As someone who works in retirement planning, I can confirm everything mentioned here about the age attainment rule is absolutely correct. This is codified in Social Security Administration Program Operations Manual System (POMS) section GN 00302.400, and it's one of the most misunderstood aspects of Social Security timing. The rule is simple: you attain your age on the day before the first day of the month, UNLESS you're born on the 1st - then you attain that age on the first day of the previous month. So Lara, with your mid-month October birthday, you're considered FRA starting October 1st and can receive full benefits for the entire month of October. What's particularly frustrating is how poorly SSA communicates this rule to the public. I regularly have clients who nearly delay their benefits unnecessarily because they don't understand this provision. The online application system does calculate this correctly when you select "earliest month without reduction," so trust what it's showing you. One additional tip: once you submit your application, you'll receive a receipt notice acknowledging your claim. Keep this safe - it contains your claim number and filing date, which can be important if any issues arise during processing.

This has been such an educational thread! I'm still a couple years away from FRA but have been trying to understand all the Social Security rules ahead of time. Like everyone else here, I had absolutely no idea about this "day before the month" age attainment rule - it's incredible how this beneficial provision seems to be completely hidden from public view. What amazes me is reading through all these experiences where people discovered this rule by pure chance or through community discussions rather than clear SSA guidance. It makes me grateful for forums like this where real people share their actual experiences navigating these systems. I'm definitely bookmarking this entire conversation for future reference. The combination of personal experiences, practical tips about calling SSA with specific terminology, and now having the official POMS reference (GN 00302.400) creates such a comprehensive resource. This is exactly the kind of information that should be front and center on the SSA website but somehow isn't. Thanks to everyone who shared their stories and especially to those who provided the detailed explanations. You've probably helped countless people avoid unnecessarily delaying their benefits!

As a newcomer to this community, I'm incredibly grateful to have found this thread! I'm currently dealing with my own mySSA account access issues and was starting to panic that I'd permanently locked myself out. Reading through everyone's experiences has been both reassuring and incredibly educational. The detailed explanations from members like Finley about the difference between Account Lock and Block Electronic Access were eye-opening - I had no idea there were two distinct types of security measures. James's success story with the 48-hour wait and specific calling strategy gives me real hope, and Marina's practical advice about taking screenshots and keeping detailed records before making changes is something I wish I'd known earlier. What strikes me most is how this community has created a comprehensive troubleshooting guide through shared experiences that's honestly more helpful than anything I could find on official SSA resources. The consistent themes seem to be: patience (48-hour waits), precision (exact device/browser/information matching), and persistence (early morning calls on mid-week days). For anyone currently struggling with this issue, it's clear from everyone's stories that while frustrating, these lockouts ARE solvable - you haven't lost access forever! The combination of community wisdom and determination seems to be the key. Thank you all for sharing your knowledge and creating such a supportive environment for navigating these government service challenges!

As a newcomer to this community, I'm so relieved to have found this thread! I'm actually facing this exact same situation right now - locked my mySSA account about two weeks ago after reading about identity theft risks, and now I'm completely unable to get back in despite multiple attempts. Reading through everyone's experiences has been incredibly reassuring (knowing I'm not alone in this) and educational. The breakdown that Finley provided about Account Lock vs. Block Electronic Access was a game-changer - I had no idea there were two different types of security measures! And James's detailed success story with the 48-hour wait and early morning calling strategy gives me real hope that this is solvable. I'm particularly grateful for Marina's advice about taking screenshots and documenting everything before locking the account - I wish I'd known that beforehand, but I'll definitely implement it going forward. The tip about using the exact same device and browser is something I never would have considered but makes perfect sense given how particular these government systems are. Based on everyone's collective wisdom, I'm going to wait the full 48 hours, then try unlocking using my original computer (the one I think I used to set up the account initially) and see if I can dig up my old phone number from when I first registered. If that doesn't work, I'll try the early Wednesday morning calling strategy. Thank you all for sharing your experiences and creating such a supportive environment - this thread has been more helpful than hours of searching official SSA resources!

This thread has been absolutely invaluable! As someone new to this community and just starting to research early retirement at 62, I had no clue about the vacation payout complexities with Social Security earnings limits. The level of detail and real-world experience shared here is incredible - from @3df95a00d136's tip about using the exact phrase "special payment for services performed in a prior year" to @6db8fba4db20's HR perspective on getting documentation early. I'm definitely going to start preparing now even though I'm still 2+ years from retirement. My plan based on this thread: 1. Start tracking vacation accrual in my own spreadsheet 2. Request detailed records from HR with plenty of advance notice 3. Get our company vacation policy documentation 4. Research which local SSA offices might have more knowledgeable staff One question I haven't seen addressed - for those who successfully got their vacation treated as special payments, did you have to provide this documentation every year you receive Social Security benefits, or was it a one-time thing that gets noted in your file? Thanks to everyone for sharing such detailed experiences. This should definitely be required reading for anyone planning early retirement!

