Delaying Social Security after turning 62 for Roth conversions - do I need to notify SSA?

You don't need to do anything to decline benefits at 62. Social Security retirement benefits only begin when you actually file an application. There's no automatic enrollment at 62 (or any age), and no requirement to formally decline. The SSA will never start sending you payments unless you specifically apply for them. Your strategy of doing Roth conversions before taking Social Security is smart tax planning. Once you start receiving SS benefits, more of your income could become taxable, potentially pushing you into a higher tax bracket and possibly making your Social Security benefits themselves taxable.

Are you SURE about this??!! I thought SS automatically enrolled you at your FRA if you didn't sign up earlier!!! Now I'm panicking because I'm turning 67 next month (my FRA) and I DON'T want benefits yet either!!! Do I need to call them and tell them NOT to enroll me??

What you're doing is actually really smart. I delayed SS until 68 and did Roth conversions during those gap years. The key thing to remember is that you need to watch your income brackets carefully during those conversion years. I planned mine to stay just under the next tax bracket threshold. One practical tip: While you don't need to tell SSA you're NOT taking benefits, you SHOULD create a my Social Security account online if you haven't already. This lets you verify your earnings record is accurate and see benefit estimates. Also, when you finally DO want to apply, you can do it online through that account.

My brother thought the same thing and wound up calling SSA like 3 times because he was so worried about it lol

Just want to add my experience - I was in a similar situation last year. I turned 62 but didn't want benefits yet because of tax considerations. I called SSA just to double-check (was on hold FOREVER), and they confirmed I didn't need to do anything if I wasn't ready to claim benefits. BTW, if anyone needs to actually reach SSA by phone without the insane wait times, I used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me through to an agent in about 20 minutes instead of waiting for hours. There's a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU - really helped when I needed clarification on some earnings history questions.

my sister started taking ss at 62 and regrets it now shes 70 and gets way less than her friends do

Be careful with your Roth conversion strategy! If you convert too much each year, you could trigger provisional income issues later. I did a big conversion in 2023 and it messed up my taxes for 2024 because of some weird carryover effect. Make sure you talk to a tax professional who REALLY understands the interplay between Roth conversions and Social Security taxation. Most regular CPAs don't fully get this stuff.

One more important point about your Roth conversion strategy: remember that the SECURE 2.0 Act changed some RMD rules, which might affect your long-term planning. Starting in 2024, RMDs now begin at age 73 (up from 72), and in 2033, they'll start at age 75. This gives you more flexibility for Roth conversions before mandatory withdrawals kick in from your traditional accounts.

just to clarify I said 2023/2024 earlier but I mean't 2022/2023... I have covid brain fog today lol

As someone who went through this exact same decision process a few years ago, I can confirm what others have said - there's absolutely no automatic enrollment at any age. I was so paranoid about it that I actually printed out SSA's official guidance just to have it on hand! One thing I'd add to the excellent Roth conversion advice already given: consider doing "practice runs" with smaller conversion amounts in your first year to see how it affects your overall tax situation. I learned this the hard way when I did a larger conversion than planned and it pushed me into a higher bracket than I anticipated. Also, since you mentioned you're turning 62 in December, that gives you almost a full year to fine-tune your conversion strategy for 2025. Perfect timing to work with a tax professional to map out multi-year projections before you start the conversions.