To wrap things up for the original poster: During your April 1st phone appointment, you'll go through the actual application process. At that time, you'll be asked when you want your benefits to begin. Specify June 2025 (your FRA month). Applying in April for June benefits is completely fine and won't reduce your benefit amount as long as you select the correct benefit start month. I recommend taking detailed notes during the call, including the name of the representative you speak with. After the application is submitted, you'll receive a confirmation letter - review it carefully to ensure the benefit start date is shown correctly as June 2025.

I'm a bit late to this conversation, but I wanted to share my experience since I went through something very similar last year. When I called SSA to schedule my appointment, the representative used the term "enrollment date" which made me panic thinking I had accidentally enrolled early! Turns out it was just the date they logged my call in their system. During my actual appointment, I made it crystal clear that I wanted my benefits to start in my FRA month, and everything worked out perfectly. The representative even repeated back to me "So you want benefits to begin in [FRA month], is that correct?" before finalizing anything. One tip: When you have your April appointment, ask them to send you a written confirmation showing your selected benefit start date. That way you have documentation if there are any questions later. Good luck!

Since you're planning to start benefits at 63, keep in mind that your benefit will be permanently reduced by approximately 25% compared to waiting until your Full Retirement Age (which I'm guessing is 67 based on your age). Adding the earnings test reduction on top of that means you'll get significantly less than your full benefit amount. Have you done calculations to determine if it might be better financially to either: 1. Continue working at your current income level and wait until FRA to claim, or 2. Fully retire now (or reduce your income below the earnings limit) to avoid the penalty? Sometimes the math favors one approach over the other depending on your specific situation. The earnings test reduction gets paid back eventually after FRA, but the early claiming reduction is permanent.

Just wanted to add one more thing that might help with your planning - since you mentioned health concerns influencing your decision to claim early, that's totally understandable. But consider this: if you can manage to keep your part-time earnings right at or just below the $22,300 limit, you'd avoid the earnings test penalty entirely while still getting some work income. Even reducing from $25k to $22k would save you that $1,350 in withheld benefits. Sometimes cutting back just a few hours or declining overtime can make a big difference. You could also look into whether any of your current income could be restructured (like retirement contributions, HSA contributions, or other pre-tax deductions) to bring your countable earnings below the limit. The peace of mind from avoiding the penalty might be worth the small reduction in work income, especially since you're already planning to work part-time anyway.

Based on everything in this thread, here's what I recommend: 1. DON'T give up SSDI - the Medicare loss and inability to easily get back on if needed make this too risky 2. DO set up a benefits planning session with a Work Incentives Planning and Assistance (WIPA) counselor - they're free and specifically trained on work incentives 3. DO look into Trial Work Period (9 months) and Extended Period of Eligibility (36 months) for maximum flexibility 4. DO request a detailed written explanation of how his survivor benefits were calculated, specifically asking about GPO adjustment if his father didn't pay into Social Security 5. If having trouble reaching the right SSA person, consider using a call service or contacting your congressional representative's office (they often have dedicated SSA liaisons) Good luck to you and your son!

I work as a disability advocate and want to emphasize one critical point that hasn't been fully addressed: your son should absolutely NOT give up his SSDI without getting a comprehensive written analysis first. Here's why this situation is more complex than it appears: The survivor benefit he's receiving may already be significantly reduced by the Government Pension Offset (GPO) because his father worked for the state. GPO reduces survivor benefits by 2/3 of the government pension amount. So if his father's monthly state pension was, say, $2,000, the survivor benefit would be reduced by about $1,333 - which might explain why it's only $780/month instead of a higher amount. Before making any decisions, request these specific documents from SSA: - Form SSA-1724 (Claim for Amounts Due in the Case of Deceased Beneficiary) - A detailed GPO calculation worksheet - Written explanation of what his survivor benefit would be if SSDI is terminated Also, contact your state's Disability Rights organization - they often have staff who specialize in Social Security work incentives and can provide free consultation. This is too important a decision to make without expert guidance. The Trial Work Period route mentioned by others is definitely the safer path to explore first.

One more tip that might help you - make sure all your direct deposit information is correct in your MySocialSecurity account! I had an issue where my first payment was delayed because I had an old bank account listed. Better to check now than have problems when your first payment is supposed to arrive.

I'm a new retiree and went through this exact same confusion! My FRA was October 18th last year and I was so worried about the timing. Everyone here is absolutely right - you get the full month's benefit for May even though your FRA is on the 14th. One thing I wish someone had told me is to set up text alerts through your MySocialSecurity account so you get notified when your payment is processed. It gave me such peace of mind that first month to get the confirmation text a few days before the money actually hit my account. You're all set - May benefits will definitely arrive in June on that 3rd Wednesday! Congratulations on reaching this milestone!

Just to add one more point - if you do decide to apply for benefits based on your husband's record, you'll need to provide: 1) your marriage certificate, 2) both your Social Security numbers, and 3) his date of birth. If you don't have his SSN, SSA can usually find it with his name and date of birth. You don't need to communicate with him directly to apply for spousal benefits. SSA has this information in their system and can verify your relationship status when you apply.

I'm in a somewhat similar situation - married but separated for about 10 years now. One thing I learned when I went through this research last year is that you can actually receive spousal benefits even if your husband hasn't filed for his own benefits yet, as long as he's eligible to receive them (meaning he's at least 62). This is called "independently entitled" spousal benefits. Also, since you mentioned health concerns, you might want to look into whether you could qualify for Medicare early due to disability. If you can get on Medicare before 65, it might help with those health issues and potentially influence your decision about when to claim Social Security. The separation length really doesn't matter as long as you're still legally married. I know it feels weird after being apart so long, but legally you're still spouses with all the same benefit rights as any married couple.