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I went through something similar last year when I was deciding between my own benefits and my late husband's. I found that applying at least 3 months before you want benefits to start gives SSA enough time to process everything. I applied in March for a June start date, and everything went smoothly. One thing to consider: when you switch to survivor benefits, you'll need to provide your marriage certificate and your spouse's death certificate if you haven't already done so for any prior SSA business. Having these documents ready ahead of time will make the process much smoother when you reach your FRA. In my case, I found applying online for my retirement benefits was straightforward, but I had to call for the survivor benefits part. Hope this helps!
Thank you for sharing your experience! I do have all those documents ready. Did you end up switching from one benefit to another like I'm planning to do? If so, was there any gap in payments during the transition?
Yes, I switched from my own to survivor's when it made sense financially. There was no gap in payments, but there was about a 6-week processing time for the survivor application. The key was applying for the survivor benefits about 3-4 weeks before I wanted the switch to happen. The SSA representative told me they'd automatically stop my retirement benefit when the survivor benefit began. Just make sure you follow up if you don't see the change after a couple of months.
Thank you all so much for this helpful information! I feel much better about my plan now. I think I'll apply online for my retirement benefits this week (aiming for a January start date) and then set a reminder in my calendar for 3 months before my FRA to start the survivor benefits application process. It's reassuring to know I don't need to mention my future plans during this initial application. And I'll make sure to have all my documents ready when it's time to apply for survivor benefits. If anyone has additional advice about the actual application process or things I should watch out for, I'd still love to hear it. Thanks again to everyone who responded!
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Since others have already clarified the earnings limit question, I'll add one more thing that might help explain your friend's confusion. There are THREE different age-related concepts with Social Security that people often mix up: 1. Earnings Limit: Applies ONLY before FRA, completely goes away at FRA 2. Delayed Retirement Credits: These accumulate between FRA and age 70 (8% per year) 3. Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs): Start at age 73 for retirement accounts (not related to SS but another age 70-ish rule) I've found that people often blend these different concepts together, which creates confusion.
That's an excellent breakdown. I would add a 4th item that causes confusion: Medicare enrollment at age 65, which is separate from SS but often gets mixed into these discussions as well.
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One more thing to be aware of: Medicare enrollment. If your husband is already on Medicare, no action is needed. If he's not on Medicare yet but will be 65+ when benefits start, the retirement application will automatically enroll him in Medicare Parts A & B. If he has employer health insurance and wants to delay Part B (to avoid paying the premium while still covered), there will be a section in the application where he can decline Part B. This is important because Part B comes with a monthly premium that's unnecessary if he has good employer coverage. If he declines Part B now while having employer coverage, he'll qualify for a Special Enrollment Period when he eventually retires, avoiding the late enrollment penalty.
Thank you for bringing this up! He's already on Medicare (turned 65 two years ago) and we did the Part B enrollment then since his employer plan becomes secondary at 65. So thankfully that part is already taken care of!
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i heard socal offices are super backed up right now because of all the boomers retiring. my dad had to wait 5 months for his application to process last year but that was for ssdi not retirement
SSDI (disability) and retirement benefits are processed completely differently. SSDI claims take much longer because they require medical reviews and determinations. Straightforward retirement claims are usually processed within 2-6 weeks. The backlog issues are primarily affecting disability claims, not retirement.
Thank you everyone for all this helpful advice! Based on what I'm hearing, I'll plan to submit my application in June 2025 for my October start date (4 months ahead). I'll make sure I have all my documents ready and will do the application online. And I appreciate the tip about possibly starting in September instead of October - that makes a lot of sense. If I run into any issues with reaching a representative, I'll check out that Claimyr service. This has been incredibly helpful!
Miguel Ramos
Has anyone mentioned the COLA adjustments? If you wait until FRA you get 4 more years of COLA increases built into your base benefit. With inflation these days that's not nothing!
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QuantumQuasar
•You're absolutely right about the COLA adjustments. The past few years have seen substantial COLA increases (5.9% in 2022, 8.7% in 2023, 3.2% in 2024). These adjustments compound over time when built into your base benefit amount. It's another factor that typically favors waiting if you can afford to do so.
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Dmitry Sokolov
Another perspective: Once you file for your own retirement benefit, you're generally locked into that choice (minus the one-time do-over option within 12 months if you repay all benefits). Have you considered taking just a portion of your retirement accounts now to bridge the gap until FRA? This would preserve your Social Security benefit amount while still giving you some additional money to work with.
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Sofia Torres
•That's an interesting alternative I hadn't considered. We do have some funds we could tap without penalties. I'll add this option to our list to evaluate - might be a good middle ground approach.
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