I am 66 years old, my wife is 54 and my son is 16. I currently receive a ssn check, but they told me I also qualify for disability due to my knee and my shoulder. Will that affect my food stamp benefits? Should I not apply for disability?

Hi,

I have no expertise in the food stamp program, so I don't know what effect your qualifying for disability benefits might have on your food stamps. However, I would assume that if your Social Security benefit rate went up or if you received back pay then it could have an effect on your food stamps since that's a needs based benefit. I'm not able to give you any advice as to your best course of action, though.

What I can tell you is that if you're currently age 66, that is your full retirement age (FRA) for Social Security benefits. And, you can't receive Social Security disability benefits (SSDI) for any period of time after you reach FRA. Therefore, the only way that you could possibly qualify for any SSDI benefits would be for a retroactive period dating back to before you turned age 66.

Retroactivity for SSDI benefits is limited to no more than 12 months from your date of filing, so I would imagine that your period of SSDI eligibility (if any) would be short. And, if you've already received regular Social Security retirement benefits for the same period of time that you qualify for SSDI, any back pay that you would get would likely be relatively small since it would just consist of the difference between your prior benefit rate and your SSDI rate. Retroactive SSDI entitlement could also mean a relatively modest increase in your ongoing monthly benefit rate.

By the way, it sounds like your son should be eligible for Social Security child's benefits on your record. If he's not already drawing benefits, then you should probably file a claim with Social Security on his behalf. Also, if your son is disabled your wife may qualify for child in care spousal benefits.

Best, Jerry