Will my niece's retirement application affect her grandkids' Social Security survivor benefits?

Your niece can rest easy! Her applying for her own retirement benefits will NOT affect the grandchildren's survivor benefits. They are two completely separate entitlements. Survivor benefits for the grandchildren are based on the deceased parent's work record, while her retirement benefits are based on her own work history. The children can continue receiving their survivor benefits regardless of what she does with her own retirement application.

i was in smiliar situation whn my sister passed and i got custody of her kids. applyng for ur own benfits dosnt effect wat the kids get at all. they keep gettin survivor benifits based on there parents record not ur nieces

While the previous responses are correct that her retirement won't affect their survivor benefits, your niece should be aware of the family maximum limit that might apply if she's also receiving benefits as the children's representative payee. There's a maximum total amount that can be paid on a single deceased person's record. But her OWN retirement is completely separate and won't count toward that family maximum. Also, if she's not yet Full Retirement Age (which would be 66 and 4 months for someone age 64), her benefit amount will be permanently reduced. She might want to consider waiting until her FRA if her financial situation allows.

I had SO MANY PROBLEMS trying to get this same information from Social Security last year for my cousin's situation. Called for WEEKS and couldn't get through. Finally I found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to a real SSA agent in about 15 minutes! They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU The agent confirmed exactly what others here said - the kids' survivor benefits are completely separate from your niece's retirement benefits. They told me my cousin could safely apply for her retirement without affecting the kids' benefits at all.

my grandkids get ssa too but its SSI not survivors. does this same rule apply for SSI too??? anyone know??

I need to add an important point that nobody's mentioned yet. If your niece is considering applying for retirement at 64, she should be aware of the following: 1. Filing at 64 means a permanent reduction of about 13.3% from her full benefit amount 2. If she's still providing care for minor or disabled grandchildren, she might actually qualify for different benefits as the children's caregiver 3. She should ask about the "Child-in-Care" benefits if the grandchildren are under 16 or disabled I strongly recommend she schedule an appointment with SSA to review ALL possible options before making a decision. Sometimes there are better filing strategies available than just taking early retirement.

The SSA is USELESS when it comes to explaining these rules!!! My brother-in-law lost out on THOUSANDS because they didn't tell him about all his options when his wife died leaving him with kids. They just sign you up for whatever you ask for without explaining if there's a better option. MAKE SURE your niece talks to someone who understands ALL the rules, not just some random claims representative who doesn't care.

hey does anyone know how long her grandkids can keep gettin there benifits? my neice is turning 18 soon and i'm worried about her payments stopping

Thank you all so much for the helpful responses! I just talked to my niece and she's so relieved to know that her applying won't hurt the kids' benefits. She's going to look into that Child-in-Care benefit that was mentioned and will try using that Claimyr service to get through to SSA since she's been trying to call for weeks. I really appreciate everyone taking the time to share your knowledge and experiences!