As a newcomer to this community, I'm absolutely amazed by the wealth of practical knowledge shared in this thread! I'm currently 61 and starting to seriously consider early retirement at 63, and I had no idea about the complexities around vacation payouts and Social Security earnings limits. Reading through everyone's experiences has been both educational and somewhat daunting - it's clear that even though the SSA has clear policies about "special payments," getting those policies applied correctly can be a real challenge. The stories about having to fight for months to get benefits restored are concerning, but the detailed advice about documentation and terminology is incredibly valuable. Based on what I've learned here, I'm going to start preparing immediately: 1. Create my own detailed vacation/sick time tracking spreadsheet 2. Request comprehensive accrual documentation from HR (with plenty of advance notice) 3. Get copies of our company's vacation policies 4. Research local SSA offices and try to identify staff with expertise in special payments The tip about using the specific phrase "special payment for services performed in a prior year" when talking to SSA representatives seems particularly crucial - it sounds like the right terminology can make all the difference in getting proper policy application. One question for the group: for those who went through this successfully, would you recommend getting the documentation notarized or certified in any way, or is a standard letter from HR on company letterhead sufficient for SSA's purposes? Thank you all for creating such a valuable resource for people navigating early retirement! This thread should be bookmarked by anyone considering retirement before their FRA.

I went through something similar with my son who became disabled at 19. The key thing that helped us was getting everything in writing from SSA. When you do talk to them (whether through that Claimyr service someone mentioned or directly), ask them to send you a written summary of what benefits your daughter will be eligible for as a survivor. Also, since her father has other dependents, you might want to consider consulting with a disability attorney who specializes in Social Security cases. Many will do a free consultation and can help you understand exactly how the family maximum will affect her benefits. The peace of mind is worth it when you're dealing with your child's financial security. One more tip - start keeping detailed records of all her medical appointments and treatments now. If they do a continuing disability review after her father passes, having everything organized will make the process much smoother during what will already be a difficult time.

I work as a benefits counselor and see these situations frequently. Your daughter's benefits will definitely increase when her father passes away - she'll move from auxiliary benefits (50% of his PIA) to survivor benefits (75% of his PIA). The fact that you weren't married to her father doesn't matter since paternity was legally established. However, with his current wife and two minor children also eligible for survivor benefits, the family maximum will likely apply. Each survivor would normally get 75%, but if that total exceeds the family maximum (usually 150-180% of his benefit), everyone's benefit gets reduced proportionally. I'd strongly recommend getting a benefit estimate in writing from SSA before any changes occur. Also, make sure your daughter's disability onset date is clearly documented as before age 22 - this is crucial for maintaining her eligibility as a disabled adult child throughout these transitions.

As someone who's been working in Social Security policy research for over a decade, I wanted to add some technical context that might be helpful. The automatic recalculation process mentioned throughout this thread operates on what's called a "substitution year" basis - SSA compares your new annual earnings to each of the 35 years currently used in your benefit calculation and substitutes any year where your new earnings are higher. What's particularly interesting is that this can happen even decades after you initially claimed. I've seen cases where someone who claimed early worked sporadically for 10-15 years afterward and saw multiple benefit increases over time as their part-time earnings gradually replaced several low-earning years from their youth. The key point everyone should understand is that your benefit calculation is truly dynamic as long as you continue to earn covered wages or self-employment income. Also, for those concerned about tracking - the SSA's internal systems are actually quite robust at capturing earnings data automatically from employer W-2 reports and self-employment tax filings, so while keeping your own records is smart, the vast majority of earnings updates happen seamlessly without any action required from the beneficiary.

This technical explanation is incredibly helpful! As someone who's been wondering about the long-term implications of working sporadically after claiming, knowing that the "substitution year" process can continue working in my favor for years or even decades is really encouraging. I hadn't realized that even intermittent part-time work could gradually replace multiple low-earning years from earlier in my career. Your point about the SSA's internal systems being robust at capturing earnings automatically is also reassuring - I've been worried about whether I need to manually notify them about my part-time work, but it sounds like the W-2 and tax filing process handles most of that automatically. Having this kind of policy research perspective really helps put all the personal experiences shared in this thread into a broader context. It's fascinating that the benefit calculation remains truly dynamic throughout your entire working life, not just until you claim. Thank you for bringing this professional insight to the discussion!