My husband and i have a 20-year-old son who is significantly disabled. My husband just applied to receive his Social Security income, as he turns 70 next week. I am 66 and plan to wait until I am 70 to receive my SS income. My question: Am I eligible to file a "restricted application" based on meeting one of the two exceptions to the requirement of being born by Jan.1, 1954 to be eligible? My understanding is that one of the exceptions to the age restriction is caring for a child who is under 16 or disabled. So I am wondering since my son is disabled, whether I could collect 50% of my husband's SS income until I apply at 70. And in case this is relevant: Our son is in a residential special ed school (he comes home for overnight visits) and will enter an adult developmental disability residential program after school ends for him later this year. The majority of his financial support currently is not coming from us. However, we care for him in that we manage all his services and needs, visit him as often as we can (at least weekly) and are saving for a home to purchase for him. Thank you for your assistance!

Hi. If your son qualifies for disabled adult child (DAC) benefits and if he is classified as being in your care by Social Security regulations, then yes you could file a restricted application for child in care spousal benefits without being required to apply for your own Social Security retirement benefits at the same time.

I assume from your description that your son is mentally impaired, and in that case it sounds like you would probably meet the definition of having him in your care. Detailed information about child in care requirements for children who don't regularly live with their parent can be found in the following section of Social Security's operations manual: https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/poms.nsf/lnx/0301310035.

Whether or not you qualify for child in care spousal benefits, though, your best overall filing strategy depends on a number of different factors. You may want to strongly consider using our software (https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase) to fully compare and analyze all of your various options in order to make sure you choose the best possible filing strategy for maximizing benefits for you and your family.

Best, Jerry