Social Security retirement benefits start date - Should I choose my actual birthday or the first of the month?

Social Security benefits always start on the 1st of the month. Even if you select your actual birthday (June 17th), your first month of entitlement will be June, with payment arriving in July. Just know that SS pays a month behind - so July's payment covers June benefits. You might want to check on the SSA website under "When to Start Receiving Benefits" section for more details.

i just went thru this!! dont bother w/ the exact date, SS will start u on the 1st anyway. my bday is the 22nd and thats what they did for me

When you file for Social Security retirement benefits, you're actually filing for a MONTH, not a specific day! I was so confused about this too. Whether your birthday is on the 1st or the 31st doesn't matter - your benefit month is the same. Also, keep in mind that your first payment will arrive THE MONTH AFTER your entitlement month. So if June is your first month of entitlement, your first payment comes in July. Hope this helps and congrats on retiring!!!!

Social Security has a specific rule about this. Benefits are paid for the PREVIOUS month (so your July payment covers June benefits). For your start date, since you're reaching FRA, you should select June as your month of entitlement. You'll receive full benefits even though you're at FRA for only part of that month. However, if you were filing BEFORE your FRA, you'd need to be careful as this could trigger early filing reductions if you earn above the earnings limit in those partial months. Since you're at FRA, you don't need to worry about the earnings test anymore.

CAREFUL ABOUT THIS!!!!! I retired 2 years ago and had to wait MONTHS to get my first payment because I got confused about the dates. Make sure you apply 3-4 months BEFORE you want benefits to start! The online system is super confusing. I'd recommend calling them directly but good luck getting through - I spent WEEKS trying to reach someone.

my sister had her bday on the 15th and got really confused w/ all this too. ended up getting first payment a month later than she thought. just remember SSA pays a month behind! and deposit dates depend on ur bday - like if ur born on 15th u get paid on like 3rd wednesday or something weird.

One important thing no one has mentioned - if you're still working when you start benefits, make sure you understand how that affects things. If you're already at your Full Retirement Age (FRA), you can earn unlimited income without reduction. But if you're starting benefits before FRA, there are earnings limits that could reduce your benefits temporarily. Just something to consider with your June retirement plan!

dont 4get that SS pays based on when ur born in the month. like i get mine 2nd wednesday bc im born on the 8th. friend gets his on 4th wed bc hes born on the 29th. weird system

Thank you all for the helpful information! I'll go ahead and select June as my benefit start month since I'll be reaching my FRA in June. I understand now that I'll receive my first payment in July (for June benefits), and that payment will arrive on the third Wednesday since my birthday is on the 17th. I appreciate everyone taking the time to explain this!

Just wanted to add that you can also check your my Social Security account online at ssa.gov to track your application status once you submit it. It's really helpful to see where things stand in the process, especially since getting through on the phone can be such a hassle. Also, if you haven't already, you might want to estimate your benefits beforehand using their online calculator so you know roughly what to expect. Good luck with your retirement - sounds like you've got all the info you need now!

Great question! I just went through this process myself last year. The key thing to remember is that Social Security benefits are always paid for whole months, regardless of when your birthday falls in that month. Since you're reaching FRA on June 17th, you can absolutely choose June as your benefit start month and you'll receive the full monthly benefit amount - even though you only reach FRA partway through the month. The system will automatically start your entitlement on June 1st, and your first payment will arrive in July (since SS pays one month behind). I'd recommend applying online soon since it can take a few weeks to process. Don't stress too much about the exact date - the SSA system is designed to handle these situations!

Welcome to the community! As someone who recently navigated this same process, I can tell you that Social Security makes it pretty straightforward once you understand the basics. The most important thing to remember is that benefits are paid for complete months only, so whether your birthday is the 1st or 31st of the month, you get the same monthly amount. Since you'll reach FRA in June, just select June as your start month and don't overthink the specific date - the system will handle it correctly. One tip I wish someone had told me: make sure you have all your documents ready (birth certificate, tax returns, etc.) before starting the online application, as it can time out if you take too long gathering paperwork. The whole process took about 3 weeks for me from application to approval. You've got this!

Hi there! I'm new to this community but facing a similar decision soon. Reading through all these responses has been incredibly helpful! Just to clarify something I'm still a bit confused about - if someone's birthday falls on the 1st of the month, do they really get benefits for the previous month? That seems like such an unusual rule. Also, has anyone had experience with how long the online application actually takes to complete? I want to make sure I set aside enough time when I sit down to do it. Thanks for all the great information everyone has shared!

