Social Security maximum benefit - start date confusion for January birthday turning 70
I've been planning my retirement for years and I'm finally approaching age 70 in January 2025. I want to get the absolute maximum benefit possible by delaying until 70, but I'm confused about exactly when to tell SSA to start my payments. My birthday is January 30th, 2025 - should I request my benefits to start January 1st or February 1st to get the full delayed retirement credits? I've heard conflicting advice and don't want to accidentally lose a month of increased benefits by choosing the wrong date. Has anyone dealt with this specific birthday situation before?
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Nora Brooks
You should request January 2025 as your start month. Social Security pays for the month you turn 70, not after. The payment for January would arrive in February. If you wait until February, you won't get any additional increase - just one less payment!
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Jayden Reed
•Thank you! That's what I was thinking but wanted to be absolutely sure. So even though my birthday is near the end of January, I still get the full delayed retirement credits for the entire month of January?
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Eli Wang
congrats on making it to 70! my dad made the mistake of asking for the next month and missed out on $$$. definitely ask for january benefits.
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Jayden Reed
•Oh no, sorry to hear about your dad's mistake! That's exactly what I'm trying to avoid. Thanks for the confirmation!
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Cassandra Moon
I'm confused about this too! My financial advisor told me benefits always start the month AFTER you reach full retirement age or 70. But now I'm seeing different answers here? Can someone explain why?
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Zane Hernandez
•Your financial advisor is confusing two different concepts. When you apply for benefits, they start the month you reach full retirement age (FRA) or 70, whichever applies to your situation. However, the actual PAYMENT for that month arrives the following month. So for someone turning 70 in January, January is the first month of eligibility, but the payment for January arrives in February. This is why many people get confused.
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Genevieve Cavalier
When I turned 70 last year the lady at Social Security told me I should choose the first day of the month I turn 70. So in your case that would be January 1, 2025. The way she explained it to me, you get all delayed retirement credits up to age 70, not a day more.
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Ethan Scott
•This is basically correct, but just to clarify a tiny detail - you don't actually choose the day of the month. Social Security benefits always start on the 1st of whatever month you select. So you're choosing January 2025 as your start month, not specifically January 1st. But your advice is spot-on otherwise!
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Lola Perez
I faced EXACTLY this situation when turning 70 in 2023. I had a January 22nd birthday. I specifically asked for January as my start month, but the SSA representative I spoke with insisted I should pick February since I wasn't 70 for the full month of January. This was WRONG advice! I had to fight with three different representatives to get it corrected. According to SSA's own rules, the month you turn 70 is when you max out your delayed retirement credits - doesn't matter if your birthday is the 1st or the 31st. I wasted hours on hold trying to get through to someone who knew the correct policy. If you're struggling to reach someone at SSA, check out this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com). They got me connected to an agent in under 15 minutes when I'd been trying for days. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU. Saved me from missing out on that January payment!
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Jayden Reed
•Wow, this is extremely helpful! It's concerning that even some SSA reps might give incorrect information. I'll definitely make sure to be firm about requesting January as my start month. And thanks for the tip about Claimyr - I might need that if I run into similar problems!
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Nora Brooks
One more important point: make sure you apply for your benefits 3-4 months BEFORE you want them to start. So if you want January 2025 benefits, apply in September or October 2024. This gives SSA time to process everything so your payments start on time.
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Jayden Reed
•That's great advice - I hadn't considered the processing time. I'll make sure to submit my application well in advance!
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Genevieve Cavalier
My birthday is actually january 15 and I turned 70 in 2022 and let me tell you Social Security makes everything so complicated!!!!! I got so confused with all the different dates and ended up applying late and then they gave me 6 months of backpay which was nice but the taxes were a NIGHTMARE the next year so definitely apply early like others are saying!!!!
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Cassandra Moon
•Oh no, tax complications are something I hadn't even thought about! Did you have to pay a lot more because of the lump sum backpay?
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Zane Hernandez
To summarize for anyone who finds this thread later: 1. If you turn 70 on January 30, 2025, request January 2025 as your benefit start month 2. You'll receive your maximum DRCs (Delayed Retirement Credits) as of January 3. The actual payment for January will arrive in February 2025 4. Apply 3-4 months before you want benefits to begin (so September/October 2024) 5. There's no advantage to selecting February - you'd just lose a month of payments This applies to anyone turning 70, regardless of what day of the month your birthday falls on. You're eligible for benefits for the whole month you turn 70, even if your birthday is on the last day of that month.
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Jayden Reed
•Thank you for this clear summary! This is exactly what I needed to know. I'll definitely apply in fall 2024 and specifically request January 2025 as my start month.
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