Social Security survivor benefits for adult disabled child - never informed after father's death?

Adult disabled children who were disabled before age 22 are eligible for Child's Insurance Benefits (CIB) on their parent's record. Those benefits can be based on either a living parent who's disabled or retired OR a deceased parent (survivor benefits). The SSA should have automatically converted your son's benefits when his father passed away, but sometimes they miss things. I'd recommend contacting SSA immediately to review his case. If he was receiving benefits on his disabled father's record and should have been switched to survivor benefits after the death, there might be a difference in payment amount - possibly higher under survivor benefits. There could potentially be back pay owed.

Sounds like ur son might be getting SSI (Supplemental Security Income) which is different from SSDI survivor benefits. SSI is needs-based, SSDI is based on work credits. If his dad worked enough, ur son's payment could be higher on survivor benefits. Def call them!!

This is actually quite concerning. When your son's father passed away, SSA should have automatically reviewed and potentially adjusted your son's benefits. The fact that they didn't contact you and the benefit amount didn't change raises questions. An adult disabled child (disabled before 22) can receive benefits based on a parent's work record. When that parent dies, the benefit typically converts from a disability-based payment (50% of parent's Primary Insurance Amount) to a survivor benefit (75% of parent's PIA). That should result in a higher monthly payment. I strongly recommend contacting SSA to review your son's case. Bring your son's current benefit information and his father's death certificate. If there was an error, you might be entitled to retroactive payments going back to his father's death, though there may be limits on how far back they'll pay.

I've been in a similar situation and trying to reach SSA by phone can be incredibly frustrating. After spending weeks trying to get through on their 800 number with no luck, I found a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helped me get through to a real person at SSA without the endless hold times. They have a video showing how it works here: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU It made a huge difference for me when I needed to sort out my daughter's survivor benefits. Given that you're potentially dealing with 13 years of possible underpayments, I'd definitely want to speak with someone directly rather than waiting weeks for an appointment.

my brother is disabled from birth and when our dad died his check went up from like 600 something to almost 900. It was automatic though, we didnt have to do anything. If your sons check didnt change something is definitely wrong!!!

THE SSA NEVER TELLS PEOPLE WHAT THEY'RE ENTITLED TO!!! They make "mistakes" like this ALL THE TIME and hope you don't notice. They SHOULD have automatically converted your son to survivor benefits but they DIDN'T and now they've kept probably tens of thousands of dollars that should have gone to your disabled son!!! This makes my blood BOIL. They do this to the most vulnerable people and it's CRIMINAL!!

wait did his dad die in 2012 or 2022? u said 13 years ago but also said 2012 which would be more like 11 years

I'm a former SSA claims specialist, and this situation needs immediate attention. Here's what likely happened: Your son was probably receiving benefits as a disabled adult child (DAC) on his father's record when his father was alive and disabled. When your father passed away in 2012, your son's benefit should have been automatically converted from a DAC benefit (50% of father's Primary Insurance Amount) to a disabled surviving child benefit (75% of father's PIA). This conversion typically results in a benefit increase of approximately 50%. The fact that his benefit amount didn't change suggests one of these scenarios: 1. SSA wasn't properly notified of the father's death 2. The conversion didn't process correctly in their system 3. There was a specific technical reason why the benefit remained the same (rare) I recommend: 1. Gather all documentation (son's benefit award letters, father's death certificate, any SSA correspondence) 2. Contact SSA directly at 1-800-772-1213 or visit a local office 3. Request a complete review of your son's benefits and ask specifically about whether he was converted to survivor benefits 4. If an error is found, request retroactive correction back to your father's death Under SSA rules, if their error caused underpayment, you may be entitled to full retroactive payment regardless of when the error is discovered.

To answer your follow-up questions: There's no specific form to request a review - just tell them you believe your son's benefits should have been converted from disabled adult child benefits to disabled surviving child benefits when his father passed away. Yes, using those specific terms will help. Ask them to review whether your son's benefits were properly converted from "child's benefits on a disabled wage earner's record" to "survivor benefits as a disabled adult child" following his father's death. Request a "benefit verification letter" which will show the type of benefit he's currently receiving. If it doesn't mention "survivor" benefits, that confirms the conversion likely didn't occur. Also ask them to perform a "benefit calculation" to determine if his current payment is 50% or 75% of his father's Primary Insurance Amount (PIA). This will help determine if he's receiving the correct survivor rate.

this happened to my neighbor too!!! her son was disabled and when her husband died the checks stayed the same. when she finally figured it out like 5 years later they gave her back pay but only for like 1 year not the whole 5 years. fight for all the back pay!!!!