Can I stop working 3 months before reaching my FRA of 66 and 10 months without starting Social Security benefits?

You absolutely can stop working without collecting Social Security! They are completely separate decisions. You can stop working anytime you want and still wait until your exact FRA (66 years and 10 months) to start your benefits. This way you'll get your full benefit amount with no reduction. As for Medicare, yes, you can enroll in Medicare at age 65 regardless of your Social Security status. In fact, you should sign up during your Initial Enrollment Period (which starts 3 months before your 65th birthday and ends 3 months after) to avoid late enrollment penalties. You'll just need to pay the Medicare premiums directly until you start Social Security, at which point they can be deducted from your benefits.

Just adding to the previous answer - stopping work and claiming Social Security are definitely separate decisions. If you want to maximize your monthly benefit, waiting until your Full Retirement Age is smart. And if you can afford to wait even longer (up to age 70), your benefit will increase by 8% per year! That's what I did - stopped working at 66 but waited until 68 to start collecting. For Medicare, applying 3 months before your 65th birthday is ideal. When I tried signing up, the SSA phone lines were impossible - kept getting disconnected after 2+ hour waits. Finally used Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to an agent in under 10 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU - totally worth it for Medicare enrollment questions since those are time-sensitive.

You're getting good advice here. Just want to add that you should check on your health insurance options for those 3 months if you leave work before Medicare kicks in. Some employers offer retiree coverage, or you might need COBRA or marketplace insurance temporarily. Don't risk going uninsured even for a few months.

my mother-n-law waited till 67 to get her ss and she gets more than my uncle who took it at 62! he gets like $1430 and shes getting $2275 for waiting. but she kept working part time at walmart until 70. you can work and get benefits after fra with no penalty thats what alot of people dont know.

Nobody's mentioned this yet but when you DO apply for Social Security right at your FRA, apply about 3 months before you want benefits to start. Benefits are paid the month after they're due, so your December benefit would be paid in January. Also, I'd strongly recommend creating a my Social Security account on ssa.gov NOW if you haven't already - you can see your estimated benefit amount and it makes the application process much easier when the time comes.

Does anyone know if its better to take SS at FRA or wait till 70??? My sister says wait but my financial guy says take it asap cause the breakeven point is like 82 years old???

Just to answer your original question again - stopping work and starting Social Security are completely independent. You can stop working in September 2025 and wait until December 2025 (or even later) to start your benefits with absolutely no problems or penalties. The only thing that matters for your benefit calculation is your age when you start collecting.