Social Security survivor benefits starting month confusion at FRA - March or April birthday?
I'm approaching my Full Retirement Age (66) on March 30th and planning to apply for survivor benefits. I'm just not clear about how SSA handles the exact starting month. Do I use March or April as my benefit start date? Will they ask for the specific day or just the month when I apply? I understand I won't get 100% of my late spouse's benefit since I'm taking it at exactly FRA, and I know payments are made in arrears. So am I right in thinking my first check wouldn't come until April or possibly May? I'm really struggling financially and not sure I can hold out the full 8 months after turning 66. Any insight from folks who've been through this survivor benefit application process would be really appreciated. This whole system is so confusing!
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Giovanni Mancini
For survivor benefits, you're eligible for the full month in which you reach FRA, regardless of which day your birthday falls on. So if your FRA is March 30th, March would be your first month of eligibility at your maximum survivor benefit rate. When you apply, they'll ask for both the month and day. You'll want to specify March as your start month. Since Social Security pays benefits in the month following eligibility, your March benefit would be paid in April. I know those 8 months can be tough financially, but remember survivor benefits are different from retirement benefits in how they're calculated at FRA. At your Full Retirement Age, you should receive 100% of your deceased spouse's basic benefit amount.
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Amara Nnamani
•Thank you so much for this clear explanation! So I should definitely put March as my start month then? That's a relief. I wasn't sure if they pro-rated it based on the exact day of the month when you reach FRA. The SSA website is so confusing sometimes.
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NebulaNinja
i went thru this last yr with my wifes survivor benefits. the SSA told us use the month of the birthday even tho hers was like the 25th or something. they dont do partial months far as i know. got her first check the next month after that.
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Amara Nnamani
•Thanks for sharing your experience! That makes me feel better knowing your wife had a similar situation with a birthday late in the month. Did they ask a lot of questions during the application process?
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Fatima Al-Suwaidi
I applied for survivor benefits and it was NIGHTMARE!!! Called for WEEKS and couldn't get through. Went to local office and they were closed due to "staffing issues" when I got there! Ended up waiting almost 3 months longer than I should have before getting my first payment because of all the delays!!! BE WARNED - start the process EARLY!!!!!
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Dylan Mitchell
•I had the same issue trying to reach SSA for my disability application. After wasting weeks trying to get through, I found a service called Claimyr that got me connected to an actual SSA representative in under 10 minutes. Saved me so much frustration! They have a video showing how it works at https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU - it's way better than waiting on hold for hours or getting disconnected. Definitely worth checking out if you're struggling to talk to someone at SSA.
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Sofia Morales
You should definitely apply 3-4 months before you want benefits to start. For your specific question: 1. Survivor benefits become payable for the entire month you reach FRA regardless of the specific day (unlike retirement benefits which are different) 2. You need to specify March as your month of entitlement 3. The March benefit will be paid in April (around the 3rd Wednesday based on your birthday) 4. You should receive 100% of your deceased spouse's PIA at FRA for survivor benefits Also, make sure to have marriage certificate, death certificate, and your spouse's Social Security number ready when you apply. This will help avoid delays.
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Amara Nnamani
•Thank you for the detailed information! This is really helpful. I didn't realize there was a difference between how retirement benefits and survivor benefits are handled for the month you reach FRA. I've got all those documents already collected, so hopefully that will make the process smoother.
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Dmitry Popov
When I turned 66 last year I got my survivor check the next month. Just make sure you tell them March for start date and you'll get paid in April. Good luck!
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Ava Garcia
My sister had HUGE problems with this exact situation!!! She put the wrong start month and ended up losing a whole month of benefits because they processed it for April instead of March even though her birthday was March 18th. They told her she should have specified March as the month! The system is designed to confuse people and take their money!
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Giovanni Mancini
•This is unfortunate but can happen if the wrong month is specified. To clarify for everyone: for survivor benefits, you're entitled for the entire month in which you reach FRA, even if your birthday is on the last day of that month. However, you must clearly specify that month when applying, or SSA may default to the following month. It's not designed to confuse people, but the rules are complex and sometimes representatives make mistakes too.
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Dylan Mitchell
One thing nobody mentioned - make sure you're actually filing for SURVIVOR benefits and not retirement benefits. The rules are different. With survivor benefits, you get them for the whole month of your FRA regardless of the day, but with retirement benefits, it's different. I've seen people get confused between the two and file for the wrong thing, then have to start over.
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Amara Nnamani
•That's a really good point! Yes, I'm definitely applying for survivor benefits based on my late husband's record. I haven't worked enough quarters to qualify for my own retirement benefit anyway. I'll make sure to be clear about that when I apply.
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NebulaNinja
u know somethin else to think about? if ur finances are real tight can u apply for ssi while waiting for survivor benefits? might help during those 8 months.
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Sofia Morales
•This isn't accurate advice. SSI (Supplemental Security Income) has strict income and resource limits. If the original poster will qualify for survivor benefits at FRA, they likely have too many resources to qualify for SSI. Additionally, SSI applications take several months to process, often longer than survivor benefit applications. A better approach would be to apply for survivor benefits as soon as possible (up to 4 months before FRA) to ensure timely processing.
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Amara Nnamani
Thank you everyone for all this helpful information! I'm going to apply next week and will definitely specify March as my start month. I'll make sure to bring all the documentation mentioned and be very clear that I'm applying for survivor benefits. Hopefully the process goes smoothly!
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Fatima Al-Suwaidi
•Good luck!!! Hope it goes better for you than it did for me! Let us know how it turns out!
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