How does a child disabled prior to age 22 but collecting on their own work record affect the family maximum? My son, who has autism and other related health issues was able to work for a brief time. He qualified for SSDI on his work record and is currently collecting benefits. He was considered disabled prior to age 22 and at no point earned in excess of the SGA limits. If my lower earning spouse begins collecting at age 62, and I claim child in care benefits under her record, what affect does my son’s benefit have on the family maximum? For example, let’s say my wife’s PIA was $850; my son and I would receive $212.50/mo. as the total family maximum would limit us to 50% of her PIA, or $425/mo split between us. However, my son is currently receiving $631/mo. Would this mean I would receive a child in care benefit of $425/mo. instead as none of the family maximum would apply to his benefit? Or does it “net out” as a spousal benefit does when taking the higher of the two benefits?

Hi. In the example in your question, your son would only be technically entitled to disabled child (DAC) benefits since his own Social Security disability (SSDI) benefit rate is higher than his DAC rate. In other words, he'd keep getting his own SSDI payment and his DAC payment would be zero.

But, the fact that your son wouldn't be paid any DAC benefits would allow his share of the family maximum benefit (FMB) to be paid to you. So, assuming that you aren't receiving any other Social Security benefits and if you qualify for child in care spousal benefits then you could be paid up to a full 50% of your wife's primary insurance amount (PIA).

Distribution of the FMB can be quite complicated. Furthermore, if and when both you and your wife are collecting Social Security retirement benefits then the FMBs from both of your records could likely be combined. You and your wife should strongly consider using our software (https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase) to fully analyze all of the options available to you in order to determine your best strategy for maximizing benefits for your family.

Best, Jerry