My husband is retiring in a few months. I will be applying for spousal benefits because I care for our adult disabled child. How long does it take for those benefits to start? Do they start when his will start receiving benefits, or will it take a few months.? Thank you so much.

Hi. It depends on whether or not your child is already drawing a disability benefit from Social Security. If not, then it could take several months for Social Security to make the medical determination on his or her claim. And, if you are applying for child in care spousal benefits then your claim couldn't be approved until your child's claim is approved.

It sounds like you and your husband should strongly consider using our software (https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase) to fully analyze all of your options so that you can determine the best overall strategy for maximizing benefits for your family.

Best, Jerry