Do Social Security Delayed Retirement Credits (DRCs) apply immediately when filing mid-year or must I wait until January?
I'm planning to file for my Social Security retirement benefits in July 2025 at age 68. I've delayed claiming beyond my FRA (66 and 6 months) to earn those delayed retirement credits. My financial advisor mentioned something that's got me worried - he said that even though I've earned almost 2 years of DRCs (8% per year), the Social Security Administration might not apply them to my benefit amount until January 2026! Is that correct? Do I really have to wait 6 months for them to adjust my payment to include the credits I've already earned? I was counting on that higher amount right from my first check. Has anyone here had experience with this? I'm trying to decide if I should push my filing date to January to avoid any confusion.
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Simon White
Your advisor is partially right, but it's not as bad as it sounds. SSA will include the DRCs you've earned up through the year prior to when you file (2024) in your initial benefit calculation. Any DRCs earned in the current year (2025) will be added in January of the following year (2026). So your initial payment will include most but not all of your delayed credits.
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Geoff Richards
•Thank you for explaining! So if I'm understanding correctly, my initial benefit will include DRCs earned through December 2024, but the additional credits from January-July 2025 would be added in January 2026? Would they pay me the difference retroactively for those months I received benefits in 2025?
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Hugo Kass
I had this exact situation when I filed last year at 67! My first payment was lower than I expected, and when I called SSA (which took FOREVER), they explained the system only applies current-year DRCs in January of the next year. But don't worry - in January they automatically adjust your benefit amount AND pay you the difference retroactively for all the months you received benefits in the previous year. So you'll eventually get all the money you're entitled to.
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Nasira Ibanez
•My uncle had the same experience but said it took almost 3 months after January to see the increased amount! The SSA is so slow with everything.
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Khalil Urso
WAIT THIS IS ALL WRONG!!! DRCs are calculated FROM your FRA TO the month before you start receiving benefits. The SSA does NOT add them year by year! This is a HUGE misconception! They just take your PIA and add all your DRCs at once when you file! CALL THEM AND CONFIRM THIS PLEASE!!!
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Simon White
•You're confusing two different aspects of how DRCs work. You're right that DRCs are earned monthly from FRA until benefits begin. But the PROCESSING of those credits for payment purposes happens on the schedule I described. This is directly from SSA's own operational guidance.
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Myles Regis
If I were you I'd seriously consider waiting until January to file if you can manage financially. I filed in September last year and had to deal with this DRC adjustment headache. First, most SSA agents don't even seem to understand their own rules about this. Second, even though they're supposed to automatically adjust in January, mine didn't update until March, and I had to call multiple times. Just something to consider if you want to avoid the hassle.
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Geoff Richards
•I'm definitely reconsidering my July filing date now. The thought of getting a lower amount for 6 months and then having to potentially chase them down for an adjustment is frustrating. I wonder if many people even realize they're not getting their full DRCs right away.
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Brian Downey
my hubby filed at 68 last october and we had the same suprise when his payment was lower then expected. after getting nowhere with the local office i read that anybody who calls the SSA right now gets disconnected or waits for hours... so frustrating when WE did everything right by waiting and now they under pay us!!!
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Jacinda Yu
•Try using Claimyr.com next time you need to reach SSA. I was getting disconnected too until I found this service that gets you through to a real person at SSA quickly. Saved me HOURS of frustration with my own DRC issue. They have a video showing how it works at https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU - totally worth it for important benefit questions like this.
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Hugo Kass
To directly answer your original question: No, you don't have to wait until the following January for ALL your DRCs - just the ones earned in the calendar year you file. And yes, those will be applied retroactively. Your starting benefit will already include all DRCs earned through December of the previous year.
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Geoff Richards
•Thanks for the clarification. I just wish they made this clearer on the SSA website! I've been planning my retirement budget based on the full amount I thought I'd receive immediately.
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Nasira Ibanez
has anyone actually seen the regulations about this? my sister says this whole january thing isnt actually a rule and her first check included all her drcs right away. but she filed like 10 years ago so maybe they changed the rules?
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Simon White
•It's in the Program Operations Manual System (POMS) that SSA employees use. The specific section is RS 00615.690. Your sister may have filed in January or December, or the rules might have been different 10 years ago.
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Geoff Richards
I just got off the phone with an SSA representative (after a very long wait), and she confirmed what most of you have said. My initial benefit will include DRCs through December 2024, and the 2025 DRCs will be applied in January 2026 with retroactive adjustment. She suggested I could delay filing until January 2026 if I want to avoid the two-step process, but assured me I won't lose any money either way. Thanks everyone for your help with this!
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Hugo Kass
•Glad you got confirmation! Based on my experience, I'd recommend keeping detailed notes of this conversation (date, time, representative name if possible). It will make things easier if there are any issues with the adjustment in January.
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