Will my disabled adult daughter lose SSI when my husband takes Social Security at 62?
I'm really stressed about our family benefits situation and hoping someone can help clarify. My husband just applied for his Social Security retirement benefits at 62 and his first payment is coming in February 2025. Our adult daughter (25) has been receiving SSI since turning 18 due to her disability. When my husband applied, they asked about dependents, and now we've received a letter about our daughter. When he called SSA, they scheduled a phone interview with me since I'm her representative payee. They said I need to provide her doctors' information and SS number. I'm worried - will she lose her SSI benefits? Will this impact how much my husband receives? The representative wasn't clear about why they needed this information and I don't want to mess up either benefit. Has anyone dealt with this situation before?
25 comments


Peyton Clarke
Your daughter might qualify for Childhood Disability Benefits (CDB, sometimes called Disabled Adult Child benefits or DAC) on your husband's record, which could be higher than SSI. This happens when a parent who worked starts collecting retirement. The good news is she might get more money, but there's a catch - if she moves from SSI to CDB, she'll need to be careful about the resources/asset limits. SSI has strict limits but also some flexibility with living arrangements. The SSA is doing this interview to determine if she qualifies for the higher benefit on your husband's record. They need the medical info to verify her disability status continues to meet their criteria.
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Misterclamation Skyblue
•Thank you so much for explaining! I had no idea this might actually lead to higher benefits. Do you know if she can have both SSI and the CDB? She only gets about $950/month now on SSI which barely covers her expenses.
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Vince Eh
I went through this exact situation with my son last year. The SSA will evaluate if your daughter qualifies for Child's Benefits (specifically Adult Child's Benefits since she's disabled) based on your husband's work record. If the benefit amount from your husband's record is higher than her current SSI, they'll switch her to that program and terminate SSI. If it's lower, she'll stay on SSI. One important thing: if she does qualify for benefits on your husband's record, it won't reduce his payment at all! This is a common misconception. Your husband will still get his full retirement amount regardless of your daughter's benefits.
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Misterclamation Skyblue
•That's a huge relief to hear it won't affect his payment! He's already taking a reduction by filing at 62, and we were worried this would cut it even more. Do you know if she'll still keep her Medicaid if they move her from SSI to the other benefit?
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Sophia Gabriel
they might be trying to get her on SSDI instead of SSI. SSI is for people with no work credits but SSDI is based on your husbands work record. my brother had this happen and he got more money from SSDI than SSI. good luck with the interview!
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Tobias Lancaster
•Actually it's not SSDI, it's called Disabled Adult Child benefits or Child's Insurance Benefits. SSDI is only from your own work credits. These special benefits are for adults who became disabled before 22 and can collect on their parent's record when the parent retires, becomes disabled, or dies.
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Ezra Beard
Be prepared for the phone interview! Make sure you have ALL your daughter's medical information ready - current doctors' contact info, her treatment history, medications, etc. They're going to re-evaluate her disability status even though she's already been approved for SSI. When my son switched from SSI to benefits on my record, they made the process WAY more complicated than necessary. I ended up having to call SSA about 5 times because they kept saying they were missing information. Each time I was on hold FOREVER. The whole process took almost 4 months when they said it would take 6 weeks. Just be persistent!!
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Misterclamation Skyblue
•Oh no, that sounds awful! I'll make sure to have everything organized in advance. Did they eventually backpay from when your husband filed, or only from when they finished processing?
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Statiia Aarssizan
Your daughter will likely receive what's called CDB (Childhood Disability Benefits) based on your husband's record. Here's what you need to know: 1. The benefit amount will be up to 50% of your husband's PIA (Primary Insurance Amount) 2. If the CDB amount is higher than her SSI, she'll be switched to CDB and lose SSI 3. After 24 months on CDB, she'll qualify for Medicare 4. In many states, she might still qualify for Medicaid through state programs 5. The interview is standard procedure to verify continued disability This won't affect your husband's benefit amount at all. Just make sure to have all medical records, her SS card, and information about her current benefits ready for the interview.
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Misterclamation Skyblue
•Thank you for laying it out so clearly! The 50% of his amount would definitely be more than her current SSI. I'm still worried about the Medicaid though since she has ongoing medical needs. Do most people manage to keep Medicaid somehow?
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Reginald Blackwell
when this happened to my daughter she got more money but lost her medicaid for awhile and it was a NIGHTMARE. had to apply for a medicaid waiver program separately. make sure you ask about medicaid continuation during the interview!!!
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Tobias Lancaster
•This varies so much by state. In our state there's a Medicaid program specifically for disabled people who get Medicare but need the extra coverage Medicaid provides. Definitely check what's available in your state!
