receiving benefits. But once approved, her benefits can be retroactive to the same date your SSDI began (up to 6 months before application). Also, since you mentioned your progressive condition, it's worth noting that if your disability gets worse and you become unable to care for your daughter during your custody time, your wife's role as caregiver becomes even more important for maintaining the child-in-care benefit. Document any changes in caregiving responsibilities as your condition progresses. Good luck with your application process!

Perplexity.AI brought me to your URL: I am FRA collecting SS benefits. I am the Representative Payee for our 12-year-old daughter. My wife applied for "child-in-care" benefit. She earns about $2,200/month during the 10 months she works each school year. Today on phone the local-office SS agent on informed wife (below FRA) that she would only get benefits during the two months she has no pay (zero each month for 10 months), but adding wife would reduce daughter's benefit. Since that would be a net loss, we withdrew wife's application. QUESTION: Is agent correct $2,200/month means my wife gets zero "child-in-care" benefit? I understood Social Security deducts $1 in benefits for every $2 earned above the annual limit ($23,400 in 2025), but is the earnings rule different for a "child-in-care" parent?

This is a perfect example of why it's so important to get multiple opinions and verify information! The SSA agent who told your wife she couldn't receive benefits due to her earnings was completely incorrect. Child-in-care spousal benefits are NOT subject to the earnings test, whether you're collecting on a retirement record or disability record. Your wife can earn $2,200/month (or any amount) and still receive the full child-in-care benefit. The earnings test only applies to: - Early retirement benefits (before FRA) - Regular spousal benefits taken before FRA (without a child in care) You should definitely reapply for your wife's benefits and ask to speak with a supervisor if the local office gives you pushback again. Unfortunately, these complex situations often get mishandled by frontline staff who aren't familiar with the specific rules. Since adding your wife would reduce your daughter's benefit due to the family maximum, you'll want to calculate whether the total household benefit increase is worth it. But the decision should be based on accurate information, not the incorrect earnings test rule you were given. Document this interaction and consider filing a complaint if the office continues to provide incorrect information. Other families shouldn't have to deal with this misinformation.

@1e43815cb988 Yes, there are specific SSA resources you can reference! The POMS (Program Operations Manual System) section RS 00615.742 specifically addresses child-in-care benefits and states they are not subject to the annual earnings test. Also, SSA Publication No. 05-10077 "Understanding the Benefits" clearly explains that child-in-care spousal benefits have no earnings limit. For escalation beyond supervisors, you can: 1. File a formal complaint with the SSA Office of Inspector General 2. Contact your Congressional representative's office - they often have staff dedicated to SSA issues 3. Request a written determination so you have documentation of any incorrect decisions I've found that bringing printed copies of the relevant POMS sections to appointments helps cut through the confusion. Local offices sometimes rely on outdated training or make assumptions about earnings tests that don't apply to child-in-care situations. The key is being persistent and documenting everything. Too many families miss out on benefits they're entitled to because they trust the first answer they get from an overwhelmed local office. Your proactive approach to understanding these rules before you need them is really smart!

@071e26d3777c For appeals and reapplications, you generally have 60 days from the date you receive a written denial to file an appeal (Request for Reconsideration). If you miss that window, you'd need to file a new application, but there's no time limit on reapplying - you can do it anytime. However, since @6178c5c5de5a mentioned they withdrew their wife's application rather than receiving a formal denial, they should be able to reapply immediately with the correct information and documentation. Withdrawing an application is different from being denied, so the appeal timeframes wouldn't apply in that situation. One important tip: If you do get an incorrect verbal response from SSA, always ask them to put their decision in writing. This creates an official record you can appeal if needed, rather than just having a phone conversation you can't formally challenge. The fact that this thread now has examples of the same misinformation being given for both disability and retirement child-in-care benefits really highlights how systemic this problem is. It's encouraging to see community members sharing specific POMS references and escalation strategies - this kind of information sharing can prevent other families from losing benefits they're entitled to.

This entire thread has been incredibly eye-opening as someone who's about to navigate the SSDI system myself. The consistent pattern of misinformation from SSA offices about earnings limits for child-in-care benefits is really concerning - it seems like this is happening nationwide, not just isolated incidents. What I find most valuable here is seeing the specific resources people have shared (POMS sections, SSA publications, escalation procedures) and the real-world examples of how these situations play out. The fact that both @3c26881dece6 (disability) and @6178c5c5de5a (retirement) were dealing with the same type of incorrect information about earnings tests really drives home how systemic this problem is. For anyone else reading this who might be in similar situations, I'm taking away these key points: - Print out relevant POMS sections before appointments - Always request written decisions rather than accepting verbal responses - Be prepared to escalate to supervisors or Congressional offices if needed - Document everything, including incorrect information you receive It's unfortunate that we have to become experts in SSA rules just to get accurate information from the agency itself, but threads like this show how powerful community knowledge-sharing can be. Thank you to everyone who's contributed their experiences and specific guidance - you're helping families avoid losing benefits they're legally entitled to receive.

As someone who works with disability benefits professionally, I want to emphasize that this thread perfectly illustrates why families need to be prepared with documentation when dealing with SSA. The misinformation about earnings limits for child-in-care benefits is unfortunately very common - I see it regularly in my practice. A few additional resources that might help others in similar situations: 1. SSA's "Red Book" (Publication 64-030) has a clear section on work incentives that explains child-in-care benefits are exempt from earnings tests. 2. If you're getting conflicting information, ask the SSA representative to cite the specific regulation they're referencing. Often they'll realize they're applying the wrong rule. 3. Consider contacting your local SOAR program (SSI/SSDI Outreach, Access, and Recovery) - they have trained staff who can help navigate these complex applications. The key takeaway from both @3c26881dece6's SSDI situation and @6178c5c5de5a's retirement situation is that child-in-care spousal benefits follow the same rule regardless of which type of record they're based on - no earnings limit applies. This is a fundamental principle that SSA staff should know, but clearly many don't. Don't let incorrect information from local offices cost your family thousands of dollars in benefits. Be persistent, document everything, and don't hesitate to escalate when you know you're right.