Will my child get 50% of husband's Social Security retirement benefits when he draws at 62 with pension?

Yes, your daughter will be eligible to receive benefits! Children can receive up to 50% of a parent's full retirement benefit amount if the parent is retired and receiving Social Security retirement benefits. This is true even if your husband is taking benefits early at 62 or has a pension. The key requirements are: 1. The child must be unmarried 2. Under age 18 (or up to 19 if still in high school) 3. The parent must be receiving Social Security retirement benefits The Social Security Fairness Act impacts the WEP/GPO provisions that previously reduced benefits for government pensioners, but it doesn't change the rules about children's benefits. Your husband's pension won't prevent your daughter from receiving benefits. One important note: Since your husband is taking benefits early at 62 (before his Full Retirement Age), there will be a family maximum benefit that could reduce the total amount your family receives. You should contact SSA directly to get the exact calculation for your situation.

my cousin got payments for his kid when he retired early so i think youll be fine but call and check before u count on the money

Everything the first person said is right, BUT there's a catch!!! The Family Maximum Benefit (FMB) will probably limit what your family can receive!!! The total amount for all of you COMBINED (your husband + daughter) can't exceed 150-180% of your husband's Primary Insurance Amount. And since he's taking retirement at 62, his benefit is already REDUCED, which means less money overall for both of them. It's SO FRUSTRATING how they don't make this clear on their website!!! And don't forget that your husband taking benefits at 62 means a 30% PERMANENT REDUCTION in his monthly amount compared to waiting until Full Retirement Age!!! With your daughter being so young, you might want to reconsider the timing! Or at least talk to someone at SSA about different scenarios.

Your daughter will qualify for dependent benefits, but there are several factors to consider in your situation: 1. Your daughter's benefit would be up to 50% of your husband's Primary Insurance Amount (PIA), which is what he would get at full retirement age, not his reduced age-62 amount 2. However, the Family Maximum Benefit will likely cap the total amount your family can receive, so your daughter might get less than the full 50% 3. With the Social Security Fairness Act, your husband's pension no longer reduces his SS benefits through WEP, but this doesn't change how dependent benefits work 4. Your husband should carefully consider if filing at 62 is optimal - with a young child eligible for benefits for 11 years (until she's 18), waiting to claim could potentially maximize your total family benefits I'd recommend scheduling an appointment with SSA to run calculations on different claiming ages, considering your daughter's benefits in the total family strategy. They can show you exact numbers for different scenarios.

sorry but this makes me so mad!!! my neighbor had almost the same situation and they told her the kid could ONLY get benefits if the parent was on DISABILITY not retirement!!! the SSA office people don't even know their own rules half the time!!!! 😡😡😡

Thank you everyone for all this helpful information! I'm definitely going to look into the Family Maximum Benefit more and see if we should reconsider our timing. With our daughter being eligible until she's 18, maybe it makes more sense for my husband to wait longer to file. I'll try to get an appointment with SSA to run through different scenarios, though it sounds like reaching them might be a challenge. That Claimyr service might be worth checking out if I can't get through. The firefighter pension plus Social Security with the new Fairness Act already complicated our planning, and now we need to factor in our daughter's benefits too. I really appreciate everyone sharing their knowledge!

just make sure you actually apply for your daughters benefits they dont do it automatic when he files

One more important point that hasn't been mentioned - if your husband continues working after claiming at 62 (even part-time), he'll be subject to the earnings test until he reaches full retirement age. In 2025, beneficiaries who are under FRA for the entire year will have $1 in benefits withheld for every $2 earned above $22,320 (this amount increases yearly with inflation). Since your husband has always worked outside the fire department, this could significantly reduce both his benefits AND your daughter's if he continues working after claiming. The family maximum would still apply to whatever benefits remain after the earnings test reduction. This is another reason why many families in your situation might benefit from delaying the retirement claim, especially with a young child who would receive benefits for many years.

I'm a newcomer here but wanted to share what I learned when researching this for my own family situation. One thing that might help is using the SSA's online benefit estimator tool - it's not perfect but can give you a rough idea of different scenarios before you try to get through to them on the phone. Also, I've found that visiting a local SSA office in person (if you can take the time) sometimes gets better results than calling. You can make an appointment online and they seem more knowledgeable about complex situations like yours with multiple benefit types. Given all the factors people have mentioned - the family maximum, earnings test if he keeps working, and your daughter's long eligibility period - it really does sound like running the numbers on waiting vs. claiming at 62 could save your family thousands over the years. Good luck with your planning!

