I am asking this question on behalf of my sister in law. She and her husband were foster parents to special needs children and eventually adopted them. Her husband was awarded disability when the children were in their teens. Because the family max disability was reached, my sister in law never received any benefits of her own.. Now these children are adults and still living at home. My sister in law and her husband are over 66 years old which is their maximum retirement age. At this point in her life, should she not be entitled to spousal benefits regardless of the benefits being provided her adopted adult children? Her husband keeps telling her NO but I'm not sure if I agree. I feel sorry for her because the kids are getting monthly payments as is her husband and she gets nothing. She does not receive any part of the benefits for herself. What can she do?

Hi,

If at least 2 adopted children are drawing benefits on your sister in law's husband's record, then the family maximum benefit (FMB) on his account is almost certainly being fully paid. Your sister in law could still qualify for spousal benefits even if the full FMB is being paid, but unless she is insured for benefits on her own record there will likely be no increase in the total amount paid to the family.

For example, Bill & Mary have 2 disabled children. Bill files for his Social Security benefits and receives his full monthly benefit rate (PIA) of $2,000. The FMB payable on Bill's record is $3,500. Both children qualify for disabled adult child's benefits on Bill's record, so they are each paid $750 (i.e. ($3500 - $2000)/2). Child's benefits are normally paid at a rate of 50% of the parent's PIA, but in this case the 2 children must split the $1,500 available from the FMB after Bill's PIA is deducted. Mary also qualifies for an unreduced spousal benefit which would normally be paid at 50% of Bill's PIA, but in this example if Mary files for spousal benefits she will just receive her 1/3 share of the $1500 available from the FMB, and the children's benefits would also be reduced to $500 each. In other words, the family in this case would be paid the same amount (i.e. $3500) whether Mary files or not. And, if Mary would have to pay income taxes on the benefits she receives, filing for benefits could result in a net loss in the overall amount of benefits that the family gets to keep after taxes.

As I mentioned above, though, if your sister in law is insured for benefits on her own record then that could change things. Your sister in law and her husband may want to consider using our maximization software to explore their options and determine their best overall strategy for claiming benefits.

Best, Jerry