Social Security spousal benefits with DAC denied due to family maximum limit - finally got answers
After months of confusion, I finally got clarity on my Social Security situation through my Representative's office. I'm sharing in case anyone else is dealing with this unusual scenario. I applied for spousal benefits last year (my husband receives $2,850/month), expecting to get half of his benefit. Instead, I was told I'd only receive my own retirement benefit of $1,375. What confused me was that we have an adult disabled child (DAC) receiving benefits on my husband's record. Here's what I learned after the Congressional inquiry: When there's a DAC involved, they calculate differently using the Family Maximum Benefit (FMB). The FMB on my husband's record is $4,100. They subtract my personal benefit ($1,375) from this amount, leaving $2,725. Then they split this amount in HALF between me and our disabled adult child ($1,362.50 each). Since this split amount ($1,362.50) is LESS than my own benefit ($1,375), Social Security will only pay me my own benefit. Our DAC still gets their 50% share. I don't agree with this policy at all - it essentially penalizes families with disabled adult children - but at least I now understand how they calculated it. Just wanted to share this weird quirk of Social Security rules in case anyone else runs into this situation with spousal benefits and a DAC.
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Sofia Morales
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.
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Dylan Cooper
•Thanks for confirming. Does this same formula apply for survivor benefits too? Heaven forbid something happens to my husband, I'm wondering if the same rules would apply or if it's calculated differently?
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StarSailor
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!!
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Sofia Morales
•It really depends on the specific situation. Your sister should calculate her own retirement benefit first. The Family Maximum only comes into play when multiple people draw from one record. If her own benefit is significantly lower than half her husband's, she might still get some spousal benefits even with the DAC involved.
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Dmitry Ivanov
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!
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Dylan Cooper
•They submitted what's called a "Congressional Inquiry." It took about 5 weeks to get a response, but the answer was detailed and in writing which is what I needed. The Congressional caseworker told me they have special channels to SSA that bypass the normal customer service routes. Definitely worth trying if you're stuck in the regular customer service loop.
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Ava Garcia
•Have you tried using Claimyr? I was in a similar situation trying to get through to SSA for weeks about my disability review. I found this service at 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 - saved me so much frustration and I actually got my questions answered by a knowledgeable person instead of getting disconnected repeatedly. Worth checking out if you're still trying to get answers directly from SSA.
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Miguel Silva
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.
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Zainab Ismail
•So does that mean if the disabled kid wasnt in the picture, she would get the full spousal benefit? That seems super unfair. My sisters kid has downs syndrome and now im wondering if shes gonna hit the same issue when she applies.
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Connor O'Neill
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!!??
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Sofia Morales
•You're both right actually! Social Security uses multiple terms for the same benefit: - DAC = Disabled Adult Child - CDB = Childhood Disability Benefits They're technically the same program, just different names. Social Security's systems and internal documents often use DAC, while their public-facing materials sometimes use CDB. Just another example of SSA's wonderful consistency! 😅
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Zainab Ismail
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.
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Dylan Cooper
•Yes, it was very specific. They subtracted my benefit from the FMB, not my husband's. I have the actual letter from SSA that was sent to my Representative's office. The exact wording was: "The Family Maximum Benefit of $4,100 minus Mrs. [name]'s own retirement benefit of $1,375 equals $2,725. This amount is then divided equally between Mrs. [name] and the entitled DAC ($1,362.50 each)." So they're definitely subtracting my benefit from the FMB, not my husband's.
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StarSailor
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 😡
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