Combined Family max or just Family Max?
Dear Larry,
Your FAQs are extremely helpful. I hopel you can help determine by rights for SS payments.

My wife and I are both now 66 (she in July 2017 and I in August 2017) and we have a disabled daughter living with us on SSI who currently gets $735/month. My wife's PIA is $940 and my PIA is $2341. My wife just started receiving her monthly $940 and we were planning on my applying for spousal benefits at $470 and letting my account grow at 8% until it reaches my maximum of $3090 when I am 70.

Hi. My husband is permanently disabled and has received ssdi for about 11 years, he is 53. We have one non-disabled child and one child (3 years old) who is disabled. He does not receive ssi because we have not formally applied. Is there a family maximum you can receive? So my son could not get ssi if my husband's ssdi is too high? My husband thinks that if we applied, it would reduce his amount and we'd just end up with the same amount monthly anyway. Should we not bother? Thanks.

Hi,

Dear Larry,

I am considering retiring at age 62, which will be May 2018 (62 plus one month). My current PIA is $1138. My wife will be 54 when I take early retirement; however, we will have three daughters ages 16, 11, 8 by May 2018. My wife is a traditional homemaker who takes care of these three children. Can you tell me what the MFB would be for us (We also have another daughter who will be age 18 by May 2018)?

Complicated Max Family Benefit question due to adopted grandchildren who are currently drawing a survivor benefit. My wife and I are preparing to retire and collect SS at 62 . We are raising and adopted our 2 grandchildren. Their father (our son) is deceased and they each receive $1000 a month survivor benefits. Having a hard time finding info on how the combined family maximum works in our situation, Our numbers. My PIA is $2765, my benefit at 62 will be $1967.My total family benefit is $4803. My wifes PIA is $625, her benefit at 62 will be $450.

What year is used to determine the combined family max?
I retired a few years ago and was receiving the family max due to my disabled daughter and my wife's in child care benefit.
My wife filed at 62 this year to implement the combined family limit for a higher benefit.
SSA used the year I retired to determine the limit for the combined family max not 2017, the year the 2 maximums are first being combined.
I reviewed the ssa section https://secure.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/0300615770.

I have been receiving social security since retiring at 65 & 9 moths in 20144(full retire was 66). My disabled adult child who was on SSI since 18 started getting SSDI when I retired. My wife who is now 62 was getting in child care. We were subject to the family max. My full PIA is 2480 with the reduced amt of 2280. My wife and daughter each got $934 for a family total of $4148. We also have a grandchild who we have custody of & care for in our household. Her mom is the disabled adult child and the father is unknown.

Hi Larry, My husband of 18 years filed for SS retirement benefits a few weeks before he was 67,his benefits before Medicare deductions are 2085. He has an ex-spouse, she never worked or never remarried, they were married over 10 years,also they had a child that was disabled before she was 22, she is now 46, still disabled and never married. My history is I became disabled at 34,I had worked, so I received SS disability, at age 66,one month before my husband applied for SS retirement,my SS disability was changed to SS retirement, my SS is $765 before Medicare deductions.

My husband is retired, receiving SS benefits of $2649.
Our disabled child receives $ 993
I receive Child in Care benefits $993.
I will be 66 in April 2018. My PIA is $818 and my Family Maximum is $1227. My husband's Family Maximum is $4618. The Combined Family Maximum right now is $5268.
In April 2018, I want to file for my own and spousal benefits. I believe that the new benefits we will receive after April 2018 are;
husband $2649
disabled son $1324 (50% of father's PIA)
me $818 (my own earned benefits) PLUS

My husband has now been approved for SSDI. I heard that the family maximum is at most, 150% of his PIA. At the SSA.GOV website it shows this excerpt:

"Maximum Family Amount

Each family member may be eligible for a monthly benefit of up to 50 percent of your disability rate. However, there is a limit to the amount we can pay your family.