Social Security DAC benefits for my children when I turn 62 - what will they receive?

Yes, your Disabled Adult Children (DAC) can receive benefits when you start collecting your retirement benefits. Each DAC can receive up to 50% of your Primary Insurance Amount (PIA), which is your benefit amount at full retirement age. However, since you're filing at 62, your own benefit will be reduced (about 30% less than your FRA amount), but your children's benefits are based on your full PIA, not your reduced amount. The big thing to understand is the family maximum benefit (FMB) will absolutely apply here. The FMB is usually between 150-180% of your PIA. With two DAC recipients plus your benefit, you'll likely hit this maximum, meaning each person's benefit might be proportionally reduced. Make sure to bring: - Birth certificates for both children - Documentation of their disabilities - Medical records showing disability onset before age 22 - Any existing disability determination letters from SSA - Their Social Security numbers and yours The application process can take 3-4 months, so apply as soon as you can after you turn 62.

i went thru this last year with my disabled daughter. each kid gets 50% of your FRA benefit not your reduced benefit. but family max kicked in for us and she only got like 37% or somthing. they dont tell u the exact family max amount until u actually apply its super annoying. also took FOREVER to process her application like 5 months!!

To clarify what others have said, the calculation works like this: 1. Your PIA (Primary Insurance Amount) is what you would receive at your Full Retirement Age (probably 67 for you) 2. Since you're claiming at 62, your benefit is reduced to approximately 70% of your PIA 3. Each DAC is eligible for 50% of your PIA (not your reduced benefit) 4. The Family Maximum Benefit (FMB) formula is complex but typically limits total family benefits to 150-180% of your PIA With two DAC beneficiaries plus yourself, you'll almost certainly hit the FMB limit. When this happens, YOUR benefit remains unchanged, but your children's benefits are proportionally reduced. For documentation, since your children already have disability determinations, focus on providing proof of relationship (birth certificates) and documentation showing their disabilities began before age 22. The most common delay in these cases is proving the pre-22 disability onset date if it wasn't clearly established in previous determinations. As for timing, DAC claims do take longer than standard retirement claims - typically 3-6 months. But benefits are paid retroactively to the application date once approved.

To answer your question about SSI - if one of your children is currently receiving SSI and then qualifies for DAC benefits, they will transition from SSI to DAC. This is actually beneficial in most cases because: 1. DAC benefits are typically higher than SSI 2. DAC benefits don't have the strict asset limits that SSI has ($2,000) 3. DAC recipients can get Medicare after 24 months, which is generally better than Medicaid However, this transition is not automatic. You must apply for the DAC benefits, and yes, the family maximum still applies to all Social Security benefits on your record including any children transitioning from SSI to DAC. One important note: If the DAC benefit amount would be lower than their current SSI (rare but possible), they might be able to receive both to make up the difference.

The SSA phone system is completely broken these days. I tried for THREE WEEKS to get through to someone about my DAC application for my daughter. Always disconnected or 4+ hour wait times. I finally used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to an SSA agent in under 20 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU Worth it when you're dealing with something complicated like DAC benefits where you need to actually talk to someone who knows what they're doing. The first SSA rep I talked to had NO IDEA about DAC rules, but I asked to speak with a technical expert and got much better information.

BE CAREFUL with the DAC applications! My son was receiving Medicaid through his SSI and when he switched to DAC benefits he LOST his Medicaid after a few months! Nobody warned us about this. Apparently in some states the rules for keeping Medicaid when you transition to DAC are different. He did eventually get Medicare but there was a 24 month waiting period with NO insurance. Check with your state Medicaid office BEFORE you apply.

Has anyone here dealt with what happens when one parent is retired and the other isn't yet? My husband is 64 and filing for his benefits next year, and we have a DAC son. I'm only 58. Can our son get DAC benefits on my husband's record now and then switch to mine later if my record would give him a higher payment? Or is he stuck with whichever parent files first?

Thank you all for the incredibly helpful information! I just wanted to update that I spoke with a technical expert at SSA yesterday (finally!) and got some specific numbers. My PIA (full retirement age amount) would be about $2,650, so my reduced age-62 benefit will be around $1,850 as I mentioned. The family maximum in my case will be about $4,550. So with my benefit at $1,850 and two DAC benefits that would normally be $1,325 each (50% of my PIA), we'd exceed the family maximum. This means my benefit stays at $1,850, and my children will split the remaining $2,700 from the family maximum, giving them each about $1,350 per month. I've started gathering all the documentation, including medical records from when they were teenagers showing disability onset before 22. Both of my children already receive SSI, so we'll need to be careful about that transition as many of you mentioned. I really appreciate all your help navigating this complicated process!