If I pass away before my FRA and before filing for my Social Security retirement benefit, I guess my widow can claim a survivor benefit on my work record and receive up to 100% of my PIA, but she will have to wait until her own FRA in 2027 to claim it or it will be reduced. But because she will be taking care of our disabled adult child, could she immediately file for mother's benefits, and receive some fraction of my PIA right away? The child would receive a DAC survivor benefit of 75% of my PIA, I guess. Would both payments be reduced to fit within a family max calculated from my PIA?
If she wanted to file for this, would my widow be forced to file for a widow's benefit at the same time, even though she is below her FRA, and be forced to take a smaller benefit? If not, would she put in a new application at her FRA to switch to her 100% benefit, and would that squeeze down our DAC's benefit due to the family max?
Likewise, would she be forced to file for her own worker's benefit (either right away, or at her FRA) and lose any delayed retirement credits she might earn by waiting until 70 for that?
Hi,
Yes, if you have a child who qualifies for disabled adult child's (DAC) benefits then your wife could potentially be paid mother's benefits in the event of your death regardless of her age. However, the child would have to be in your wife's care and have either a mental impairment, or physical impairment that requires personal services (https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/poms.nsf/lnx/0301310015).
Mother's benefits are paid at a rate of 75% of the worker's primary insurance amount (PIA), the same as surviving DAC benefits. The family maximum benefit (FMB) for survivor benefits is always at least 150% of the worker's PIA, so your wife and child could both draw their full DAC and mother's benefits without exceeding the FMB. However, if your wife switches from mother's to widow's benefits at some point the FMB on your account would likely need to be at least 175% of your PIA in order for both of them to be paid their full rates.
Your wife would not be forced to file for her own benefits if she applies for either mother's benefits or widow's benefits. So, she could potentially continue to accrue delayed retirement credits (DRC) and file for her own benefits at age 70.
Our software (https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase) can handle all of the computations potentially involved in your family's case, so you may want to strongly consider using it to do your retirement planning.
Best, Jerry
