Social Security DAC benefits timing confusion - apply for my retirement with husband or wait for CIC?
I'm struggling with the timing for multiple Social Security benefits in our family. My 32-year-old son has severe autism (disabled before 22) and my husband is planning to file for his retirement benefits next month. We want my son to receive Disabled Adult Child (DAC) benefits on my husband's record. I'm 63 and eligible for early retirement, but I know I could potentially get Child-in-Care (CIC) spousal benefits once my son is approved for DAC. I'm completely confused about the application sequence! Should I apply for my own retirement benefits at the same time my husband files, or should I hold off and only apply for the CIC benefits after my son's DAC is approved? I'm worried about accidentally locking myself into a lower benefit by applying in the wrong order. Has anyone navigated this complicated situation before?
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Hannah Flores
I went through a similar situation last year. From my experience, you should WAIT to file for your own retirement. Apply for CIC benefits after your son gets approved for DAC. If you file for your retirement now, you'll be stuck with the reduced amount permanently. The SSA office was very clear about this when I called them about my daughter's DAC application. The phone rep explained that filing for retirement first would prevent me from getting the full spousal benefit later.
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Dominic Green
•Thank you so much for sharing your experience! So if I understand correctly, I should just let my husband file for his retirement, then we get my son's DAC application submitted, and only after he's approved do I file for anything? How long did your daughter's DAC application take to get approved?
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Kayla Jacobson
my son got DAC benifits last year. took FOREVER!!! almost 6 months to get approved. the ssa people kept losing our paperwork and we had to send things twice. make sure u keep copies of EVERYTHING
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Dominic Green
•Six months?? That's so much longer than I expected. Did you have to keep calling them to check on status or did they communicate with you during the process?
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William Rivera
There's a specific order you should follow for maximum benefits: 1. Your husband files for retirement first 2. Then apply for DAC benefits for your son 3. Only after DAC approval, apply for CIC spousal benefits DO NOT file for your own retirement at 63 if you can get CIC benefits. CIC benefits don't have the early filing reduction that your retirement would have. Plus, by waiting to claim your own retirement until later (ideally FRA or age 70), you'll get a much higher monthly benefit for life. The CIC benefit would be 50% of your husband's PIA while caring for your disabled adult son. This gives your own retirement benefit time to grow.
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Grace Lee
•This is the correct advice. I'd add that OP should confirm with SSA that her son meets the definition of disability before age 22 and that she provides care. The documentation requirements for DAC can be strict.
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Mia Roberts
I'm confused about how this all works. I thought if your filing for retirement then your kid gets half ur check? So wouldn't the husband's retirement automatically mean benefits for the disabled son? Why is there a separate application? And what's a DAC vs CIC?
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William Rivera
•DAC (Disabled Adult Child) benefits are for adults who became disabled before age 22. They can collect on a parent's record when that parent starts collecting retirement. CIC (Child-in-Care) benefits allow a spouse under FRA to collect spousal benefits without reduction if they're caring for a child under 16 OR a disabled adult child. These are separate applications because they involve different eligibility criteria and documentation requirements.
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The Boss
I managed my brother's DAC application when our father retired, and it was SUCH a hassle reaching actual agents at Social Security to answer our questions. We were disconnected multiple times after waiting hours. My sister finally recommended Claimyr (claimyr.com), which got us connected to a live SSA agent in about 20 minutes instead of waiting on hold for hours. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU that shows how it works. It made a huge difference in getting the application issues resolved, especially when we needed to submit additional medical documentation for the DAC claim.
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Dominic Green
•Thank you for the tip! I've been dreading the phone calls with SSA. I'll definitely check out that service - the idea of waiting on hold for hours with a complex situation like ours is really stressful.
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Evan Kalinowski
my experience was totally different from what others are saying here... when my wife retired I applied for my benefits right away (I'm younger than her) and it worked out fine. I think everyone's situation is different so you should just go to your local office and talk to someone.
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Grace Lee
•Your situation is probably different. The OP is asking specifically about the interaction between DAC benefits for a disabled adult child and CIC benefits, which have specific eligibility rules and filing strategies that differ from regular spousal benefits.
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Kayla Jacobson
i forgot to say that u need to bring ALL medical records for your son when u apply. like everything from when he was diagnosed before 22. my husband had to dig up old records from 25 years ago for our son!!
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Dominic Green
•That's really good to know! We've kept pretty detailed records of his diagnosis and treatment since he was a toddler, but I'll make sure we have everything organized. Did you have to provide school records too?
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Hannah Flores
To answer your question about how long our DAC application took - it was about 4 months total. But what really helped speed things up was having an appointment at our local SSA office rather than just trying to do everything by phone or online. The SSA worker at our in-person appointment was able to look at our documentation right there and tell us what else we needed. I'd recommend scheduling an appointment for your husband's retirement application and bringing all your son's documentation with you at the same time to discuss the DAC application process while you're there.
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Dominic Green
•That's really smart! I'll try to get an in-person appointment. Do you remember how far in advance you had to schedule it? The local offices always seem so busy.
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William Rivera
One more important point: Make sure your husband understands that by filing for his retirement, he's potentially triggering several benefits (his retirement, your son's DAC, and your CIC). He should consider whether filing at his current age maximizes your family's total benefits. Sometimes it's better for the higher-earning spouse to delay filing until 70 to maximize survivor benefits later, but with a disabled adult child in the picture, filing earlier could make sense to get DAC benefits started. This is why many families in your situation consult with a financial advisor who specializes in Social Security planning for special needs situations.
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Dominic Green
•That's a really good point! My husband is already past his FRA (he's 68) but decided not to wait until 70 because we wanted to get our son's benefits started. I should have mentioned that in my original post. We did talk to a financial advisor who specializes in special needs planning, and they suggested this approach.
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