Question
Am I required to file for Social Security family/dependent benefits if I don't want to?
In the UNUM letter regarding back payment for the SSDI lump sum benefit we just received, they also state that we are eligible for additional Family Social Security benefits because of our dependents. They state that they will estimate the additional benefit we are eligible for, and subtract that from our monthly UNUM benefit whether or not they don't hear from us. My question is, are we required to file for this additional SSDI family benefit? Can we tell UNUM we don't intend to file and don't want it subtracted from our payment? We were pressured to apply for SSDI by UNUM and not educated at all about the difference in tax treatment we'd have for this income. The family benefit would only exacerbate the problem. We'd rather keep the tax-free UNUM payment as is. Do we have any options?
Answer
The carrier cannot make you file but they are entitled to estimate an offset if you don’t and reduce your monthly benefit by that amount. For example, the dependent benefit is generally half of the primary benefit so if the primary is $2000 and you do not apply for the dependent benefit they will likely reduce your monthly benefit by the $2000 primary and an additional $1000 for the estimated dependent benefit.
