A person who becomes entitled to D benefits at or after age 60 and furnishes proof
of disability is deemed to be entitled to DWB for each month of D entitlement.
Although delay in submitting evidence of disability should be avoided, it will not
result in loss of months of deemed DWB entitlement. The effective date of deemed DWB
entitlement for a person entitled to D benefits depends on the date DWB could have begun, not on when evidence of disability is submitted. (See example E.2.)
In some cases, it will be advantageous for a disabled surviving spouse who is eligible
for a reduced RIB greater than the reduced D benefit to also file for D benefits in
order to be deemed entitled to DWB. In such a case, the application for D benefits
is restricted to the first month of D eligibility and the RIB application is restricted
to begin with the following month. This permits D entitlement to be established for
at least one month prior to the start of RIB entitlement. Based on the D entitlement,
the surviving spouse may be deemed entitled to DWB and D-HI awarded with the 25th
month of deemed DWB entitlement. (See example E.4.)