Hi Larry, I am 60-1/2, my wife is 58-1/2 and stays home with our disabled-from-birth 29-year-old daughter who lives with us and has been receiving SSI for about the last 3 years only. I've been informed that I will be laid off next Spring of 2020 at age 61-1/2. If I were to retire at 62, I've heard from other sources (who I'm not sure of their credibility), that I would get my monthly amount at 62, my wife could get one-half of that amount immediately -- even though she wouldn't be 62 by then -- and then my daughter's monthly SSI amount could increase because of being on my record -- all of this up to whatever the monthly maximum is per household. Does this sound right? I was going to try to work until 65, but with a scheduled layoff at almost 62, I'm not sure I'll be hired anywhere for those 3 years. Please advise - Thanks!

Hi,

Not exactly. First of all, your daughter's SSI (Supplemental Security Income) payments wouldn't increase if she qualifies for benefits on your record. Instead, her SSI would be offset essentially dollar for dollar by any disabled adult child's (DAC) benefits that she receives from your record. And, although your wife could potentially qualify for child in care spousal benefits at any age, her benefit rate would not be derived from your reduced benefit rate.

For example, say Ray files for his Social Security next year at age 62. Ray's full retirement age rate, or primary insurance amount (PIA), would be $2400, but his reduced age 62 rate is $1720. Ray has a disabled adult child who qualifies for benefits on Ray's record, and a younger spouse who qualifies for child in care spousal benefits. The family maximum benefit (FMB) that can be paid on Ray's record is $4200, and to determine the amount that can be paid to family members Ray's PIA is first subtracted from the FMB. In this case, that means up to $1800 can be paid to Ray's eligible family members ($4200 - $2400). If there was no FMB limit, Ray's wife and child could each be paid 50% of his PIA, or $1200, but instead they must share the $1800 available from the FMB. As a result, Ray's wife and child would each receive $900 in this example.

So, Ray's benefit rate would be $1720 and his wife and child would each receive $900, meaning that only $3520 would be paid as opposed to the full FMB of $4200. That's because the reduction for age applied to Ray's benefit cannot be redistributed to his family members under Social Security regulations. And, if Ray's child had been receiving maximum SSI benefits of $771, those benefit would be terminated due to her eligibility for higher DAC benefits.

Before deciding when to file for your benefits, you should strongly consider using our software (https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase) to explore and compare all of your various options so that you can choose the best possible strategy for claiming your benefits.

Best, Jerry