As someone who's completely new to Social Security and just starting to understand these benefits, this entire discussion has been absolutely incredible! I'm 67 and currently working as a medical technician making about $68K, and I was totally confused about whether to file at 70 and keep working or if it would even make financial sense. Reading through everyone's real-world experiences has been so much more helpful than anything I could find on the SSA website or in their publications. The specific examples people have shared - like @Austin Leonard's $28/month increase, @Javier Torres's $22/month boost, and @Anastasia Sokolov's 3.8% growth beyond COLA over 4 years - really help put actual numbers on what to expect from this AERO process. Like so many others here, I had pretty low earnings in my early career years back in the late 1970s and early 1980s (I think I started around $12K as a new tech), so I'm really hopeful that continuing to work past 70 could help replace some of those lean years in the calculation. I'm definitely going to try all the practical strategies everyone has mentioned: using those online calculators to model different scenarios, creating a spreadsheet to track my indexed earnings by year, and setting up automatic notifications in my Social Security account. The tip about visiting a local SSA office in person instead of dealing with those nightmare phone wait times also sounds so much more promising. It's incredibly reassuring to know that these AERO recalculations happen automatically and can only increase your benefits, never decrease them. Thank you to everyone for sharing such detailed personal experiences - this community discussion has been worth its weight in gold compared to trying to figure this out on my own!

As someone who's completely new to understanding Social Security benefits, this thread has been absolutely invaluable! I'm 68 and working as a project coordinator making about $72K, planning to file at 70 but wasn't sure if continuing to work would actually help my benefits. Reading through all these real-world experiences has been so much more enlightening than trying to decipher the SSA website. The specific examples everyone has shared - @Austin Leonard's $28/month increase, @Javier Torres's $22/month boost, and @Anastasia Sokolov's 3.8% growth beyond COLA - really help set realistic expectations for what the AERO process can deliver. Like many others here, I had quite low earnings in my early career years in the late 1970s and early 1980s (started at around $15K right out of college), so I'm cautiously optimistic that my current salary could replace some of those lower-earning years in the 35-year calculation. I'm definitely going to implement several of the practical strategies mentioned: using the online calculators to model scenarios with hypothetical future earnings, creating a spreadsheet to track my indexed earnings by year, and setting up automatic notifications in my Social Security account. The suggestion about scheduling an in-person appointment at the local SSA office instead of dealing with phone wait times also sounds much more promising for getting personalized guidance. It's so reassuring to learn that the AERO recalculations happen automatically each year and can only increase benefits, never decrease them. Thanks to everyone for creating such a helpful and supportive community - this discussion has provided more clarity than months of trying to navigate official resources on my own!

As a newcomer to this community, I'm really grateful to see such detailed and helpful responses to this question! I'm in a similar situation where I'm trying to understand Social Security benefits for my family's financial planning. Reading through all these responses has been incredibly educational - I had no idea about the difference between PIA and actual benefit amounts, or that delayed retirement credits don't affect spousal benefits. The tip about looking for the "Benefit Verification Letter" in the my Social Security account seems like the easiest starting point, and I appreciate everyone sharing their experiences with calling SSA and visiting offices in person. One question I have after reading all this: if someone's spouse has their own Social Security work record AND qualifies for spousal benefits, does SSA automatically calculate both and pay the higher amount? Or do you have to specifically request that they compare the two options? Thank you to everyone who shared their knowledge and experiences - this kind of community support makes navigating these complex systems so much easier for those of us just starting to figure it all out!

As someone new to this community and Social Security planning, I'm amazed by how helpful everyone has been in this thread! I'm facing a similar situation with my own retirement planning and had no idea about the complexity around PIA vs. actual benefit amounts. After reading through all these detailed responses, I wanted to share that I just tried the suggestion about checking the "Benefit Verification Letter" in my Social Security account, and it worked perfectly! For anyone else struggling with this, here's exactly where I found it: Log into your my Social Security account → Go to "Replacement Documents" section → Click "View Benefit Verification Letter" → The PIA (Primary Insurance Amount) is clearly listed there. This saved me from having to call or visit an office, though it sounds like both of those options work well too based on everyone's experiences. The key insight that delayed retirement credits don't affect spousal benefits was huge for my planning - I had that completely wrong! Thanks to everyone who took the time to explain this so thoroughly. This community is such a valuable resource for navigating these complicated systems!