As a newcomer to this community, I wanted to add some perspective from someone who recently went through a similar situation with my spouse's early retirement and our minor child. Your daughter will definitely be eligible for benefits - that part is correct. But I'd strongly encourage you to really crunch the numbers on the timing before your husband files at 62. In our case, we initially planned for my husband to file early, but when we factored in our son's benefits and the family maximum, we realized waiting just two more years to his full retirement age would result in about $40,000 more in total family benefits over the child's eligibility period. The key insight for us was understanding that while your daughter's benefit is calculated based on 50% of your husband's Primary Insurance Amount (what he'd get at full retirement age), the family maximum still applies to the actual reduced amount he receives at 62. So you could end up in a situation where the family maximum significantly cuts into your daughter's benefits. Also, definitely look into whether your husband plans to work at all after "retiring" from the fire department - the earnings test can really eat into benefits for families with young children. We found a fee-only financial planner who specialized in Social Security strategies, and it was worth every penny for the peace of mind and optimized planning.

As someone new to this community, I wanted to chime in with what I learned when my sister faced a very similar situation last year. Her husband was also a government employee (teacher) who retired early at 62, and they had a young son who was eligible for benefits. One thing that really helped them was requesting a detailed benefit statement from SSA that showed projections for different claiming ages - not just the online estimator, but an actual personalized analysis. The local SSA office was able to provide this after some persistence, and it clearly showed how the family maximum would affect their total benefits at different claiming ages. What surprised them most was that even though their son's individual benefit amount stayed the same regardless of when dad claimed, the family maximum meant he actually received significantly less money when dad filed early versus waiting until full retirement age. The math worked out that waiting just 4 more years would result in about $35,000 more in total family benefits over their son's eligibility period. Also, with the Social Security Fairness Act eliminating WEP for your husband, his benefit calculation might be higher than he originally expected, which could make the case for waiting even stronger since it increases both his benefit and the family maximum threshold. I'd definitely recommend getting that detailed projection before making the final decision - it really clarified things for my sister's family!

As a newcomer to this community, I wanted to share some additional considerations based on what I've researched for similar situations. One aspect that hasn't been fully addressed is how the Social Security Fairness Act might actually work in your favor beyond just eliminating WEP. Since your husband has 30+ years of substantial earnings outside the fire department, his Primary Insurance Amount could be significantly higher than what he might have calculated under the old rules. This higher PIA would increase both his benefit and the family maximum threshold, potentially making the numbers work better for your family even if he claims early. However, I'd also suggest looking into something called "do-over" strategies. If your husband files at 62 and you later realize the family would benefit more from him having waited, he has a 12-month window to withdraw his application (paying back what was received) and refile later. It's not ideal, but it provides some flexibility if circumstances change or if you get better information about your daughter's benefit calculations. Another practical tip: when you do speak with SSA, ask specifically about "auxiliary benefits" and the "family maximum benefit" for your situation. Using these exact terms seems to help get you connected with representatives who are more familiar with complex family benefit scenarios rather than basic retirement questions. The fact that your daughter will be eligible for 11 years makes this decision really impactful financially - definitely worth getting professional help to optimize!

As a newcomer to this community, I wanted to add some perspective on the timing considerations that haven't been fully explored yet. Given that your daughter will be eligible for benefits until she turns 18 (so for 11 years), you might want to consider a hybrid approach: have your husband continue working and delay Social Security until at least his full retirement age, while living off his firefighter pension in the meantime. This could maximize the total lifetime benefits for your family. Here's why this might make sense: If your husband's PIA under the new Fairness Act rules is around $1,833/month (to get $1,375 at age 62), waiting until full retirement age would mean he gets the full $1,833, your daughter gets up to 50% of that ($916), and the family maximum would be calculated on the higher amount. Over 11 years, this difference could be substantial. Also, something to keep in mind - your daughter's benefits will automatically stop when she turns 18 (unless she's still in high school), but your husband's benefits continue for life. So the decision isn't just about the next 11 years, but also about his lifetime benefit amount. I'd definitely recommend getting that detailed SSA projection others mentioned, but also consider consulting with a financial planner who can model out different scenarios including your pension, Social Security timing, and your daughter's education costs. The complexity of government pensions plus the new Fairness Act rules really warrants professional analysis.