Social Security FRA confusion - born in January, FRA is 66 and 10 months, when exactly do I apply?

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.

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 $$

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.

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.

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?

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!

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.

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!!

Great advice about having documents ready! I'd also recommend creating a my Social Security account online at ssa.gov if you haven't already - it shows your estimated benefits and FRA details, plus you can track your application status once you submit it. Having that account set up beforehand made the application process much smoother for me. You can also download your Social Security Statement from there which has all your earnings history if you need it for reference.

Just wanted to add - when you're getting close to your application date, double-check your FRA calculation one more time on the SSA website. I thought I had it figured out but realized I had miscalculated by a month! Also, if you're still working when you apply, make sure you understand the earnings test rules. Even though you'll be at FRA, if you're earning above certain limits before you actually reach FRA, it can affect your benefits. The SSA website has a good earnings test calculator that helped me figure out if I needed to worry about this or not.

As someone who just went through this process a few months ago, I want to emphasize how important it is to triple-check everything before you submit. I made the mistake of rushing through my application and accidentally selected the wrong start month initially - thankfully I caught it during the review process and was able to correct it. A few tips that helped me: 1) Print out or screenshot the SSA's FRA chart for your birth year so you have it handy during application, 2) Use their retirement estimator tool to see exactly what your benefit amount will be for different start dates - this really helped me visualize the impact of my choices, and 3) Don't hesitate to save your application as a draft and come back to it if you need time to think or gather documents. The whole process took about 3 weeks from application to approval for me, and my first payment arrived right on schedule. You've got this!

I went through this exact same situation last year - born January 1958, FRA of 66+10 months. Just to confirm what others have said: your FRA is November 2024, you should select November as your start month when applying, and your first payment will arrive in December. One thing I wish someone had told me - when you're filling out the application online, there's a section where it asks about your "retirement month" and it can be confusing because it shows different options. Make absolutely sure you're selecting November 2024 as when you want your benefits to BEGIN, not when you want to receive your first payment. Also, I applied in July (4 months early) and everything went smoothly. The key is having all your documents ready and double-checking that start date before you submit. Good luck!

I'm in a very similar situation - born February 1958, so my FRA is also 66 and 10 months, which means December 2024 for me. Reading through all these responses has been incredibly helpful! I was also confused about the timing and which month to select. One question I have - has anyone dealt with spousal benefits in this situation? My wife is a few years younger and won't reach her FRA until later. I'm wondering if there are any special considerations when one spouse is applying at FRA while the other is still working and won't be eligible for a while. Should I be thinking about spousal benefit strategies or does that not matter when I'm applying right at my FRA? Also, for those who have gone through the process - did you get any kind of confirmation or receipt after submitting your online application? I want to make sure I have documentation that I applied on time.

I'm also facing this same timing decision and wanted to share something I learned from my local SSA office visit last week. The representative emphasized that when you're born in January of any year, you actually reach your birthday month age on the first day of that month for Social Security purposes. So if you were born in January 1958, you're considered to reach age 66 on January 1, 2024, and then your additional 10 months would put your FRA at November 1, 2024. What really helped me understand this was asking the SSA rep to show me exactly how they calculate it in their system. She pulled up my record and walked through it step by step. This might be worth doing if you have any lingering doubts - even though it can be hard to get through on the phone, visiting a local office (with an appointment if possible) can give you that face-to-face confirmation. One more tip - when I was there, she showed me how the online application has a "preview" feature before you submit where you can see exactly what benefits will start when. Use that preview to double-check everything looks right before hitting submit!