Hi Larry. Its been a few years since I subscribed and took advantage of your software. As I get closer to FRA, I am thinking it might behoove me to resubscribe and let you run figures again. Hoping you can answer a few questions that will help me in my choices. I plan to (likely) retire in 12/2021 when I turn 67. My wife will be age 60 at that time. We have a disabled adult child in our care who has received SSI since age 18.
1) If I retire on the date above, will BOTH my DAC son AND my age 60 wife, as spouse in custody of our DAC, be eligible for a social security benefit equal to 1/2 of my FRA PIA subject to the applicable family maximum or is my wife not eligible for this benefit until she reaches age 62?
2) If my wife is eligible for this benefit at age 60, how is this benefit impacted when she begins drawing her own AND her spousal benefit at age 62 or greater, given that my PIA will be greater than hers? Can she continue to receive the higher spouse in custody benefit that my account will afford while receiving her own retirement benefit plus spousal benefit?
3) At what point does the "combined family maximum benefit" from which spousal benefit + DAC benefit + spouse in custody benefit is paid come into play...is it when my wife files for her own social security benefits at age 62 or greater?

Thanks in advance for your reply.

Jeff

Hi Jeff,

Yes, your wife could potentially qualify for child in care (CIC) spousal benefits regardless of how old she is when you start drawing your benefits. And, yes, the original benefit rate for both CIC spousal benefits and disabled adult child's (DAC) benefits is 50% of a living worker's primary insurance amount (PIA). However, as you mention those benefit amounts could be subject to reduction due to the family maximum benefit (FMB), and they almost certainly would be reduced in your family's case at least to begin with.

Whenever your wife files for her own benefits, she could only be paid essentially the higher of her own benefit rate or her spousal rate. And, at least her Social Security retirement benefit rate would be reduced for age if she starts drawing her own benefits prior to her full retirement age (FRA). But, when your wife does file for her own benefits then the FMB from her record could potentially be combined with the FMB from your record to allow more total family benefits to be paid.

I should also mention that your son's Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits will be offset pretty much dollar for dollar by the amount of his DAC benefits, and if his DAC rate is at least $20 more per month than his SSI rate then his SSI benefits will stop altogether. Our software (https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase) takes all of these factors into account when helping you determine your optimal filing strategy, so you should strongly consider using the software to help you with your Social Security planning.

Best, Jerry