Larry - i have an adult son who is mentally handicapped and he is collecting SSI. I am 65 and am wondering when i start to receive Social Security will i need to change anything for him and will the amount he receives change ? Thanks, Michele

Hi Michele,

It sounds like your son may qualify for disabled adult child's (DAC) benefits once you start drawing your benefits. The benefit rate that can be paid to DAC beneficiaries on the record of a living parent is 50% of the parent's primary insurance amount (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 son does qualify for DAC benefits, his Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments will be reduced basically dollar for dollar by the amount of his DAC benefit. If his DAC rate is higher than his SSI rate, his SSI payments will stop.

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