I had this very patiently explained to me by someone who specialized in this area.
If a parent receives SSDI, and the children also receive benefits, their benefits are SSI
If a parent receives survivors benefits and the children also receive survivors benefits, their benefits are SSI
Now, I have never personally gone and verified the information provided to me by the expert in question, but I do trust that they know what they are talking about.
You don't know me at all so you have no reason to believe me over this specialist who explained it all to you. And I cannot post my credentials to this board so you don't have a reason to believe me over this "specialist".
But I will tell you that I have 28 years experience working at the Social Security Administration and all of it was as an SSI claims representative, 14 as an SSI technical expert and they really should have promoted me to a regional SSI program analyst (still wish I had gotten that job) because I was very good at my job in SSI. In SSA field offices, claims representatives are generally assigned work as either an SSI (Title XVI) specialist or an RSDI specialist (Title II) although there is quite a bit of overlap in assigned workloads. SSI benefits are paid through a system called MSSICS. RSDI (Retirement, Survivor and Disability Insurance) benefits are paid through a program called MCS. The SSI computer record is called a SSID; the RSDI computer record is called an MBR or an AACT.
Hmm, what else can I say.
In 1936, when the FDR administration passed the Social Security Act, the only benefits were retirement for the worker and the wife (remember this was when women did not work outside the home as much as they do now). Survivor's benefits were added for widows shortly thereafter - widower's benefits came much later, maybe in the 1950's. I don't recall when children were added to the RSI entitlement, probably in the 1950's. I am sure there is a long history at socialsecurity.gov.
I posted one link to an SSI spotlight that you must not have read. It is official and found at the government web site.
SSI, on the other hand, was started in January 1974 under Nixon. The federal government decided to federalize all the poverty programs for the disabled and elderly so that benefits would be the same nation wide. There were state and local programs in place, but Congress decided to convert them all to federal programs and gave the job of administering it to the Social Security Administration. Most of the recipients who were converted in 1974 have long since died, but there are a small number still getting paid. And there was mass hiring at SSA in 1974 (I started in 1979).
I am sorry your friend gave you wrong information. I am correct. There are no SSI benefits to survivors or auxiliaries. But I am not going to fight you over it.
Sorry, Si3rra1 that you are getting conflicting information, but that is one of the problems with internet forums. You have no way of knowing if anyone knows what they are talking about. And we still need more details about how much money you had in the bank and why and when in order to give you better answers. Unfortunately, you will not know for sure who is correct unless you go to the official websites or your local office. I am giving you the answers I would give if I were not retired and you were sitting in front of me at your local SS office. But you don't know that for sure.