Will my disabled adult son get higher benefits if my husband delays SS until 70? Survivor benefit questions too

Your adult disabled son will receive half of your husband's Primary Insurance Amount (PIA), which is the benefit amount at full retirement age, NOT half of the increased benefit from delaying until 70. The delayed retirement credits your husband earns between FRA and 70 don't increase your son's benefits. However, regarding your second question, if your husband passes away, both you AND your disabled son could receive survivor benefits based on your husband's actual benefit amount at death, including those delayed retirement credits. As a widow, you'd get 100% of what he was receiving at death (assuming you're at your FRA), and your son would get 75% of that same amount. So delaying until 70 does help both of you in a survivor situation, just not while your husband is alive.

when my brother (who has downs) got benefits from my dads record they told us it was based on dads FRA amount not his actual payment. ur son might need to go through a medical review too when switching from SSI to SSDI btw. thats what happend with my brother.

As others mentioned, the disabled adult child (DAC) benefit is 50% of the parent's PIA while the parent is alive, and 75% of the PIA if the parent dies. But there's something else very important you should know: when your son switches from SSI to Social Security disabled adult child benefits, he'll likely qualify for Medicare after 24 months on SSDI, even if he's younger than 65. This can be a huge benefit compared to Medicaid. Also, make sure your son has been continuously disabled since before age 22 (sounds like he has) and has not married (unless to another SSDI recipient), as these are requirements for DAC benefits.

I don't think the other posters are totally right. I'm pretty sure disabled children get half of whatever the parent gets, including delayed retirement credits. My nephew gets benefits on my brother's record and I'm almost certain he gets half of the ACTUAL amount my brother receives each month, not half of some "full retirement age" amount. You should double-check this with SSA directly!!

Has anyone here actually been able to GET THROUGH to Social Security lately?? I've been trying for THREE WEEKS to ask a similar question about my disabled daughter's benefits and keep getting disconnected or told the wait time is 2+ hours! It's IMPOSSIBLE to get actual answers from them!!

does ur son live with u guys? cauze SSI has those living arangement rules that can reduce his payment. when our disabled son moved back home his SSI went down by like $300 which was stupid

One more important consideration: When your son transitions from SSI to disabled adult child benefits on your husband's record, his total income will likely increase. However, this could affect his Medicaid eligibility in some states. Many disabled adults need to maintain Medicaid for services that Medicare doesn't cover (like home and community-based services). In most states, SSI automatically qualifies someone for Medicaid, but SSDI/DAC benefits might put him over the income limit. There are programs like QDWI (Qualified Disabled Working Individual) that can help in some cases, but you should check with your state's Medicaid office before making any benefits changes.

The whole Social Security disability system is SO CONFUSING! My daughter has been disabled since birth and we're still trying to figure everything out 25 years later! Every time I think I understand the rules, something changes. Good luck to you!!

Since several people have mentioned the transition from SSI to SSDI (as Disabled Adult Child benefits), I wanted to clarify one more thing: your son can potentially receive BOTH benefits if the SSDI amount is low. If the DAC benefit (on your husband's record) is less than the SSI federal benefit rate ($943/month in 2025), your son might get a reduced SSI payment to supplement the SSDI up to that amount. This is called "concurrent benefits," and it's designed to ensure that people don't end up worse off when qualifying for SSDI. The calculation gets complicated with the SSI income disregards, but SSA will figure that part out.