My family receives survivor benefits and my oldest turned 18 in Dec but doesn’t graduate until May. He went to social security and had his check turned over to him. When he graduates, will his check come back to the family?

Hi. When your oldest child's benefits stop, it will only increase the amount of benefits payable to other family members if their benefit rate is being reduced due to the family maximum benefit (FMB) amount. Surviving children can be paid up to 75% of the primary insurance amount (PIA) of the deceased parent, but if the total amount of benefits payable exceeds the FMB payable on the deceased parent's account then the eligible children, and widow if also eligible, must split the FMB limit.

So, without knowing more about your family's composition, I can't tell you how the termination of your oldest child's benefits will affect the benefit rates of other eligible family members. You should be able to find out by calling Social Security, though, since they would have access to the necessary records.

Best, Jerry