Social Security family benefits with disabled child - can I collect early at 55 when husband is 62?

There's a lot to unpack here, but I'll try to address your main questions. First, regarding your husband's benefits: Since you're the higher earner, your husband might want to consider filing for his own retirement benefits at his Full Retirement Age (67 for him) rather than filing early at 62, which would permanently reduce his benefit by about 30%. He could potentially switch to a spousal benefit based on your record when you file for retirement if that would be higher than his own benefit. Regarding the second question - unfortunately, whoever told you that you could collect retirement benefits before 62 because you have a disabled child was mistaken. The minimum age for retirement benefits is still 62, regardless of having a disabled child. You might be thinking of the fact that a disabled adult child can receive benefits on a parent's record when the parent retires, becomes disabled, or dies - but this doesn't allow the parent to collect early.

As someone who was in a similar situation, I want to add some practical advice. Your son currently receiving SSI might qualify for Childhood Disability Benefits (CDB, sometimes called Disabled Adult Child benefits) when either you or your husband file for retirement benefits. This could potentially be higher than his current SSI. The key difference: SSI is need-based with strict income/resource limits, while CDB is based on your or your husband's work record without those same limits. For your husband's decision, it's really a mathematical calculation. If he claims at 62, he'll get reduced benefits for life, but starts receiving 5 years earlier. If he expects to live past approximately age 80, waiting usually wins out financially. You might want to use the break-even calculator on the SSA website to run your specific numbers.

I just went thru something like this with my family. The SSA is TERRIBLE at explaining all your options!! My advice - get an appointment with an actual SSA representative in person. Don't trust what you read online or what friends tell you. Every situation is different and there are lots of special rules. Took me months to figure out our situation and I still probly left money on the table.

I had the same frustration trying to get through to SSA when sorting out benefits for my disabled nephew. After wasting days on hold, I found a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to an actual SSA agent in under 10 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU Once I got through to a knowledgeable agent, I learned that my sister's disabled child could receive higher benefits on her record than the SSI he was getting. The agent walked me through all the paperwork we needed. For your situation, having that direct conversation with SSA is crucial because family benefit rules are complicated with multiple factors.

I think everyone is missing an important detail here. The disabled son is getting SSI not SSDI, which means he didn't qualify for benefits on either parent's record (not enough work credits of his own). When either parent claims retirement, the son MAY qualify for disabled adult child benefits on that parent's record, which could be higher than SSI. But here's the key - the amount would be up to 50% of the parent's Primary Insurance Amount, and if the parent claims early, it doesn't reduce the disabled adult child's benefit. So the husband claiming at 62 might actually make sense IF getting the son onto CDB benefits sooner is the goal.

Thank you all for such helpful responses! I think I understand our options better now. So to summarize: 1. I can't collect anything before 62, regardless of our disabled son (that was definitely misinformation I received) 2. When either my husband or I start collecting retirement, our son might qualify for Childhood Disability Benefits on our record instead of SSI 3. If my husband claims at 62, his benefits are reduced for life, but our son could potentially start receiving CDB sooner 4. We need to consider the family maximum limit when making these decisions I'm going to try that Claimyr service to speak with an actual SSA representative to get calculations based on our specific situation. This is all extremely complicated, but I feel much better equipped now to ask the right questions. Thank you all!

my sister has a disabled kid and she said the benefits are way better once a parent retires. the kid got SSI before but now gets like twice as much on her ex-husbands record. but yeah you definitely can't get benefits yourself before 62 just because you have a disabled kid

I've been dealing with Social Security for YEARS with my own situation and let me tell you something - DONT TRUST WHAT THE FIRST AGENT TELLS YOU!!! My experience is you need to call at least THREE times and talk to different people to get the right answer. I was told completely wrong information twice about my benefits. And write down the name of who you talk to each time. The system is a MESS.

I went through a very similar situation with my disabled daughter a few years ago. One thing that might be worth considering is the timing of when your husband applies versus when you apply. Since you're the higher earner, your son's potential CDB benefit on your record will likely be significantly higher than on your husband's record. Here's what we learned: If your husband files first at 62, your son can immediately switch from SSI to CDB on his record. Then later when you file for retirement (whenever that is), your son can potentially switch again to the higher benefit on your record if it's more advantageous. The key is that once someone is receiving CDB, they can usually switch to a higher-paying parent's record when that parent becomes eligible. Also, don't forget that when your son switches from SSI to CDB, he'll no longer be subject to those strict SSI asset and income limits, which can be a huge relief for the whole family's financial planning. We were finally able to help our daughter save some money and have a small inheritance without it affecting her benefits. Definitely get those calculations from SSA - the difference in potential benefits between your record and your husband's could be substantial given the earnings gap you mentioned.

I work as a benefits counselor and see families in your exact situation regularly. A few additional points that might help: First, regarding the timing strategy - since you mentioned your husband just turned 62, you have some flexibility here. One approach to consider: your husband could file for his retirement benefits now (even with the reduction) to get your son immediately onto CDB benefits and off the restrictive SSI program. This gives your son 5 extra years of the higher CDB payments and eliminates the SSI asset/income restrictions right away. When you reach 62 in 7 years, you can evaluate whether your son should switch to CDB on your higher-earning record. The math might work out favorably even with your husband's reduced benefit, especially considering your son gets those extra years of higher payments. Also, make sure to ask SSA about retroactive benefits when your son switches from SSI to CDB - sometimes there can be back payments involved if the application process takes time. One last thing - if your son is currently receiving Medicaid through his SSI eligibility, switching to CDB shouldn't affect his Medicaid in most states, but definitely confirm this with your local Medicaid office as healthcare coverage is crucial. The system is complex, but you're asking all the right questions. Good luck!