Social Security survivors benefits for disabled adult child after 18 - will I lose my benefits too?

You need to apply for Disabled Adult Child (DAC) benefits for your daughter before she turns 18. This is super important! It's not automatic. If you wait until after she turns 18, there could be a gap in her benefits. The technical term is "Childhood Disability Benefits" (CDB) but most people call it DAC. For your benefits - you won't lose them when she turns 18 if she qualifies as a disabled adult child. You can continue receiving mother's/father's benefits until your own retirement age if you're caring for a disabled adult child who gets benefits on the same work record. I went through this with my son last year. Get the DAC application started at least 3 months before her 18th birthday. You'll need updated medical documentation too.

my kid has downs and we did this 2 yrs ago. they made us get ALL NEW medical evals even tho his condition obviously didnt change!!! start callng NOW to setup appts cuz it took us 4 months to get all the specialists they wanted. and the SSA lost our paperwork TWICE!!!! such a nightmare

Let me try to add some clarity about what happens with your benefits as the parent: If you're currently receiving what's called "mother's or father's benefits" (benefits as a surviving parent caring for a child under 16 OR a disabled child), those benefits normally would terminate when your child turns 16 unless the child is disabled. Since your daughter has documented disabilities, you can continue receiving these benefits beyond her 18th birthday IF: 1. She is approved for Disabled Adult Child benefits 2. You continue to provide care for her 3. You have not remarried Your benefits would continue until one of these happens: - You begin collecting your own Social Security retirement benefits - You become entitled to a widow(er)'s benefit that exceeds your parent's benefit - You no longer provide care for your disabled adult child - You remarry As others mentioned, the application for DAC benefits should be started at least 3-4 months before her 18th birthday. The determination process can be lengthy, and you want to avoid any gap in benefits.

I'd highly recommend using Claimyr to get through to a Social Security agent quickly to discuss this situation. Normal hold times are ridiculous right now (I waited 3+ hours last month), but Claimyr got me through to someone in about 15 minutes. They'll actually wait on hold for you and call when an agent picks up. Check out their demo video: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU For something as important as your daughter's disability transition, you really need to speak directly with SSA rather than risking mistakes. They can also tell you exactly what medical documentation is needed for her specific situation. This was a lifesaver for my family when navigating my mom's complicated benefits situation.

Wait you said shes on a waiver list?? DONT let SSA know about that! My brothers benefits got messed up because they found out he was getting state services and claimed it was "double dipping" or something. Fight for everything you can get because the system will mess you over any chance they get!!!

I work with families in similar situations. If your daughter was medically eligible for SSI disability before, she should qualify as a Disabled Adult Child under survivors benefits, but it's NOT automatic. Here's what you need to do: 1. File SSA-4-BK (Application for Child's Insurance Benefits) 2. Provide evidence her disability began before age 22 3. Get updated medical documentation (within the last year) 4. Complete function reports (how her conditions affect daily activities) As for your benefits, you can continue receiving mother's/father's benefits as long as your adult disabled child is in your care. They may require an SSA-4-BK from you as well to continue your benefits. The most important thing is to act before she turns 18. It's much easier to transition benefits than to have them stop and restart. Many SSA offices are still backed up from COVID, so start this process immediately.

my niece lost her benefits when she turned 18 even tho she has autism too!! they said she wasnt "disabled enough" whatever that means. its all about what judge you get. some are nice and some are TERRIBLE. good luck!!!

Thank you everyone for all this information! I just scheduled an appointment with her developmental pediatrician and neuropsychologist to get updated evaluations. I also downloaded the SSA-4-BK form and will start working on it tonight. I'm going to try using that Claimyr service tomorrow to actually talk to someone at SSA and get specific guidance for our situation. It's such a relief to know I might be able to keep my benefits too since I'm still providing substantial care for her. This has been extremely helpful - I was feeling completely lost about what to do next.