My DAC (he is 24 yrs with autism) will receive the 50% of my SSA benefits using my 62 early retirement benefits, or my 66 and 8 months FRB? The amount change considerable. Thank you in advance for your answer.

Hi,

Child benefits, including disabled adult child's (DAC) benefits, are calculated at 50% of a living parent's primary insurance amount (PIA), or 75% of a deceased parent's PIA. A person's PIA is equal to their Social Security retirement benefit rate if they start drawing their benefits at full retirement age (FRA).

If your FRA is 66 & 8 months, then you were apparently born in 1958. Regardless of whether you start drawing your Social Security benefits at age 62 or at any time thereafter, your eligible child could be paid up to 50% of your FRA rate (i.e. 50% of your PIA). However, if you file prior to FRA and if you're still working, then both your benefits and any child benefits being paid from your record could be subject to full or partial withholding if you earn too much (https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/planner/whileworking.html). Also, there is a family maximum benefit (FMB) that limits the monthly amount that can be paid on any individual's Social Security record, so if you have a spouse and/or more than one child eligible for benefits from your record, then the amount that they could be paid may be less than a full 50% of your PIA.

You may want to strongly consider using our software (https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase) to fully analyze the options available to you in order to determine your best strategy for maximizing your benefits.

Best, Jerry