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Calculating Social Security for Disabled Children

We have two daughters who are autistic. I understand that when they turn 18 they will be eligible for Social Security payments at a rate of half of my anticipated benefit. Since there are two children involved, will they reduce each other's benefit or my future retirement benefit? I am 50 years old.

My wife hasn't worked for pay for many years. Would the benefit calculations for our children be increased, decreased or unchanged if both parents had paid into the system?

Steve Lester

Winter Park, Fla.

Social Security payments to your family may be impacted because of limits on family payments, but your retirement benefits would be intact, according to Mickie Douglas, a spokeswoman for the Social Security Administration in Baltimore.

Actually, your children may be eligible for benefits today, depending on your financial situation. From birth to age 18, children may receive monthly payments under the Supplemental Security Income program, or SSI, if they have impairments that meet Social Security's definition of disability for children, and if your family's income falls within certain limits.

If your daughters aren't eligible for SSI currently because you and your wife have too much income, they may become eligible for SSI at age 18. At that point, your income will no longer be counted in the financial limits. To qualify, your children can't do what Social Security calls "substantial" work, meaning they are unable to earn more than $940 a month. (There are different limits for people who are disabled because of blindness.)

At age 18, your daughters also may qualify for a benefit based on your work record. But they will have to wait until you start collecting Social Security retirement benefits to qualify for those payments. Under the Social Security Disability Insurance program, or SSDI, adult children age 18 or older may receive monthly payments if they meet three conditions:

-- The impairment or combination of impairments meets Social Security's disability definition.

-- The disability began before age 22.

-- One of the parents worked long enough to be insured under Social Security and either is receiving retirement or disability benefits or has died.

Even though the rule of thumb is that dependents get half the worker's retirement or disability-benefit amount, the actual amount depends on three factors: the worker's earnings record; the timing of the worker's retirement-benefit claim; and the number of dependents. If you start collecting Social Security retirement payments before your "full retirement age," which you can look up at ssa.gov under "Plan Your Retirement," you permanently lower your monthly benefit amount.

If your family includes more than one dependent, as yours would, the benefits paid to you and your dependents would be combined into a "family benefit amount." That amount could be less than the payments the worker and separate dependents would receive if the benefits were paid separately. Your family could get as much as 180% of the retired worker's benefits, but the exact amount depends on a complex Social Security formula. The worker's benefit wouldn't be reduced, but the dependents' benefits could be reduced proportionately if your family's total benefit exceeds the limit.

And, as you suspected, if your wife went back to work, she might be eligible for a larger benefit: The maximum family benefit doesn't apply to spouses when each spouse is collecting retirement benefits based on his or her own work record.

But again, your dependents' benefits could be affected depending on the individual situation, so it's a good idea to check with your local Social Security office (which you can locate at www.ssa.gov) for information specific to your situation.

For more general information, go to Social Security's Web site, ssa.gov, and look up "Benefits for Children" (Publication No. 05- 10085), "Benefits for Children with Disabilities" (Publication No. 05- 10026), "Supplemental Security Income (SSI)" (Publication No. 05- 11000) and "Disability Benefits" (Publication No. 05-10029).

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