Our 38 yr old daughter has been disabled since birth. She has worked part time for several years and receives SSA based on her own work record. My husband and I just applied for retirement benefits starting in 2 months when he reaches full retirement age (66) and I will be almost 65.. The representative told us that our daughter will now have to get benefits based on my husbands work record. His benefit will be about $2500. I had been hoping to get close to half of his benefit but we were told that the amt will be reduced since our daughter will also be getting benefits on my husbands record. Is this the way it works? Do you have any idea how much my benefit will be reduced? Thanks!

Hi,

Yes, there is a family maximum benefit (FMB) amount that can be paid on any individual's record. If both you and your daughter are eligible for benefits on your husband's record, then you basically have to share the amount that your husband's FMB allows to be paid to eligible family members.

There are too many variables involved for me to be able to give you an idea of how the FMB will affect your benefit rate based on the limited information in your question. Our maximization software can handle these type of calculations, so you may want to consider using it. Also, if you are insured for Social Security benefits based on your own work record, it sounds like your FMB could potentially be combined with your husband's FMB in order to permit more total benefits to be paid to your family. Our software can also handle those types of calculations.

Best, Jerry