Social Security survivor benefits taking forever after disabled father died - are caretaker benefits possible?

Yes, there are benefits called 'mother's or father's benefits' that you might qualify for as the caretaker of your child who is entitled to survivor benefits. However, there's an important detail here - since you weren't married to the child's father, you would NOT qualify for the mother's benefits yourself. But your daughter absolutely qualifies for survivor benefits as the child of a disabled worker who passed away. The survivor benefits for your daughter should be 75% of what your partner's full disability benefit was. The application processing is taking much longer these days - I've seen many cases taking 3-6 months, especially when they need to verify relationships. Have you submitted your daughter's birth certificate showing her father's name?

my cousin went through something like this last year and it took 5 MONTHS!!! its ridiculous how slow social security moves. they did eventually give all the back pay tho from the date of death so at least youll get that money eventually. hang in there

I'm sorry for your loss and the financial strain you're experiencing. The processing times for survivor benefits are absolutely frustrating right now. One important thing - make sure Social Security knows your daughter was already receiving benefits as a dependent on her father's record. Sometimes they treat these as completely separate cases and don't connect the dots. This should be a simple continuation/conversion of benefits rather than starting from scratch. If you're having trouble reaching someone by phone, I recently used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me through to a real SSA agent in about 20 minutes after I'd been trying for weeks. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU. It made a huge difference in resolving my late husband's benefits issues.

Just to clarify a technical point - since you weren't married, you cannot receive mother's/father's benefits (sometimes called parent's benefits). These are only for surviving spouses or divorced spouses caring for the worker's child under 16. However, your daughter is 100% entitled to child's survivor benefits, which should be 75% of your partner's Primary Insurance Amount (PIA). If he was already receiving SSDI, the benefit calculation is straightforward. I would strongly recommend going to your local field office in person rather than waiting on the phone. Survivor cases should be prioritized, especially with a minor child involved. Bring multiple copies of all documentation and ask specifically for the status of the application and estimated processing time.

My sister wasnt married to her kids father either and when he died they STILL got benefits for the kids. Each kid got their own payment. But yeah she couldnt get anything for herself as the mom. The system is so frustrating but keep pushing!!!! The back pay will come eventually

I work as a benefits counselor and deal with these cases often. Four months is unfortunately not unusual right now, though it's certainly difficult for families waiting on these critical benefits. One thing to check: call your local Social Security office and specifically ask if they need any additional documentation to prove paternity. Sometimes they require extra proof beyond the birth certificate if the parents weren't married. This could include things like: - Court order establishing paternity - DNA test results - Evidence he was living with or supporting the child - Acknowledgment of paternity signed by him Also, request a critical case designation due to financial hardship. They won't always grant it, but it's worth asking. When approved, your daughter will receive all back benefits from the date of death. I hope this helps!

make sure u followup every week!!! they lose paperwork all the time its crazy!!!! my friends application got "lost" twice and she had to restart the whole thing!!!!

After seeing all these responses about the long wait times, I wanted to follow up about the Claimyr service I mentioned (claimyr.com). I was in a similar situation with my husband's death benefits case stalled for months, and I was getting desperate. The service got me through to an actual SSA representative who found that my application had been sitting in someone's queue for weeks with no action. Once I got through to a live person, they were able to expedite things and I received benefits within 2 weeks. Sometimes just getting to talk to the right person makes all the difference. Might be worth considering if you're hitting a wall with the regular channels.

One more thing - make sure to check if your daughter is eligible for any state benefits while you're waiting for the SSA survivor benefits to come through. Depending on your state, there might be temporary assistance programs available specifically for children who've lost a parent. Your local Department of Social Services or Human Services should be able to point you in the right direction.

Just to give you an expectation on payment amounts: if your partner was receiving $2,500 per month in SSDI, your daughter would be eligible for approximately $1,875 monthly (75% of his benefit). The good news is that once approved, they will pay all months due from the date of death forward as a lump sum, then continue with monthly payments. I also wanted to clarify something important - while you mentioned you were already receiving dependent benefits for your daughter while her father was alive, the survivor benefit amount is usually higher than the dependent benefit amount. So there's typically an increase in the monthly payment after the conversion to survivor benefits is complete.