Social Security retirement - any drawbacks to starting benefits mid-year May 2025?

There are a few things to consider with a mid-year start date. The earnings limit for 2025 (if you're under FRA) will likely be around $22,320 for the whole year. But since you're starting benefits in May, SSA will only count earnings from May-December when determining if you exceed the limit. Your January-April earnings won't count against you. However, your benefit amount will be permanently reduced based on how many months before your Full Retirement Age you claim. Each month matters in that calculation, so waiting until January 2026 would give you a slightly higher monthly benefit for life.

I started mid year and it was a NIGHTMARE!!! SSA lost my paperwork TWICE and I ended up with no income for almost 3 months!!! My daughter had to help me pay rent. The people at the office kept telling me different things everytime I called. One guy said I should of waited till January!!!!!

The difference in your benefit amount between May 2025 and January 2026 would be about 4-5% higher for the January start date (assuming you're exactly 62 in March 2025). Each month you delay between 62 and FRA adds about 0.5-0.6% to your benefit amount for life. As the previous commenter mentioned, the earnings test is only applied to months you're actually receiving benefits. So your $14,000 pre-retirement earnings won't affect your benefits as long as you don't earn above the monthly limit after you start collecting. One other consideration: if you're planning to continue with employer health insurance through April, remember that Medicare enrollment timing might be important depending on your situation. You generally want to avoid gaps in coverage.

I tried starting benefits mid-year and had to deal with months of SSA phone problems. Spent weeks trying to reach someone for a simple question. Finally found Claimyr.com which got me through to a live SSA agent in under 20 minutes! They have a video showing how it works here: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU Regarding your actual question - the month you start does matter for benefit calculations, but the real consideration is whether you NEED the money now or can wait. Each month you delay = higher lifetime payments.

Hey there, one thing nobody mentioned - taxes! If you start benefits in May, you'll have partial year SS income plus 4 months of regular work income on your 2025 taxes. Depending on your total income, you might have a different percentage of your SS benefits subject to tax than if you waited till January. Something to discuss with your tax person if you have one.

When I retired in 2023, I started my benefits in July (mid-year) and had zero issues. Applied online about 3 months before, got confirmation, benefits started right on time. The earnings test was prorated just like someone mentioned - they only looked at my income after I started collecting. I would suggest applying at least 3 months before you want benefits to start, whether that's May or January. The online application is pretty straightforward, but it does take time for them to process everything. Good luck with your decision!

my wife started ss in april last year and it was fine but our neighbor did may and they messed up his payments for 3 months so maybe its just luck lol

One more consideration - if you're still planning to work part-time after starting benefits, the earnings limit works on a monthly basis in your first year of retirement. This is called the "Monthly Earnings Test" or "Monthly Grace Year Rule." The monthly limit is the annual limit divided by 12. So if the 2025 limit is $22,320, the monthly limit would be $1,860. In any month you earn over that amount, you wouldn't receive benefits for that month. Starting in 2026, SSA would switch to looking at your annual earnings regardless of which months you earned the money.