Social Security retirement application stuck at 2/3 processing since November - should I be worried?

same thing happened to me last year, took almost 2 months to get my confirmation. SSA is just super slow with everything especially around end of year!!

I went through exactly this earlier this year. Application stuck at 2/3 for WEEKS! The confirmation letter finally arrived about 6 weeks after I applied. Here's what I found out when I managed to speak with an agent - the online status doesn't update in real-time, and at year-end they get swamped with people applying for January start dates (like you and me). Your benefits should still start in January as requested, and you'll get your first payment in February as you mentioned. If you're really worried, try using Claimyr to get through to an SSA agent without the hours-long hold times. I used them (claimyr.com) and got connected in about 15 minutes. They have a video that shows how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU - totally worth it for peace of mind!

The delay you're experiencing is actually quite normal, especially for applications filed in November and December. The Social Security Administration experiences significant processing backlogs during this period due to a combination of holiday schedules, year-end processing requirements, and a surge in applications from people wanting January start dates. Your online status showing "2/3 process complete" is a good sign - it means your application has been received and is in the verification stage. The final third typically involves the payment processing setup, which often doesn't complete until closer to your benefit start date. Regarding the confirmation letter, current processing times for these notices are running 4-6 weeks from application date, sometimes longer during busy periods. As long as you have a record of your application (the online status proves this), your benefits will still begin as requested for January 2025, with your first payment arriving in February. If you haven't received anything by mid-January, then it would be appropriate to contact SSA directly. But at this point, everything sounds on track with normal processing timeframes.

My sister had THE EXACT same issue last year!!! Application stuck forever and no letter. Then TWO MONTHS LATER she got a letter saying she needed to provide MORE information before they could process her claim!!! By then she almost missed her start date! You should call them RIGHT NOW before it's too late!! Don't trust the online status!!!

i think january is like the busiest month for social security retirements so probably there backed up. i filed mine in march last year and got confirmation in like 3 weeks. maybe diferent time of year matters?

What I've observed from helping many clients with retirement benefits applications is that the SSA experiences predictable processing delays at certain times of the year, with November-January being particularly congested. The "2/3 process complete" status is actually a good indicator that your application is progressing normally. The three stages are roughly: 1. Initial receipt and basic verification 2. Earnings record review and benefit calculation 3. Payment processing setup The longest delay typically occurs between stages 2 and 3, especially for January benefit starts. This is because the SSA must coordinate all January-starting benefits with their annual COLA adjustments and payment schedule updates. Your benefit start date of January 2025 is secure as long as your application was received before January (which it was). The confirmation letter is often one of the last items generated in the process, sometimes not arriving until after the first payment is issued. I recommend waiting until mid-January before taking any action. If you haven't received anything by January 20th, then it would be appropriate to contact SSA directly to verify everything is on track.

are you sure you put the right address on your application? they wont email you they only do snail mail. check if maybe it went to old address?

Has anyone else noticed that the My Social Security online thing is SUPER unreliable lately??? Mine has been showing incorrect info for months and when I called they said just ignore the online status and wait for mail correspondence!

One additional point of clarification: The Full Retirement Age (FRA) benefit processing actually has a separate workflow from early retirement applications. Since you mentioned you're at your FRA, your application should follow the standard verification process without the additional reduction calculations required for early claims. This is generally a more straightforward process, but it still follows the same timeline backups around year-end. The fact that you're already at FRA is actually beneficial, as there are fewer potential issues that could delay processing. If you want to be proactive while waiting, you might want to verify that your direct deposit information is correctly set up in your My Social Security account. Sometimes missing or incorrect payment information can cause delays in that final processing stage.

I'm going through the exact same situation right now! Filed my retirement application in early December for January 2025 benefits, and mine has been stuck at "2/3 process complete" for about 3 weeks now. No confirmation letter yet either. It's really nerve-wracking when you've been planning this for so long and suddenly feel like you're in limbo. Reading everyone's responses here is actually making me feel a lot better - it sounds like this is pretty typical for end-of-year applications. I guess we just have to trust the process and wait it out. At least we're not alone in this experience!

I'm dealing with this exact same situation! Applied in late November for January 2025 benefits and have been stuck at "2/3 process complete" for about a month now. No confirmation letter yet either. After reading all these responses, I'm feeling much more reassured that this is normal processing time, especially for year-end applications. It's so helpful to know that others have experienced the same delays and still had their benefits start on time. I think I'll follow the advice to wait until mid-January before calling SSA, since it sounds like the confirmation letters are often the last thing to arrive. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences - it's such a relief to know this is typical and not a sign that something went wrong with my application!

