Laurence Kotlikoff is a professor of economics at Boston University who has been answering questions and writing columns about Social Security each week for the past two years on PBS NEWSHOUR’s website. OpenRetirement has asked Professor Kotlikoff to post a Q&A each day from those columns. He has also developed software, called Maximize My Social Security, to help retirees secure the highest lifetime Social Security benefits. You can find the software here: www.maximizemysocialsecurity.com
Question: My son is disabled with Down Syndrome and has been collecting Supplemental Security Income benefits since he turned 21. My understanding is that he will be able to collect Social Security benefits based upon my work record when I start collecting Social Security or when I die. Is his Social Security benefit amount dependent upon when I take benefits — at age 62, full retirement age, or age 70? Does his SSI payments also continue?
Answer: Your son’s child benefit is half of your full retirement benefit when you are alive and 75 percent of your full retirement benefit when you die. So the child benefit doesn’t depend on when you collect your retirement benefit. But you do need to have filed for your retirement benefit in order for your son to collect a child benefit and you do have to die in order for your son to collect a child survivor benefit. His SSI payment may be reduced if he starts receiving child benefits.
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When it comes to personal finance, economics and our software care about one thing—your living standard. All questions in personal finance boil down to your living standard. Your decision about when and how to take Social Security can affect your living standard throughout your retirement.
I am a professor of economics and I’ve spent a good part of my academic career studying personal financial behavior. Here’s why my colleagues and I developed Maximize My Social Security. Deciding, on your own, which Social Security benefits to take and in which month to take them is incredibly difficult. Most households face millions of options. You can easily lose tens of thousands of dollars making the wrong choices.
My company’s software, Maximize My Social Security, can help you avoid costly mistakes and instead discover your maximized lifetime household benefits.
