Social Security DAC benefits timing confusion - apply for my retirement with husband or wait for CIC?

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.

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

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.

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?

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.

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.

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!!

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.

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.

Since your husband is already 68 and past his FRA, that changes things significantly! You're making the right call having him file now rather than waiting until 70, especially with your son's DAC benefits in the picture. Based on what everyone else has shared here, it sounds like your strategy should be: 1) Husband files for retirement next month, 2) Submit your son's DAC application immediately after (bring ALL medical records from before age 22), 3) Once DAC is approved, then you apply for CIC benefits. The CIC route will likely give you a better monthly benefit than taking your own retirement at 63 with the early filing reduction. I'd definitely recommend getting that in-person SSA appointment like Hannah suggested - it really does make the process smoother when dealing with multiple applications. Good luck with everything!

As a newcomer to this community, I'm incredibly grateful for this comprehensive thread! Reading through everyone's experiences has been so educational. I'm in a somewhat different situation - my disabled adult son is 29 and I'm a single parent approaching retirement age. While I don't have the CIC spousal benefit option like the original poster, the advice about DAC application timing and documentation requirements is invaluable for my situation too. The tips about gathering 25+ year old medical records early, creating timeline documents, and working with the same SSA office throughout the process are exactly what I needed to hear. I'm particularly interested in the family maximum benefit discussion since it would just be my retirement and my son's DAC benefits on my record. Does anyone know if the family maximum typically becomes an issue with just those two benefits, or is it mainly a concern when there are multiple family members drawing benefits? Also, for those who mentioned ABLE accounts - is there a good resource for learning more about how those work alongside DAC benefits? Thank you all for sharing such detailed, real-world guidance!