Survivor benefits confusion: Can I get half while caring for adult disabled daughter on SSI?

You're dealing with a complex situation that combines several different benefits. Let me try to clarify: 1) Your daughter likely qualifies for Disabled Adult Child (DAC) benefits on your husband's record. This is different from SSI, though she can potentially receive both with proper planning. 2) As a surviving spouse caring for a disabled adult child, you may qualify for mother's/father's benefits until you reach your own full retirement age, regardless of your daughter's age (this is a special rule for parents caring for disabled adult children). 3) The Family Maximum Benefit (FMB) is what's causing confusion. The total benefits paid to all survivors cannot exceed this amount, which appears to be $1,150 in your case. 4) Mother's/father's benefits do NOT have the $2,000 asset limit that SSI has. That's only for SSI. 5) If you start working, your survivor benefit may be reduced by the earnings test if you're under full retirement age, but this doesn't automatically increase your daughter's portion. I strongly recommend requesting an appointment with a Technical Expert at your local office who specializes in survivor benefits. Regular claims representatives often aren't familiar with these complex situations.

I went through something similiar when my husband died leaving me with our disabled son. The SSA people gave me SO MUCH WRONG INFORMATION!!! It was infuriating!!! First, you absolutely CAN get benefits as a mother caring for a disabled adult child - they told me I couldn't at first but I kept fighting. The $2000 asset limit ONLY applies to SSI, NOT to survivor benefits. That's super important!!! And yes, the family maximum limits the total, so you'll probably each get around half of that $1150. But if you work and earn over their limits, your portion gets reduced or eliminated, but it DOESNT automatically go back to your daughter!!! THIS is what they messed up for us and cost us thousands!!!! DON'T trust what the first person tells you! Get EVERYTHING in writing!!!

my huband died 3 years ago and i have a special needs son too. he gets the surivivors benfit and ssi. I get half too as his mom. but when i got a part time job last year my part went down but my sons didnt go up. just less money total for our family. wish someone told me that would happen before i took the job lol

hey so sorry about your husband. my sister has a special needs kid and went thru something similar. gotta be careful with the SSI and assets thing. the survivors benefits aren't affected by assets but SSI is. so your daughter could lose SSI if she has too much money but would still get survivors. complicated stuff!

I'd like to address a common misconception I'm seeing in this thread. When a parent receiving mother's/father's benefits has their portion reduced due to earnings, that amount doesn't simply "disappear" from the family maximum. While it doesn't automatically redistribute to other beneficiaries, you can request a recomputation of benefits. Here's what you should do: 1. Apply for both benefits - your mother's benefits and your daughter's disabled adult child benefits 2. If you start working and your benefit is reduced, immediately contact SSA to request a recomputation of your daughter's benefit 3. Be specific that you're requesting a "recomputation due to family maximum redistribution" Some field offices process this automatically, others don't. This is why you get inconsistent information. The regulations do allow for redistribution, but it often requires a manual intervention.

I've been trying to reach someone at Social Security for 3 weeks to sort out a similar issue with my sister's survivor benefits. Keep getting put on hold for hours and then disconnected. So frustrating! I recently tried a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me through to an actual person at SSA in under 10 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU Worth checking out if you need to speak to a specialist about your specific situation. With something this complex, I definitely recommend talking to an actual Technical Expert rather than just going by what we all say here!

I'm confused about something... if your daughter is 25 and disabled since birth, shouldn't she have already been receiving benefits on her father's record before he passed? Or was he not collecting Social Security yet? Because there's a difference between disabled adult child benefits when the parent is alive vs. survivor benefits when they pass away.

Another important consideration: when your daughter starts receiving DAC benefits on your husband's record, her SSI will likely be reduced because DAC benefits count as unearned income for SSI purposes. However, she may still qualify for a reduced SSI payment and, crucially, maintain Medicaid eligibility through SSI even if her SSI payment becomes $0 due to the DAC benefits (this is called the "DAC Medicaid protection"). Also, if you decide to apply for your mother's benefits, be aware that this will count as income when determining your daughter's household living expenses for SSI (if you live together). This might affect her SSI calculation somewhat, but the combined benefits will still be greater than SSI alone. Lastly, if you haven't already, consider applying for your own survivor benefits when you reach age 60 (or 50 if you become disabled). You can then switch to your own retirement benefit if it's higher once you reach your full retirement age.

I forgot to mention something important in my earlier comment. When my son started getting DAC benefits, his SSI went down BUT he kept his Medicaid through something called Section 1634 provisions. MAKE SURE they know about this at SSA because they didn't automatically tell us about it, and my friend's daughter temporarily lost Medicaid because of this!!! Also, the special needs trust is CRUCIAL - good job setting that up already. If your daughter's total assets ever go over $2000 outside the trust, she'll lose SSI and possibly Medicaid depending on your state.

To summarize the key points for your situation: 1. Apply for Disabled Adult Child (DAC) benefits for your daughter on your deceased husband's record 2. Apply for Mother's benefits for yourself as caring for a disabled adult child 3. Understand that the Family Maximum Benefit (in your case $1,150) will likely be split between you and your daughter 4. DAC benefits will reduce your daughter's SSI but she should maintain Medicaid eligibility 5. Mother's benefits have no asset limits but are subject to earnings limits if you work 6. If your benefits are reduced due to work, request a recomputation of your daughter's benefits to redistribute the family maximum 7. Keep your daughter's assets under $2,000 outside of the special needs trust The official guidance for this exact situation is in POMS section DI 10115.001 (SSA's internal operating procedures). If you encounter resistance, specifically reference this section to the claims representative.

My friend went thru similar thing last year and she said the trick is to get everything in writing. Ask them to send you the policy references. Also my nephew with downs gets both SSI and the disabled adult child benefit but they reduced his SSI when the other benefit started. Still he gets more total $ this way and keeps his medicaid which is the main thing.

I wonder if anyone here has used an attorney to navigate this process? I'm considering it for my own situation with my brother's benefits, but not sure if it's worth the cost or if they can actually help with the SSA bureaucracy.