Social Security FRA confusion - does benefit start on exact month or first of following month when FRA includes partial months?

Social Security benefits are paid in the month following the month for which they are due. Your FRA occurs on the exact day you reach 66 years and 10 months. So in your example, if you reach FRA on August 18th, 2025, then August would be your first month of eligibility at your full benefit amount, and you'd receive that payment in September (typically on the 3rd Wednesday since that's when people born on the 11th-20th get paid). The partial month doesn't change anything - SSA pays full month benefits even if you reach FRA partway through the month.

Ive been through this last year and let me tell u the way it works. They dont do partial months. whatever day of the month u reach ur FRA, that WHOLE month counts as ur first month at FRA. so if ur 66+10 months on may 25th, then may is when ur at FRA. but u won't get paid til june (they pay a month behind

I know EXACTLY what you're asking because I just went through this myself. The way it works is this: You become eligible for your full retirement benefit on the exact day you reach your Full Retirement Age (so August 18th in your example). That makes August your first month of full benefits. But Social Security payments are always paid in the following month, so your August benefit will arrive in September. One important tip: If you're planning to work, the month you reach FRA is the last month you're subject to the earnings limit. So from August onward, you can earn as much as you want without any reduction in benefits. This was a huge relief for me since I wanted to keep working part-time.

I had this EXACT same question when I was trying to figure out my retirement!!! I called SSA like 5 times and kept getting disconnected or waiting HOURS only to get different answers each time! So frustrating!!!! I finally found out that yes, the WHOLE month counts even if your birthday is on the last day of the month. But they don't pay you until the following month. It's so confusing how they explain everything!

To add a technical point that others haven't mentioned: Your Full Retirement Age of 66 years and 10 months means you've reached that age on the day BEFORE your birthday in that month. So if you were born on August 19th, you actually reach FRA on August 18th. This is because SSA doesn't count the day of birth for age calculation purposes. It's a small detail but important for exact timing.

i think everyone is missing something - SSA pays benefits a month BEHIND. so august benefits come in september. and they pay on different days depending on your birthday. if your bday is on the 1st-10th you get paid on 2nd wednesday, 11th-20th on 3rd wednesday, and 21st-31st on 4th wednesday. check their schedule online

btw if ur turning 66+10 in 2025 we must be about the same age! im Aug 1958, whats ur birth year?

WAIT I just remembered something important that happened to me! Make ABSOLUTELY SURE that when you apply for retirement benefits (you can do it up to 4 months before your FRA date), you clearly indicate you want benefits to START at your FRA. If you're not clear, they might accidentally start your benefits early and you'll get a reduced amount FOREVER! I know someone this happened to and they've been fighting for months to get it fixed!!!!

Just wanted to add one more helpful detail for your planning - if you're considering delaying benefits past your FRA to get delayed retirement credits, those credits accrue monthly at about 0.67% per month (8% per year) until age 70. So if your FRA benefit would start in August 2025, but you delay until say January 2026, you'd get about 5 months × 0.67% = roughly 3.35% more than your FRA amount. This might factor into your other financial decisions you mentioned. The key is that once you reach FRA in August, you have the flexibility to start benefits any month after that without penalty, and each month you wait increases your benefit amount until 70.

This is such a helpful thread! I'm in a similar situation (born in 1958) and was completely confused about this partial month thing too. Reading through everyone's responses, it sounds like the key takeaway is that SSA doesn't do partial months - once you hit your FRA date, that entire month counts as your first full benefit month, even if you only reach FRA on the last day of that month. The payment just comes the following month. I had no idea about the earnings test ending at FRA either - that's huge for those of us planning to keep working part-time. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences, this has cleared up so much confusion for me!

I just want to echo what everyone else has said - this thread has been incredibly helpful! I'm also planning my retirement and had the exact same confusion about partial months. What really stands out to me is how consistent everyone's experiences have been: you get the full month's benefit even if you only reach FRA partway through that month, and the payment comes the following month. One thing I'd add that might help with your planning - since you mentioned this impacts other financial decisions you need to make soon - is that you can actually run different scenarios on the SSA website using their retirement estimator. You can plug in different start dates (your FRA month vs. delaying a few months for delayed retirement credits) and see how it affects your monthly benefit amount. This helped me figure out the break-even point for my own situation. Also, definitely take advantage of the fact that once you reach FRA, the earnings test disappears completely. That flexibility to work as much as you want without penalty is a game-changer for retirement planning!