My husband is 57 years old and has been on social security disability since 2009. We have a child together born in 2004. I heard she may be eligible for benefits. My question is how much is she entitled to and would she get retroactive pay from the onset of disability.

Hi,

Your daughter may be eligible for as much as 50% of your husband's disability benefit rate or as little as nothing depending on your husband's earnings history. There is a special family maximum formula used to determine how much, if any, benefits can be paid to eligible family members of a disabled worker (https://www.ssa.gov/OACT/COLA/dibfamilymax.html). For disabled workers who had relatively low average earnings, the formula can result in no benefits being payable except for the worker's own disability rate.

If your daughter does qualify for benefits and hasn't yet applied, she could potentially receive back pay for up to one year, or even longer if she was listed as a child on your husband's disability application. If you haven't already done so, you should contact Social Security to see if your daughter qualifies for benefits.

Best, Jerry