Dont forget to look at other benefits too! My mom got widows benefits that were higher than her own SS check after my dad passed. They automatically should give you the higher amount but sometimes they miss things.

I'm sorry you're going through this confusion, Zoe. It's unfortunately very common for people to feel overwhelmed by the Social Security system after they've already made their filing decision. One thing I'd like to add that others haven't mentioned yet - since you mentioned you're widowed, you should definitely explore survivor benefits from your late husband's record. Even if he had reduced earnings in his later years, his earlier work history might still provide you with a higher monthly benefit than what you're currently receiving on your own record. Also, regarding the earnings limit that Santiago's sister experienced - that's only temporary while you're under your FRA (which for you is 66 and 10 months). Once you reach your FRA, you can earn as much as you want without any reduction to your Social Security benefits. So if you're considering part-time work, it might be worth waiting until after you reach your FRA next year to avoid the earnings test penalty. The system really could be explained more clearly upfront, but don't beat yourself up too much about the early filing decision. Many people in similar health and financial situations make the same choice, and having that income for the past few years may have been exactly what you needed at the time.

As a newcomer to this community, I just wanted to add my voice to what's clearly become a massive support thread for people experiencing SSA earnings record anxiety! I discovered this discussion after checking my account this morning and seeing the dreaded zeros for 2024 - that immediate gut-punch feeling that something must be terribly wrong. Reading through everyone's experiences has been incredibly reassuring. It's both hilarious and frustrating to learn that this panic happens to thousands of people every spring like some kind of predictable government-induced stress test! The fact that SSA apparently does nothing to warn people about these processing delays is honestly baffling in 2024. The technical explanations about W-2 batch processing and the 4-6 month timeline have been so helpful. As someone who's used to instant everything - from banking updates to delivery tracking - learning that a major government system still operates like it's the 1980s has been a real eye-opener. I'm definitely adopting the community wisdom of stopping my obsessive account checking and setting a reminder for August instead. This thread has provided more practical, understandable information than hours of trying to navigate official SSA resources. Thank you to everyone for sharing their knowledge and helping newcomers like me realize this is just an unfortunate but normal part of dealing with government bureaucracy!

Welcome to the community! As another newcomer who just joined after experiencing this exact same panic about zeros showing in my SSA account for 2024, I can't tell you how relieved I am to find this thread! I literally spent the last two days convinced that my employer had somehow failed to report my earnings or that there was a major error with my Social Security number. What's really eye-opening is learning that this is such a widespread, predictable experience that happens every spring, yet SSA provides virtually no communication about their processing delays. In 2024, when we can track everything from food deliveries to bank transactions in real-time, discovering that a crucial government system still operates on 4-6 month batch processing delays feels like stepping into a time machine! The explanations about Annual Wage Reporting and W-2 processing timelines have been incredibly helpful - this is exactly the kind of practical information that should be prominently displayed on the SSA website but somehow isn't. I'm definitely joining the "stop obsessive checking and wait until August" club that seems to have formed in this thread. Thank you to everyone who took the time to share their experiences and knowledge. This community discussion has provided more clarity and peace of mind than anything I could find on official government resources. It's amazing how much more valuable real-world experiences are compared to navigating bureaucratic websites!

Thank you all for the helpful responses! I'll go ahead and apply in October for my January start date. It's a relief to know that SSA will automatically recalculate and make adjustments once my 2024 earnings are processed. I appreciate everyone sharing their personal experiences too - it makes navigating this whole process much less stressful!

Just wanted to add one more consideration - make sure you understand the timing of when your benefits actually start vs when you apply. Since your FRA is November 2024, you can start receiving full benefits then if you want, or delay until January 2025 as you mentioned. But remember that each month you delay past your FRA (up until age 70), you earn delayed retirement credits that increase your benefit by about 0.67% per month. So if you delay from November 2024 to January 2025, that's 2 months of delayed credits which would permanently increase your monthly benefit by about 1.33%. Just something to factor into your decision along with the automatic recomputation for your 2024 earnings!