Upon reaching full retirement I received a Social Security surprise

I was unaware, but a benefit (for some), is that children under the age of 18, or between 18-19 and still in high school) can receive a SS monthly payment equal to 50% of the SS payment made to the retiree, provided that the retiree does not apply for SS payments until reaching the "full retirement" age.

In my son's case, he just received his last check, and in total, Uncle Sam sent him over $40k. The money is required to be used for his expenses. We were already spending at least that amount on him every month (car, insurance, private tutoring, music lessons, club dues, food, clothing, utilities, housing, etc..), so we accounted for everything (have to report it) and spent the SS income, but then we matched every penny from the government and it went straight into his 529 college plan.

In addition, when we went to do his taxes, we used the IRS website and were notified that his payments were not taxable. I was expecting to have to outlay a sizeable payment for his taxes, but was spared that. It seemed strange, so then I tried to use TurboTax, and it gave me the same response that his payments were non-taxable.

Now, $40k isn't a huge sum, but with investing we have that up to a little more than $45k. It's about enough to cover 4 years of tuition here in Texas. Not with all other expenses (room/board/books/fees), but this certainly helps.

Just letting you guys who, like me, had children late in life, that this is an additional benefit available if you wait until full retirement to apply. It might help you decide when to retire.