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Sophia Gabriel
Try using Claimyr to get through to SSA faster if you need to call them with questions after your interview. I found them at claimyr.com after getting disconnected 4 times trying to call about my disability review. You can watch how it works here: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU - basically they wait on hold with SSA for you and call you when an agent picks up. Saved me HOURS of frustration, especially with complicated family benefit situations like yours that regular reps sometimes don't understand.
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Ezra Beard
•I wish I knew about this service months ago! I spent literally 12+ hours on hold over several weeks trying to sort out my son's benefits when my husband retired. Definitely going to try this next time.
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Peyton Clarke
One more important thing - if your daughter receives more than SSI (which is likely with the DAC/CDB benefits), she'll need to be careful about the resources test. SSI has a $2,000 asset limit, but receiving benefits on your husband's record might make her eligible for an ABLE account where she can save more without losing benefits. Also, if she works at all, the earnings limits are different than they were under SSI. Make sure to ask about all this during your interview.
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Misterclamation Skyblue
•She does work part-time at a supported workshop, only makes about $300/month. I'll definitely ask about how that affects things and look into the ABLE account. Right now we're careful to keep her bank account under $2000.
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Tobias Lancaster
Everyone here is right about the Adult Disabled Child benefits. My brother went through this transition. Just to add some clarity: the benefit is based on your husband's Primary Insurance Amount (PIA), which is what he would get at full retirement age. Since your husband is taking benefits early at 62, HE gets a reduced amount, but your daughter would still get 50% of his PIA, not 50% of his reduced benefit. This can be significantly higher than SSI payments!
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Statiia Aarssizan
•Great point about the PIA calculation! This is one of those technical details that makes a big difference financially but that SSA representatives often don't explain clearly. When the parent takes reduced benefits, it doesn't reduce the disabled adult child's percentage.
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Ezra Beard
The SSA systems for SSI and retirement benefits don't communicate well with each other, so BE PERSISTENT! When my husband retired, they didn't automatically check if our disabled son qualified for benefits on his record. I had to specifically request it, then follow up multiple times. Don't assume they'll handle everything correctly the first time. Document EVERY conversation (get names, dates, confirmation numbers) and follow up if you don't hear anything within a couple weeks after your interview.
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Misterclamation Skyblue
•Thanks for the advice! I'll start keeping a notebook with all the details from each interaction. Should I call to follow up if I don't hear anything within two weeks of the interview?
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Reginald Blackwell
my daughters medicaid got messed up when she switched from ssi to dac benefits and it took MONTHS to fix!!! call your state medicaid office right away to ask about medicaid for disabled adult children who loss ssi. don't wait for ssa to tell you becuz they might not!
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Vince Eh
•This is excellent advice. SSA handles the Social Security benefits transition, but they often don't adequately explain the Medicaid implications, which are handled at the state level. Being proactive about Medicaid continuation is crucial.
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Yuki Tanaka
This is such a stressful situation but you're getting great advice here! I wanted to add that when my disabled son transitioned from SSI to DAC benefits on my husband's record, we discovered a few things that might help you prepare: 1. The interview will likely take 45-60 minutes, so block out plenty of time 2. They'll ask detailed questions about her daily living activities and work capacity, even though she's already been approved for SSI 3. Have her Social Security card, birth certificate, and current benefit letter handy 4. Write down questions beforehand because it's easy to forget important things during the call The transition ended up being worth it financially for us - my son went from $914/month SSI to $1,247/month on DAC benefits. The temporary Medicaid gap was stressful but we got it sorted out. Don't let the bureaucracy overwhelm you - advocate for your daughter and keep pushing for clear answers!
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Nora Brooks
•Thank you so much for sharing your experience and the detailed preparation tips! It's really encouraging to hear that your son's benefits increased that much - that would make such a difference for us. I'm definitely going to write down all my questions beforehand because I know I'll get nervous during the call. Did you find that having all those documents ready made the interview go more smoothly? And how long did it take from the interview to actually receiving the new benefit amount?
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Ethan Brown
I'm going through almost the exact same situation right now! My husband is 63 and just filed for his Social Security, and we have a 27-year-old disabled son who's been on SSI since he was 19. We got the same letter and phone call from SSA about scheduling an interview. From what I've learned talking to our local SSA office, this is actually a good thing - they're checking if your daughter qualifies for higher benefits on your husband's work record. The interview is just to verify her disability status continues and to gather information for the benefit calculation. One thing that really helped me prepare was calling our daughter's current doctors ahead of time to let them know SSA might be contacting them. Some medical offices take forever to respond to SSA requests, so giving them a heads up can speed things up. Also, if you have any recent medical records or evaluations, have copies ready to fax if they ask. The waiting is nerve-wracking, but from everything I've read here and been told by SSA, this usually works out in the disabled adult child's favor financially. Hang in there - you're doing everything right by asking questions and preparing ahead of time!
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