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.