I have a question on dependent benefits. My daughter passed away in 2020 she had 2 daughters age 16 ant 17 at the time of her passing. They live with my ex-son in law. I told him to call SS and file for dependent benefits for my granddaughters. He never went to SS to file until Dec of 2021. My oldest granddaughter is now 18 and the other is 17. SS said they can only go back 6 months from the day the claim was filled. Does the 6 month also apply for a dependent child claim? My oldest granddaughter will only collect 2 months because of when it was filed and she finished school in June of 2021, she was already 18 already. My other granddaughter will get the 6 months going back and will get future benefits until she graduates from High Scholl - she will be 18 in April and will graduate in June of 2022. They are missed out on over 1k per month because it was not filed on time, but they were minors. Is there anything that can be done because it was not their fault and this is money was already put aside from their mother SS benefits....:(
Thank you for any feedback you can give me.

Hi. I'm sorry for your loss. Yes, there is a 6-month retroactivity limit for surviving child's benefits (https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/poms.nsf/lnx/0200204030). And, unfortunately, it doesn't sound like there's any possible way for your granddaughters to get more back pay. When minor children are involved, it's normally the parent or guardian's responsibility to apply for benefits on their behalf. But, if no one contacted Social Security on your granddaughters' behalf until the month that their survivor applications were finally filed, then they likely have no recourse. ​

The only way that survivor benefits can be paid for more than 6 months retroactively is if a protective filing date was established. For example, if a person calls Social Security to make an appointment 3 months prior to the month they actually apply, that call can be considered as a protective filing date. So, in that example, survivor benefits could be paid up to 6 months retroactively from the month in which the phone call was made (https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/poms.nsf/lnx/0200204010).

Best, Jerry