When to apply for Social Security?

[ruadisneyfan2]

So, this isn't to debate whether it's better to start collecting at 62 vs. FRA vs. 70.

Dh will be FRA in November and I've read you can begin the application process up to 4 months prior. I also read that SS pays for each month during the following month. Got it. We just designate in the application which month he wants to start his claim.
So let's say dh will officially hit 66+8 months (FRA) on November 10. Can we still claim November (getting $ in Dec)? Technically, the first part of November he is not fully 66+8 months.
So should we say December (getting $ in Jan) is the first month that he has passed 66+8 months?

Am I overthinking this?

 

[LuvOrlando]

The people who answer the phones there are very helpful so regardless of what you hear on here I would call or even make an appointment at your local office and sit with someone.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I wasn't sure if it was better to file online like we did for his Medicare part A.

 

[LuvOrlando]

I wasn't sure if it was better to file online like we did for his Medicare part A.

I am on Social Security Disability and the program is so chock full of oddball rules and regulations the absolute safest thing to do, if it was me, would be to go to the office and sit down with someone there. This way idf something goes wrong you have your appointment recored and can tell them, "Hey, Mrs. XYZ told me this would work out, please help me"

 

[barkley]

The people who answer the phones there are very helpful so regardless of what you hear on here I would call or even make an appointment at your local office and sit with someone.

this-but keep in mind mondays and the last few days/first few days of the month are the longest hold times to reach a live rep. better to call midweek/first thing in the morning.

I am on Social Security Disability and the program is so chock full of oddball rules and regulations the absolute safest thing to do, if it was me, would be to go to the office and sit down with someone there. This way idf something goes wrong you have your appointment recored and can tell them, "Hey, Mrs. XYZ told me this would work out, please help me"

i agree that talking face to face w/a rep is best but call to sched. an appointment-and call well ahead b/c there can be many week waits. not sure how it is now but up until recently our local office still was not doing walk-in's, and to be honest-a walk in at social security is no different than calling in b/c the reps have the identical access to the identical information. in my experience the face to face appointments afford greater personalized assistance.

 

[tvguy]

So, this isn't to debate whether it's better to start collecting at 62 vs. FRA vs. 70.

Dh will be FRA in November and I've read you can begin the application process up to 4 months prior. I also read that SS pays for each month during the following month. Got it. We just designate in the application which month he wants to start his claim.
So let's say dh will officially hit 66+8 months (FRA) on November 10. Can we still claim November (getting $ in Dec)? Technically, the first part of November he is not fully 66+8 months.
So should we say December (getting $ in Jan) is the first month that he has passed 66+8 months?

Am I overthinking this?

My wife and I did it all online without any issues. It asks you when you want to received benefits and FRA is one of the options. It was painless. A word of warning, I thought the payments went out the first of the month. They do not. SSA assigns you a payment date. My wife's assigned payment date is the second Tuesday of the month, and mine is the fourth Wednesday. However, in reality the deposits show up as pending in my checking account on the Saturday before. My wife's showed up today, with a pending date of the 13th. And it will take a month for them to coordinate with Medicare, so your first SS payment will not have your Medicare Part B premium deducted, your second SS payment will. However, the auto pay for the second month did not turn off so for both of us, it was taken out of our checking account directly, AND the our SS payment. We got a paper check refund in the mail during our third month getting SS benefits.
I reached FRA last December and got my first payment this January. My wife reached FRS in April, and got her first payment in May.

 

[barkley]

the day you get your ss is driven by birthdate. 1st-10th of the month, 11th-20th, 21st-31st determines which week of the month your benefit is issued.

 

[focusondisney]

So let's say dh will officially hit 66+8 months (FRA) on November 10. Can we still claim November (getting $ in Dec)? Technically, the first part of November he is not fully 66+8 months.

The month of his birthday is his FRA. So you’ll be fine saying November & start it in December.

Not sure where you live. When I did my application, I did it online. It was sent to a service center across the state & not the office 7 minutes from our house. That center gets all online applications & was backed up. I had to call that office for questions & to check on my application. The local office couldn’t help with anything. My husband made a phone appointment with the local office. Someone called him & did the application over the phone. His application was processed quickly & any questions he had could be answered at the local office. If you have an office that’s convenient for you, it might be much better to apply locally instead of online from my experience.

 

[tvguy]

The month of his birthday is his FRA. So you’ll be fine saying November & start it in December.

