I have three children. My benefit amount is $1886. What would their auxiliary payments be for? Two of them receive SSI and one receives a Title Iv D adoption assistance payment of 795 for when I adopted him. My mother has custody and is retired and draws her retirement. She also is a 1099 contractor and has a job. Will this affect what they can earn? My step dad also works. I tried to calculate it myself but this is so confusing. Also my eligible onset date is August 2019.

Hi. I assume you mean that your children are either under age 18, or disabled from an impairment that began prior to when they turned age 22 (https://www.ssa.gov/OP_Home/handbook/handbook.03/handbook-0323.html). Individual children can be paid up to 50% of the amount of their parent's primary insurance amount (PIA), but if there are multiple eligible children who are simultaneously eligible for benefits then their benefit rates would be lowered due to the family maximum benefit (FMB).

If you're receiving Social Security disability (SSDI) benefits then your FMB would be limited to 150% of your PIA. After deducting your own benefit payment that would leave 50% of your PIA to be split between any auxiliary beneficiaries eligible on your account. Thus, if $1886 is your PIA, and if you have 3 children eligible for benefits on your account they could likely each be paid about $314 (i.e. $943/3). That amount would be a bit higher if you're receiving Social Security retirement benefits rather than SSDI benefits.

However, if your eligible children are receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments then their auxiliary benefits would offset their SSI benefits by roughly dollar for dollar. I don't know whether or not the adoption assistance would be affected, though, because my expertise is limited to Social Security benefits.

Best, Jerry