I'm in the exact same situation and this thread has been so reassuring! I filed my retirement application in mid-November for January 2025 benefits and have been stuck at "2/3 process complete" for over a month now. No confirmation letter either. I've been checking the status daily and getting more anxious each time it hadn't changed. Reading everyone's experiences here really helps - especially understanding that the year-end backup is totally normal and that the online status doesn't update in real-time. It makes sense that SSA gets flooded with January start date applications around this time. I'm going to stop obsessing over the online status and trust that everything is processing normally. Thanks to everyone who shared their stories - it's amazing how much better it feels knowing we're all going through the same thing!

I'm going through the exact same thing right now! Filed my retirement application in early December for January 2025 benefits and it's been stuck at "2/3 process complete" for weeks. No confirmation letter yet either. I was getting really worried that something was wrong with my application, but reading all these responses has been such a huge relief. The explanation about year-end processing backlogs makes total sense - I never realized how many people probably apply for January start dates all at once. It's also reassuring to know that the online status doesn't update in real-time and that confirmation letters are often the last thing to arrive. I've been checking that status page obsessively every day, but I think I'm going to follow everyone's advice and stop worrying about it until mid-January. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences - it's amazing how much better it feels knowing so many of us are going through this same situation!

I'm in almost the exact same situation and this thread has been incredibly helpful! I filed my retirement application in late November for January 2025 benefits and have been stuck at "2/3 process complete" for about 5 weeks now. No confirmation letter either, and I was starting to really panic that something had gone wrong. But reading everyone's experiences here - especially the detailed explanations about year-end processing backlogs and how the online status system actually works - has put my mind so much at ease. I had no idea that SSA gets flooded with January start date applications during this time period, or that the confirmation letters are typically the last thing to arrive in the process. I've definitely been guilty of obsessively checking that status page multiple times a day! It's such a relief to know that so many others are going through this exact same experience and that it's completely normal. I'm going to follow the advice here and stop worrying about it until mid-January. Thanks to everyone who shared their stories and expertise - this community is amazing!

I'm experiencing the exact same situation! Filed my retirement application in mid-November for January 2025 benefits and it's been stuck at "2/3 process complete" for over a month now. No confirmation letter yet either. I was really starting to stress about it, but this thread has been incredibly reassuring. It's so helpful to see that literally dozens of us are going through this identical experience with year-end applications. The detailed explanations about processing backlogs and how the online status system works have really put my mind at ease. I had no clue that so many people apply for January start dates at the same time, creating this predictable bottleneck. Like everyone else, I've been guilty of checking that status page way too often! Reading all these stories has convinced me to stop worrying and just wait for the confirmation letter to arrive when it arrives. It's amazing how much this community has helped - thank you to everyone who shared their experiences!

I'm in the exact same boat! Applied in late November for January 2025 benefits and have been stuck at "2/3 process complete" for about 6 weeks now. Still no confirmation letter either. I was getting really anxious about it until I found this thread - it's such a relief to see that literally everyone who applied around the same time is experiencing identical delays. The explanations about year-end processing backlogs make so much sense, and I had no idea that January start dates create such a rush of applications. Like everyone else here, I've been obsessively checking that online status multiple times a day! Based on all the advice here, I'm going to stop worrying about it and wait until mid-January before considering calling SSA. It's amazing how much better it feels knowing we're all going through this together. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences and especially to those who provided detailed explanations about how the process actually works!

I'm experiencing the exact same thing and this thread has been such a relief to find! I filed my retirement application in early December for January 2025 benefits and have been stuck at "2/3 process complete" for about 4 weeks now. No confirmation letter yet either. I was starting to really worry that I had made some mistake on my application or that something was wrong, but seeing so many people going through this identical situation has been incredibly reassuring. The explanations about year-end processing backlogs and how SSA gets overwhelmed with January start date applications make perfect sense - I never thought about how that timing would create such a bottleneck. Like everyone else here, I've been guilty of checking that online status way too frequently! Reading all these responses has convinced me to stop obsessing over it and just wait patiently for the confirmation letter. It's amazing how much this community has helped turn what felt like an individual crisis into a shared, normal experience. Thanks to everyone for sharing their stories and expertise!

I'm going through this exact same situation right now! Filed my retirement application in late November for January 2025 benefits and have been stuck at "2/3 process complete" for over a month. No confirmation letter yet either. I was really starting to stress about it until I found this thread - it's been such a huge relief to see that so many others are experiencing the identical delay. The explanations about year-end processing backlogs make total sense, and I had no idea that SSA gets flooded with January start date applications during this time period. Like everyone else here, I've been guilty of obsessively checking that online status multiple times a day! Reading all these responses has really put my mind at ease and helped me understand that this is just the normal process during busy season rather than a sign that something's wrong with my application. I'm definitely going to follow the advice here and stop refreshing that status page every day. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences - it's amazing how much better it feels knowing we're all going through this together!