I have a 32 year old adult disabled daughter (who was deemed disabled before age 22) on both SSI and SSDI based on her own work record. She earned 6 credits before age 24 which qualified her to collect SSDI on her own work record in addition to collecting SSI. During the time she worked she never reached SGA (Substantial Gainful Activity). Her father just filed for retirement benefits and as a result our daughter will be entitled to Childhood Disability Benefits (CDB) off of his work record. She will no longer receive SSI and will be dually entitled receiving her full SSDI benefit on her work record and partial CDB benefit on her father’s work record with the total benefit the same amount as the full CDB benefit which is the higher of the two. My question is, will this switch over in benefits happen automatically as a result of her father listing our daughter on his retirement application or is it also necessary to file an application for CDB benefits?

Hi. Your daughter can't become entitled to Childhood Disability Benefits (CDB) without filing an application. Listing a child on an a parent's application for benefits only establishes a protective filing date for the child, it is not an actual application for benefits.

Social Security usually contacts spouses and children who are listed on a worker's application if they appear to be eligible for benefits. If your daughter doesn't hear from Social Security soon then it sounds like she should probably call them to initiate filing an application for CDB benefits.

There isn't enough information in your question for me to know whether or not you could qualify for benefits, so you may want to either discuss your options with Social Security or use 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