My cousin got both payments for like 8 months before his LTD company figured it out and then they wanted ALL the money back at once! Huge mess. Don't spend any extra money until everything is sorted out.

Has anyone mentioned yet that you should APPEAL your SSDI amount if you think it's too low??? You only have 60 DAYS from the date of your award letter to file a reconsideration if you think SSA calculated your benefit wrong!!! Check your earnings record on the mySocialSecurity site to make sure they included all your work years correctly!!!

btw make sure u print out the confirmation page from when u submitted ur application. my friend didnt and then ssa claimed they never got his application. big mess.

I'm in a very similar situation! Filed my retirement application online in early February for benefits starting in July 2025 (I'll be 66 and 6 months). Like you, I haven't received any calls from SSA and my status just shows "under review." Reading through everyone's responses here has been incredibly helpful - it sounds like this is actually pretty normal for applications with delayed start dates. I was also getting anxious thinking I'd made an error somewhere, but it seems like SSA prioritizes cases based on urgency and proximity to benefit start dates. Thanks for posting this question - you've helped calm my nerves too!

I really appreciate everyone's insights here! After reading all your responses, I'm leaning toward claiming at 70 to maximize my benefit. I'll also talk to my accountant about setting up a small salary for the limited consulting work I still do for the S-Corp, just to be safe with the IRS. For anyone reading this later with a similar question - it seems the short answer is: S-Corp distributions do NOT count as earned income for the Social Security earnings test, but make sure your overall compensation structure is reasonable if you're still involved in the business at all.

Great summary! One additional point to consider - since you're planning to wait until 70, make sure to apply for Medicare Part A and B when you turn 65 (even though you're not claiming Social Security yet). Many people don't realize that Medicare enrollment isn't automatic if you delay Social Security benefits, and missing the initial enrollment window can result in permanent late penalties. Also, if your S-Corp provides health insurance, you'll want to coordinate that transition carefully. The Medicare decision is separate from your Social Security timing strategy, but it's easy to overlook when you're focused on optimizing benefits.

Seeing alot of good info here but nobody mentioned TAXES! Depending on ur other income, delaying might push u into a higher tax bracket when u finally claim. My neighbor waited till 70 and now has to pay taxes on 85% of his SS cuz his required minimum distributions from his 401k plus the bigger SS benefit put him over the limit. Somethin to think about!!!

Just wanted to add my personal experience here - I delayed claiming for 14 months past my FRA and can confirm that the monthly proration worked exactly as described. My benefit increased by about 9.3% (14 months × 0.667% per month). What really helped me make the decision was creating a simple spreadsheet comparing the cumulative benefits over different time periods. Even though you get less money in the first few years by waiting, the crossover point where delaying becomes advantageous is usually around age 78-80 for most people. Given that life expectancy keeps increasing and healthcare costs are rising, that extra monthly income for potentially 15-20+ years can really add up. The key is looking at your total expected lifetime benefits, not just the monthly amount.

Update: I finally received my repayment instructions today! For anyone who might face this situation in the future, it took exactly 17 days from when my benefits were suspended to receive the letter with repayment details. They gave me 30 days to return the money (which was slightly less than I calculated - $19,218 instead of $19,500) and provided a specific payment address and reference number. They included options for check, money order, or an electronic payment through Pay.gov. Thanks everyone for helping me through this stressful waiting period!

Great to hear you got your instructions! Just wanted to add for anyone else reading this thread - I went through the same process about 6 months ago and found the Pay.gov electronic option was really convenient. You get instant confirmation of payment and it processes faster than mailing a check. Also, make sure to save that reference number they gave you - you'll need it if you have any questions about your payment later. The whole process from repayment to final confirmation took about 6 weeks total for me. Sounds like you handled this perfectly by being patient and waiting for the official instructions rather than trying to send payment early.