Social Security spousal benefits with DAC denied due to family maximum limit - finally got answers

Thank you for sharing this! The Family Maximum Benefit rules are some of the most confusing in all of Social Security, and they hit families with disabled children particularly hard. You explained it perfectly. The FMB formula creates what's called the "maximum family benefit" which limits the total amount payable on one earner's record. What many people don't realize is that when calculating spousal benefits in DAC situations, they use this weird "splitting" method you described. Unfortunately, this is correct per their Program Operations Manual System (POMS). It's not intuitive at all, but your congressional inquiry got you the right information.

wow thats so unfair!! my sister has a disabled kid too and she was counting on getting spousal benefits when she turns 62 next yr. gonna tell her to check this out. such garbage how they treat families w/ disabled kids!!

I'm in almost the exact same situation except I haven't gotten any answers from SSA after trying for MONTHS. I've called 23 times (not exaggerating) and either get disconnected or told different things every time. One rep told me I should be getting spousal benefits ON TOP OF my own benefit which I knew was wrong. Another told me the family max doesn't apply to spouses (also wrong). Did your Congressional rep's office submit some special form? How long did it take to get this resolved once you contacted them? I'm at my wit's end with this!

This is actually a complex but correct application of the Family Maximum Benefit (FMB) rules. When there's an entitled spouse and an entitled child (including a Disabled Adult Child) on the same record, they follow a specific calculation path: 1. Calculate the Family Maximum Benefit 2. Subtract the primary worker's benefit 3. The remainder is what's available for auxiliaries (spouse, children) 4. This remainder gets divided equally among the auxiliaries 5. If your own benefit exceeds your portion of the remainder, you only get your own benefit It's detailed in POMS RS 00615.020 and the calculation is working as designed, even though it feels unfair. The policy rationale is to avoid paying out "too much" on a single earnings record, but it definitely impacts families with disabled children more severely.

Im confused about something... when you say "DAC" do you mean "CDB" (childhood disability benefits)? Ive been told CDB is the current term for adult disabled children. Is DAC the same thing? Or is this yet another example of SS changing terms and confusing everyone!!??

I hate to be that person but are you SURE you got the right info? When I went through this 2 years ago, the person at SSA told me it was a 3-way split of the family maximum minus the primary beneficiary (my husband). Did your letter specifically say they subtracted YOUR benefit from the family maximum? That doesn't sound right to me.

seems like ssa rules are designed to be confusing on purpose!! my mom tried for YEARS to get a straight answer about her widow benefits with my disabled brother still receivinh benefits. eventually she just gave up and took whatever they gave her 😡

This is incredibly helpful information - thank you for taking the time to share your experience and the specific calculations! I'm dealing with a similar situation where my disabled adult son receives benefits on my husband's record, and I've been getting conflicting information about my spousal benefits eligibility. Your breakdown of how they subtract YOUR benefit from the Family Maximum (rather than your husband's) and then split the remainder is eye-opening. I had no idea they calculated it this way. It does seem really unfair that families with disabled children essentially get penalized in the spousal benefit calculation. I think I'm going to follow your lead and contact my Representative's office for a Congressional inquiry. The regular SSA customer service has been completely unhelpful, and I need this in writing like you got. Did you have to provide any specific documentation when you initially contacted your Rep's office, or did they handle gathering all the details from SSA directly?

This is such valuable information - thank you for sharing your experience and getting to the bottom of this confusing situation! As someone who works with families navigating Social Security benefits, I see this exact scenario come up more often than people realize, and you've explained it better than most SSA representatives could. The Family Maximum Benefit calculation you described is absolutely correct, and it's one of those "hidden" rules that can really blindside families. What makes it particularly frustrating is that most people (understandably) assume spousal benefits work the same way whether or not there's a DAC involved - but as you discovered, the math changes completely. Your point about this essentially penalizing families with disabled children is spot-on. It's one of those policy quirks that seems to work against the very families who often need the most support. The fact that you had to go through a Congressional inquiry to get a clear, written explanation is unfortunately typical - the regular customer service reps often don't understand these complex interactions between different benefit types. Thanks again for taking the time to document this so thoroughly. I'm sure your post will help other families who find themselves in similar situations understand what's happening with their benefits.