As someone who works in benefits administration, I can confirm what others have said - Social Security benefits are always calculated on a monthly basis, not daily. When you select June as your entitlement month, you'll receive the full monthly benefit amount regardless of when in June you reach FRA. The system automatically treats benefit months as starting on the 1st, so don't worry about selecting your exact birthday vs. the 1st of the month - the outcome is the same. Just remember that your July payment will be for June benefits (SSA pays in arrears), and based on your June 17th birthday, you'll receive payments on the third Wednesday of each month. I'd recommend applying online 2-3 months before June to allow processing time. The application itself takes about an hour if you have all your documents ready. Best wishes on your retirement!

As a newcomer to this community, I want to thank everyone for sharing such detailed and helpful information! I'm still a few years away from retirement but found this discussion incredibly educational. One question I have after reading through all these responses - does the timing of when you actually submit your application matter within that 2-3 month window? For example, if someone wanted June benefits, would applying in March vs April make any difference in processing time or when the first payment arrives? Also, I noticed some people mentioned getting disconnected from the SSA phone line - is there a better time of day to call if you do need to speak with someone directly? Thanks again to everyone who contributed their experiences and expertise!

Welcome to the community! As someone who just went through the retirement application process myself, I wanted to add a few practical tips that might help. First, don't overthink the date selection - as everyone has explained, SSA handles the monthly entitlement automatically regardless of your specific birthday. Second, I'd strongly recommend creating your online SSA account well before you're ready to apply, as it can take a few days to verify your identity and you'll want to review your earnings record for accuracy. Third, consider doing a "practice run" of the online application without submitting it - you can see all the questions and required documents without committing. This helped me feel much more prepared when I did the real application. The whole process was much smoother than I expected once I understood these basics. Congratulations on your upcoming retirement - you're asking all the right questions and clearly doing your homework!

Hi everyone! I'm new to this community and retirement planning in general, but this conversation has been incredibly informative. I'm still about 5 years away from my FRA, but I love how supportive and knowledgeable this community is! Reading through all these responses really helped me understand how Social Security timing works. One thing I'm curious about - for those who have already retired, did you find that your actual monthly benefit amount matched what the SSA online estimator predicted, or were there any surprises? Also, I noticed several people mentioned having trouble with the SSA phone system - are there any other reliable resources besides the SSA website that you'd recommend for getting accurate information? Thanks for creating such a helpful discussion thread!

Hi everyone! I'm new to this community and found this thread incredibly helpful as I'm approaching my own retirement decision. I'm currently 65 and considering when to start my Social Security benefits - I know I could start now with a slight reduction or wait until my FRA next year. Reading through all these responses about the monthly entitlement system really clarified something I was confused about. I had no idea that benefits are always calculated on a full monthly basis regardless of when your birthday falls! This makes me feel much more confident about the timing decision. For those who chose to start benefits at their FRA rather than taking early benefits, do you feel like waiting was worth it? I'm trying to weigh the guaranteed monthly increase against having benefits sooner. Thanks for such a welcoming and informative community!

Welcome to the community! As someone who just navigated this exact same situation last year, I can tell you that you're overthinking the date selection - and that's totally normal! The Social Security system is designed to handle these birthday timing questions automatically. When you select June as your benefit start month, the system will begin your entitlement on June 1st regardless of your actual birthday being on the 17th. You'll receive the full monthly benefit amount even though you only reach FRA partway through the month. One thing I wish I had known beforehand is that your first payment will arrive in July (for June benefits) and will be deposited on the third Wednesday of the month since your birthday falls between the 11th-20th. The online application process itself took me about an hour to complete, but make sure you have all your documents ready - birth certificate, recent tax returns, and banking information for direct deposit. I'd recommend applying soon since you want June benefits and it can take several weeks to process. Don't stress about the phone system - the online application is much more efficient and you can save your progress if needed. Congratulations on reaching this milestone!

Welcome to the community! I just want to echo what everyone else has said - you're definitely overthinking the date selection, but that's completely understandable since this is such an important decision! The key thing to remember is that Social Security operates on a monthly basis, so whether you put June 17th or June 1st, your benefits will start for the entire month of June. Since you'll reach your FRA on June 17th, you can confidently select June as your benefit start month and receive your full monthly benefit amount. Your first payment will arrive in July (covering June benefits) and will be deposited on the third Wednesday since your birthday falls on the 17th. I'd definitely recommend starting your application soon since processing can take several weeks. The online system is much more reliable than trying to get through on the phone. Make sure you have your documents ready - Social Security card, birth certificate, recent tax returns, and bank information for direct deposit. Congratulations on your upcoming retirement! You're asking all the right questions and clearly being thorough about this important step.