Social Security FRA confusion - born in January, FRA is 66 and 10 months, when exactly do I apply?
I'm trying to wrap my head around my Full Retirement Age deadline. My birth month is January 1958, and my FRA is 66 and 10 months according to the SSA website. Does this mean my actual FRA is in November 2024? And if that's right, should I submit my application in November for benefits to start in December? I've heard you should apply 3-4 months before you want benefits to begin, but I'm not sure if that applies when you're waiting until FRA exactly. I don't want to mess this up and accidentally file early or lose any money. Thanks for any help sorting this out!
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Morgan Washington
Yes, if you were born in January 1958, your FRA would be November 2024 (66 years and 10 months after your birth month). You can apply up to 4 months before you want your benefits to begin. So if you want benefits to start in December 2024 (the month after you reach FRA), you could apply as early as August 2024. When you apply, you'll specify the month you want benefits to begin. I'd recommend selecting December 2024 as your start month to ensure you're at FRA when benefits begin.
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Layla Sanders
•Thank you! That makes sense. So I can apply in August and just tell them I want December as my start date? Will they try to push me to start earlier or is it pretty straightforward to choose my start month?
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Kaylee Cook
i went thru this last yr... born in march and fra was 66+8mo so mine was in november. applied in august for december start. MAKE SURE you specify december as start date when u apply!!! they default to earliest date if u dont pay attention!! almost cost me $$
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Layla Sanders
•Oh wow, thanks for the warning! I definitely don't want them to default to an earlier date. I'll make sure to double-check that part of the application carefully.
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Oliver Alexander
To be precise about this: Your FRA is calculated as 66 years and 10 months from your birth month. If you were born in January 1958, you reach FRA in November 2024. However, Social Security benefits are paid in the month FOLLOWING the month they're due for. So your November 2024 benefit payment (your first at FRA) would actually arrive in December 2024. When applying, you'll select your "entitlement date" or "start month" - make sure this is November 2024 if you want to start at exactly FRA. The actual payment will come in December. You can apply up to 4 months before your intended start date, so applying in July/August 2024 would be ideal timing.
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Layla Sanders
•Wait, now I'm confused again. Should I select November or December as my start month? I want to make sure I'm at FRA and not filing early, but I also want to get my first payment as soon as I'm eligible.
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Lara Woods
When my husband applied last year they made it SO CONFUSING on the website! He had to call and talk to a representative to make sure he was doing it right. The online form was really unclear about which month was which and we were terrified of accidentally filing early. Have you tried calling SSA directly? You might be on hold for hours though... that's what happened to us.
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Adrian Hughes
•I had the same issue trying to call SSA last month about my retirement application. After being on hold for over 2 hours and getting disconnected twice, I found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helped me get through to a live agent in about 20 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU It was worth it to get an actual person who could explain the start date options and make sure I selected the right month. The representative confirmed everything and I felt much more confident about my application.
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Molly Chambers
My situation was similar to yours! The month you REACH FRA is when you become eligible for full benefits, but you'd select that month (November in your case) as your start month, and then the payment arrives the following month (December). Does anyone know if theres a financial advantage to waiting until January to start? Like does the COLA for 2025 get applied if you wait until January?
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Morgan Washington
•Good question about the COLA. If you select December 2024 (or earlier) as your start month, your benefit amount would be established before the 2025 COLA is applied. The COLA would then be added to that amount in January. If you waited and selected January 2025 as your start month, your initial benefit calculation would already include the 2025 COLA adjustment. However, delaying from December to January just for the COLA doesn't typically provide any financial advantage, as you'd be giving up a month of benefits to get the COLA applied to your initial calculation rather than added a month later - it works out the same financially.
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Ian Armstrong
everyone making this way more complicated than it needs to be!! just do what i did - go on ssa.gov, hit apply for retirement, and follow the steps. they ask you what month you want to start. pick november if thats when you hit fra. done!
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Layla Sanders
•Thanks for the straightforward approach! So November is definitely the right month to select, not December. I'll make sure to choose November as my start date when I apply.
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Oliver Alexander
To clarify what appears to be causing confusion: 1. Your Full Retirement Age (FRA) is reached in November 2024 (66 years and 10 months after January 1958) 2. When applying, you should select November 2024 as your benefit start month/entitlement date 3. Social Security benefits are paid in the month AFTER they're due, so your November benefit payment will arrive in December This is not the same as selecting December as your start month, which would mean your entitlement begins in December and you'd receive that payment in January. And yes, you can apply up to 4 months before your intended start date.
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Layla Sanders
•Thank you for breaking it down so clearly! So I reach FRA in November, should select November as my start month on the application, and will receive my first payment in December. I'll plan to apply in August to give SSA plenty of time to process everything.
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Kaylee Cook
one more thing!!! make sure u have all ur docs ready when u apply - birth certificate, marriage certificate if ur married, direct deposit info... they wont process ur application without them and it can delay everything!!
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