Confused about exact retirement date at FRA (66+8mo) - When in March can I stop working?

i think you can stop working anytime but with SS you only get paid for full months after FRA. so if your birthday is the 19th you'd probably get your first payment for april. someone correct me if im wrong

That's what I thought too, but then why is my HR person saying I need to work until the end of March? So confused!

You can actually stop working any day you choose - that's entirely up to you and your employer. The Social Security Administration doesn't dictate your last day of work. What matters for SS purposes is when you reach your Full Retirement Age.Since your FRA is 66 and 8 months (which falls on March 19th), you will be entitled to your full retirement benefit starting that month. However, Social Security pays benefits for the previous month - so your April payment will be for March benefits.As for filing, I recommend applying approximately 3 months before you want benefits to begin. In your case, that would mean applying in December 2024. You can apply online at ssa.gov or by phone. The application process is straightforward but can take some time to process.

Thank you! That makes much more sense. So I could technically stop working on March 1st and still be fine? I just don't want to accidentally trigger any early retirement penalties if I stop before the 19th.

Yes, you could stop working March 1st without any early retirement penalties. Here's why: Once the month of your FRA arrives (March 2025 in your case), you're considered to have reached FRA for the entire month. Social Security doesn't prorate benefits within a month - they count entire months.So even if you stop working before your actual birthday on the 19th, you'll still receive your full retirement benefit for March. The only thing that would trigger early retirement penalties would be if you claimed benefits before March 2025.

That's a HUGE relief! Thank you so much - I've been stressing about this for weeks. Now I can confidently tell my boss my retirement date will be March 1st.

SSA IS THE WORST!!!! I went through this exactly SAME thing last year and got 4 DIFFERENT ANSWERS from 4 different SSA reps when I called!!! One told me I had to wait until my EXACT birthday, another said first of the month, another said it didn't matter when I stopped working!!!!! NOBODY KNOWS WHAT THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT!!!!The lady above is right though - the month matters, not the day. But good luck actually talking to someone at Social Security who knows this! I spent 3 HOURS on hold only to get disconnected!!!

same experience here, waited on hold for 2+ hours then got someone who couldn't answer my questions. its like they don't train their people at all

I had similar frustrations trying to reach SSA about my retirement timing. After multiple disconnected calls and hours on hold, I used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me through to a representative in about 20 minutes instead of waiting for hours. They have a demo video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU They basically hold your place in line and call you when they have an agent on the phone. Made the whole process much less stressful. The agent confirmed exactly what others have said here - you can stop working anytime in March, and you're considered FRA for the whole month once you hit your FRA date.

Thank you for the tip! If I have any more questions I'll definitely check that out. I've tried calling SSA twice and couldn't get through either time.

One thing nobody mentioned - even though you can retire anytime in March without penalty, be aware that if you're still working in January or February of 2025, you'll still be subject to the earnings test for those months since you haven't reached FRA yet. The 2025 limit is around $59,520 for the months before FRA (assuming roughly 5% increase from 2023's $56,520).If you've earned more than the prorated amount in Jan-Feb (about $9,920 for two months), SS might withhold some benefits, though you'd eventually get that money back after FRA through recalculation.

Oh wow - I didn't even think about that! I'll definitely be well under that amount for Jan-Feb since my annual salary is about $72,000. Thanks for bringing this up!

My sister just went through this last year for her retirement. She also had a mid-month birthday for her FRA. She stopped working on the 1st of her FRA month and applied for benefits about 4 months before. Everything went pretty smooth but her first payment didn't arrive until the month after FRA. I think they pay a month behind or something like that. Hope this helps!

i heard that if u retire mid-month you might have some weird tax stuff for that month. like you file taxes different for partial retirement months? maybe ask your tax guy about that

This is incorrect. There's no special tax filing for retirement months. Your W-2 for the year will show your earnings, and your 1099-SSA will show any SS benefits paid. The month you retire doesn't create any special tax situation beyond the normal reporting of income received.

Thanks everyone for your help! Just to summarize what I've learned:1) I can stop working anytime in March 2025 without penalty since that's my FRA month2) I should apply about 3 months before (Dec 2024)3) I'll get my first payment in April 2025 for March benefits4) I need to be aware of earnings limits for Jan-Feb 2025 but I'll be fine with my salaryThis community has been SO much more helpful than my HR department! 😊

Perfect summary! You've got all the key points covered. Just one additional tip - when you apply in December, make sure to have your recent tax returns and W-2s handy as they might ask for income verification. Also, if you haven't already, create a my Social Security account at ssa.gov to track your application status and eventually manage your benefits online. It's really convenient to have everything in one place. Best of luck with your retirement!