Confused about Social Security FRA start date - mid-month birthday causing application issues
I'm turning my full retirement age (FRA) next month, but my birthday falls in the middle of the month (around the 18th). Started my Social Security application online tonight and got totally confused about which start date to select. I always thought you needed to be FRA at the BEGINNING of the month to avoid reductions, and since my birthday is mid-month, wouldn't I technically need to wait until November to be fully FRA? On the application, I selected "earliest month possible without a permanent age-related reduction" and then it suggested October 2024 as my start date. This seems wrong to me - wouldn't October still give me a reduction since I'm not FRA until partway through the month? I'm really worried about making a mistake here. Don't want to accidentally file early and get stuck with permanently reduced benefits, but also don't want to delay unnecessarily and lose a month of payments. The SSA website explanations weren't helpful at all. Has anyone dealt with this mid-month birthday situation before?
18 comments
Join the conversation
Adrian Hughes
You're actually in luck! Social Security has a special rule for this exact situation. When your birthday falls anywhere except the 1st of the month, you're considered to have attained that age the day BEFORE the month of your birthday. So if your birthday is mid-month, you're actually considered to have reached FRA at the beginning of your birthday month. This is why the system offered you October - it's correctly calculating that you'll be FRA for benefit purposes. You won't get any reduction by starting in October. This special rule is sometimes called the "first of the month rule" and it's mentioned in SSA's POMS section GN 00302.400.
0 coins
Lara Woods
•Wait, seriously? That seems too good to be true! So I can start in October without ANY reduction? I've been planning around November for months assuming I needed to wait. Is this information somewhere on the SSA site that I missed? I've been stressing about this for weeks!
0 coins
Molly Chambers
my sisters bday is the 22nd and she got confused about this too lol. the ssa people told her she reached her age the month OF her bday even tho it wasnt on the 1st. weird rule but it works in ur favor!!
0 coins
Lara Woods
•Thanks for sharing about your sister's experience! That makes me feel better knowing someone else dealt with this. Did she end up getting her first payment for her birthday month then?
0 coins
Molly Chambers
•yep she got paid for the whole month even tho her bday was like 3 weeks into it! its one of the few times ss rules actually help us lol
0 coins
Ian Armstrong
The other responses are correct. This is one of the more favorable rules in the Social Security program. You attain your age for benefit purposes on the day before your birthday month begins. The only exception is if your birthday is on the 1st of the month - then you attain that age on the 1st of the PREVIOUS month. So for your situation: - If your birthday is October 18th, you're considered FRA on October 1st - If your birthday were October 1st, you'd be considered FRA on September 1st This is why the application offered you October. You can safely select that without any reduction. You'll receive your full FRA benefit amount.
0 coins
Eli Butler
•WAIT WHAT??? I think I messed up then!! My birthday is the 30th and I waited a whole extra month to apply because I thought I wasn't FRA until the following month! No one at the office told me about this when I called to ask!! I lost a whole month of payments???? Unbelievable that they don't explain this clearly!
0 coins
Ian Armstrong
•Unfortunately, yes, you likely lost a month of benefits. SSA generally only pays retroactively up to 6 months, and only if you've already reached FRA. If your loss was within that window, you could try contacting them to request the retroactive month you were eligible for.
0 coins
Marcus Patterson
This confused me too! But yes, you're good to start in October. October benefits will be paid in November (they're always paid the following month).
0 coins
Lydia Bailey
I went through this exact situation last year - May birthday but not on the 1st. Took me THREE calls to SSA to get a consistent answer because the first two reps gave me conflicting information! One said wait till June, one said May was fine. Finally got a supervisor who confirmed May was correct and wouldn't cause any reduction. After all that hassle trying to reach them (kept getting disconnected after 45+ minute waits), my daughter suggested using Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to a representative faster. Worked like a charm - they called me back when an agent was available instead of me sitting on hold forever. There's a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU Good luck with your application! The birthday month rule is definitely confusing but works in our favor!
0 coins
Lara Woods
•Thank you for sharing your experience! It's reassuring to hear someone else went through this exact same confusion. If I need to call them to verify anything else, I'll definitely check out that service. The thought of sitting on hold for hours is not appealing!
0 coins
Mateo Warren
IS THIS RULE STILL CURRENT?? I'm confused because I SWEAR the agent I talked to last week told me I had to wait until the month AFTER my birthday month to get full benefits (I turn 67 in December). Now I'm wondering if she was wrong or if I misunderstood?? This stuff is so complicated and the stakes are so high - we're talking about thousands of dollars over our lifetimes if we make a mistake!
0 coins
Ian Armstrong
•Yes, this rule is absolutely still current. It's a foundational rule in how SSA determines age attainment. If your birthday is any day in December EXCEPT the 1st, you're considered to reach that age on December 1st. If your birthday is December 1st, you'd be considered to reach that age on November 1st. It sounds like you may have misunderstood the agent or they may have misunderstood your question. I'd recommend calling back to clarify.
0 coins
Mateo Warren
•THANK YOU!! Going to call them tomorrow and straighten this out. Might have just saved me a month of benefits!!
0 coins
Adrian Hughes
One thing I want to add - while you're considered FRA for the entire month of your birthday (except if born on the 1st), remember that your first payment will arrive the FOLLOWING month. So if you select October as your start month, you'll receive that payment in November. Also, if you're still working, once you reach FRA, the earnings test no longer applies. You can earn any amount without affecting your benefits.
0 coins
Lara Woods
•Thanks for the extra info. I'm actually planning to continue working part-time, so it's good to know the earnings limit won't be an issue once I'm at FRA. I was worried about that too!
0 coins
Marcus Patterson
did u finish ur application yet? curious what u decided
0 coins
Lara Woods
•Not yet - I was stuck on this question and wanted to be sure before proceeding. After reading all these helpful responses, I'm going to select October as my start month today and finish the application. Thanks everyone for helping clear this up!
0 coins