Social Security approval letter shows lower benefit amount than agent quoted - why are my payments rounded down?

This happens ALL the time with Social Security. The rep you talked to probably gave you an estimate without factoring in Medicare premiums or the final calculation adjustments. The rounding down is normal - SSA always rounds benefit amounts down to the nearest dollar (not up or to the nearest dollar like most people would expect). As for the bigger difference between $1,730 and $1,688, that's $42 which sounds like it could be your Medicare Part B premium if you're enrolled. Did you sign up for Medicare too?

maybe they calculated ur earnings differently when they did the final review? the phone people sometimes make mistakes bcuz they're looking at incomplete records. my brother got told one amount and ended up with $63 less.

The difference you're seeing could be due to several factors: 1. The claims specialist might have calculated based on your Primary Insurance Amount (PIA) without applying all reduction factors for early retirement 2. The rounding down is actually part of SSA's calculation method - benefits are always rounded down to the nearest dollar after all calculations are complete 3. There could have been a change in your earnings record between the estimate and final calculation 4. The specialist may have made a simple calculation error during your call I recommend calling SSA and asking for a detailed explanation of how your benefit was calculated. Request them to walk you through each step of the calculation so you can identify exactly where the discrepancy occurred. You have the right to understand exactly how your benefit amount was determined.

I WENT THROUGH THE EXACT SAME THING LAST YEAR!!! They told me $2250 on the phone but my actual payments were $2196. When I finally got someone on the phone (took 3 days of calling!!!) they said the person who gave me the quote didn't apply the correct early retirement reduction percentage. The worst part is they act like it's no big deal but that's almost $650 a year LESS than what I was counting on!!!

This is a common issue. The SSA phone representatives often provide estimates based on the information available at the time, but the final calculation is done by a different department using their calculation software that applies all appropriate reductions, rounding rules, and adjustments. For early retirement benefits, they apply reduction factors of 5/9 of 1% for each month before Full Retirement Age (FRA) up to 36 months, and 5/12 of 1% for each additional month beyond 36. These calculations can easily result in differences of $40-50 from verbal estimates. As for the rounding, Social Security law (Section 215(g) of the Social Security Act) specifically requires that monthly benefits be rounded down to the nearest whole dollar after all calculations are complete. If you want to verify the calculation, request a detailed benefit calculation when you call. They can send you a PEBES (Personal Earnings and Benefit Estimate Statement) that shows exactly how your amount was determined.

Good luck trying to get anyone on the phone at SSA to explain anything! I've been trying for weeks to get an explanation for my benefit amount and I can't even get through to a human. Every time I call I get stuck on hold for hours and then disconnected. So frustrating!

thats just how they do things. my friend had same problem. SSA always rounds down not up. and the phone ppl just give rough estimates not exact amts

One more thing - if you're taking benefits at 61, you must be on disability (SSDI), not early retirement (which starts at 62). SSDI has a different calculation method than retirement benefits, which might explain the difference. The disability benefit is based on your Primary Insurance Amount (PIA) but can include dependent benefits and other adjustments that could explain the discrepancy.

Has anyone actually successfully gotten them to fix an error in the calculation?? Or do they just make you accept whatever they decide?

Update: I called SSA this morning (took forever to get through!) and finally got an explanation. The rep I spoke with originally didn't apply the correct early retirement reduction factor for my specific age. At 62 and 4 months, my reduction is about 30% from my full retirement age amount, which exactly explains the difference. Mystery solved! Thanks everyone for your help and suggestions.