Not sure where you live. When I did my application, I did it online. It was sent to a service center across the state & not the office 7 minutes from our house. That center gets all online applications & was backed up. I had to call that office for questions & to check on my application. The local office couldn’t help with anything. My husband made a phone appointment with the local office. Someone called him & did the application over the phone. His application was processed quickly & any questions he had could be answered at the local office. If you have an office that’s convenient for you, it might be much better to apply locally instead of online from my experience.

The Social Security Benefit centers about 100 miles from my house handled my application. I got an e-mail notice saying the benefits had been approved about 3 months after I applied, which was about 3 weeks before I got my first benefit. My wife never did hear back via e-mail, but when she checked online about three months after she applied, it said it was approved. I had no questions since everything I needed to know was online.

 

[Dznypal]

This really doesn’t have much to do with when to apply but it will come up when you pass on.
SS is actually paid one month back. So when I retired my first check should have been the end of aug since I turned 62 the end of July but didn’t get my first check till the end of sept
It’s like they hold back a check like when you start a job they hold back the first check. But when you leave you get that check 2 weeks after you leave.
But I always wonder what happens to the first check since when you pass SS ends
I can never find anyone at SS to answer

 

[lanejudy]

But I always wonder what happens to the first check since when you pass SS ends
I can never find anyone at SS to answer

My mom passed in very late Nov. Her SS check that arrived in Dec. had to be paid back by her estate. I don’t recall if it was clawed back electronically or if my sister had to write a check from the account; I think electronic.

 

[Dznypal]

Sorry to hear about your mom

But that doesn’t seem right either since she was here most of Nov the check she got in Dec was really for Nov and for her expenses for Nov.

This is what I was referring too. It should have been the SS payment that was held back
Like the year I turned 62 late July yet I didn’t get my first check till end of sept

I guess aug was just your on your month

 

[georgina]

That doesn't sound right. DH bday is in the middle of June and he got his first SS payment the third week of July.

 

[Eighty8Keys]

I lost both my parents within the last couple of years. My understanding is that SSA benefits aren’t paid for the month you die even if you lived for the majority of the month. Mom received her benefits on April 20, 2022 (which were covered the month of March) and she passed two days later on the 22nd. We were not asked to repay those benefits. Dad received his benefits on the 27th of the month. He passed away July 12, 2023. SSA was notified of his death so his benefits were not deposited into his account on July 27 (which were for June). Instead, I received a letter from SSA shortly after his death notifying me that he may have been due benefits. There was a claim form that my sister and I filled out as his next of kin. A month or two later we each receive half of his benefits, which counted as taxable income for us.

 

[focusondisney]

 

[tvguy]

View attachment 885084

My mom passed away on the 20th of the month. I notified Social Security on the 21st and that was enough notice that her next payment did not happen. Wonder how long SSA says they need to shut off payments because 10 days notice in my case was enough.

 

[lanejudy]

But that doesn’t seem right either since she was here most of Nov the check she got in Dec was really for Nov and for her expenses for Nov.

No, Social Security isn’t paid for the month in which a person passes, even if they live most of that month. So because she passed in Nov. she was not eligible for a payment in Dec. That said, I know some rules have changed over the years and my parents started collecting SS benefits back in the 90s so maybe that affected something.

This is what I was referring to. It should have been the SS payment that was held back
Like the year I turned 62 late July yet I didn’t get my first check till end of sept

My understanding is you should have been eligible to receive a payment in Aug. I’m not sure why you wouldn’t have received a payment until Sept. Maybe something delayed your application?

 

[ncc1701]

My mom passed away on the 20th of the month. I notified Social Security on the 21st and that was enough notice that her next payment did not happen. Wonder how long SSA says they need to shut off payments because 10 days notice in my case was enough.

Same with my Mom. She died on the 21st and we didn't get the check the next month. That was just last year.

 

[neverlandsky]

View attachment 885084

With direct deposit and death. Estate wrote a check back.

Keep if mind if spouse passes and their social security is higher, it takes a few months to adjust surviving spouse’s social security benefits.

 

[tvguy]

With direct deposit and death. Estate wrote a check back.

Keep if mind if spouse passes and their social security is higher, it takes a few months to adjust surviving spouse’s social security benefits.

I helped my MIL with that. We made an appointment with SSA and everything was handled in less than a half hour with the new (lower) benefit check arriving on time the next month.
And her's was a bit complicated because she had been married three times and SSA had to check which husband's benefits would be higher. I had to make an awkward call to my FIL, her first husband to see if he would give me his SS number so they could see what the benefit would be from his account. They had married more than 10 years, so that is apparently a factor. Husband number two, the marriage lasted less than 10 years, so she did not qualify for benefits from him. Third (and current) husband, the marriage was more than 10 years, and in the end, his benefit was much higher.