Thank you so much for sharing this detailed breakdown! I'm new to this community and currently helping my elderly mother navigate a very similar situation. She's been trying to understand why her spousal benefits were calculated differently than expected, and we also have a disabled adult child in the family receiving DAC benefits. Your explanation of how they subtract YOUR benefit from the Family Maximum (rather than the primary worker's benefit) and then split the remainder is incredibly helpful - we had no idea this was how the calculation worked. The SSA representatives we've spoken with have given us completely different explanations each time we've called, so getting this clear, documented example is invaluable. I'm definitely going to follow your advice about contacting our Representative's office for a Congressional inquiry. It sounds like that's the only way to get accurate, written information about these complex benefit interactions. Did you find that having the written explanation helped when dealing with SSA afterward, or was this mainly just for your own understanding of the calculation? This really does seem unfair to families with disabled children - it's like being penalized for having additional family members who need support. Thank you again for taking the time to share your experience and help others navigate this confusing system.

As someone new to this community, I want to thank you for sharing such a detailed and clear explanation of this complex situation. The Family Maximum Benefit rules are incredibly confusing, and your breakdown of how they subtract YOUR retirement benefit from the FMB (rather than your husband's) before splitting the remainder is really eye-opening. What strikes me most is how this calculation essentially creates a hidden penalty for families with disabled adult children. It's troubling that you had to go through a Congressional inquiry just to get accurate information that should have been readily available through normal SSA channels. The fact that regular customer service representatives seem unable to explain these calculations correctly is a serious problem. Your decision to share this experience is so valuable for other families who might be facing similar situations. The specific numbers and calculation method you provided will help others understand what to expect and know when to escalate through Congressional channels if they're getting inconsistent information from SSA. It's unfortunate that families dealing with disabled children face these additional financial complexities on top of everything else they're managing. Thank you for taking the time to document this thoroughly - it's exactly the kind of real-world insight that makes this community so helpful.

Thank you so much for sharing this incredibly detailed explanation! As someone new to this community, I'm both grateful for the clarity you've provided and deeply frustrated by how unnecessarily complex Social Security has made these calculations. Your experience really highlights a major problem - families with disabled adult children are essentially being punished by a system that should be supporting them. The fact that you had to go through a Congressional inquiry just to get a straight answer is unacceptable. I've been reading through all these responses and it's clear that SSA's regular customer service is completely inadequate for handling these complex situations. What really bothers me is how this Family Maximum Benefit rule creates what amounts to a "disability penalty" for families. Instead of recognizing that families caring for disabled children often need more support, the system actually reduces their benefits. It's backwards and cruel. I'm planning to bookmark your post and share it with others who might be facing similar situations. The specific calculation breakdown you provided - showing how they subtract YOUR benefit from the FMB before splitting - is information that should be readily available but clearly isn't. Thank you for doing the legwork to get these answers and then taking the time to educate the rest of us. This community seems to provide better guidance than the actual government agency!

As a newcomer to this community, I'm absolutely floored by the complexity of what you've uncovered here. Thank you for sharing such a detailed breakdown of your Congressional inquiry results - this is exactly the kind of real-world information that families need but can never seem to get from SSA directly. The calculation you've outlined is genuinely shocking to me. The idea that they subtract YOUR retirement benefit from the Family Maximum before splitting the remainder between you and your DAC essentially creates a built-in penalty for families with disabled children. It's like the system is designed to reduce support for the very families who often need it most. What really troubles me is how you had to fight for months and ultimately involve your Representative just to get a clear explanation of your own benefits. The fact that SSA's regular customer service couldn't provide this information (or worse, provided incorrect information) suggests there's a serious training or communication problem within the agency. I'm bookmarking this post to share with others who might be in similar situations. Your persistence in getting to the bottom of this and then taking the time to educate the rest of us is incredibly valuable. It's unfortunate that this community has to serve as a better resource than the official government agency, but I'm grateful for members like you who are willing to share their hard-won knowledge. This really opens my eyes to how many "hidden" rules there might be in Social Security that families are completely unaware of until they're directly impacted.