Social Security timing question - start benefits in December birthday month or January for maximum advantage?

So the official answer is that Social Security benefits are paid the month AFTER they are due. If your birthday is in December, and you apply for benefits to start that month, your first payment would arrive in January anyway. There's no real advantage to delaying just one month after FRA in terms of the benefit calculation - the percentage increases for delayed retirement credits are calculated in monthly increments, but one month is only about 0.67% more. That said, there COULD be a tax advantage depending on your other income sources. If you're right at a tax bracket threshold, pushing that first payment into the next tax year might save you some money. But that's really more of a tax planning question than a Social Security one.

my sister had birthday Dec 12 and she just went ahead and took it in December!! she said the SSA people told her waiting 1 month makes almost no differenc at all. but she also said make sure u apply like 3 months b4 you want it to start!!!!

I was in EXACTLY ur situation last yr!! My bday is Dec 23rd and I stressed about this too! I ended up taking it in Dec because waiting one month only increased my check by like $12 or something ridiculously small. BUT what I didn't think about was taxes!!! If you have other income in Dec and are close to a tax bracket cutoff, it MIGHT be worth waiting till Jan just to push that income into next tax year. That's what my financial guy told me AFTER I already applied lol. I don't think it made a huge difference though.

I tried calling SSA to ask a similar question last year and waited for 2.5 HOURS before getting disconnected. Then tried again the next day and gave up after an hour. Their phone system is completely broken.

I'll add something important that others haven't mentioned. When you reach FRA in December, you're eligible for your FULL benefit for that month, even though you weren't at FRA for the entire month. So there's no proration of benefits for partial months. The other commenters are correct that the delayed retirement credit for waiting just one extra month is very small (0.67%). If maximizing your lifetime benefits is your goal, you should consider your health status, family longevity, and financial needs more broadly. The breakeven point (where waiting starts to pay off) for delaying benefits beyond FRA is typically around 82-83 years of age. Also, if you plan to work after claiming benefits, once you're at FRA, there's no earnings test, so you can earn as much as you want without any reduction in benefits - this applies whether you claim in December or January.

No, that's a common misconception. Once you reach your full retirement age (currently 67 for people born in 1960 or later), there is NO earnings limit. You can earn any amount from working without having your Social Security benefits reduced. The earnings test only applies before you reach your FRA.

I WAITED 6 MONTHS PAST MY FRA AND REGRET IT!! All that waiting for practically nothing! They make it sound like you get so much more but the monthly increase is tiny!! Just take it when you hit 67 - December or January doesn't matter. THE SYSTEM IS RIGGED AGAINST US ANYWAY!!!

i just remembered something else! my friend said december is actually a good month to start cuz of how they calculate the COLA increases! something about getting the full COLA for next year even if u only got benefits for 1 month this year? not 100% sure but worth checking!!

Thank you all for the helpful responses! Based on everything shared, it seems like: 1. The actual benefit increase for waiting one month is minimal (around 0.67% or about $12 on average) 2. Tax considerations might be more important than the benefit amount difference 3. If I apply for December, I won't get paid until January anyway 4. There's potentially some small advantage related to COLA calculations I think I'll talk to my tax advisor about the potential tax implications before making a final decision, but it's good to know that from a pure benefit amount perspective, there's not a significant advantage to waiting that one extra month. This has been really helpful - thanks again everyone!

Just wanted to add one more perspective as someone who works in retirement planning. The December vs January decision really comes down to your complete financial picture. If you have other retirement income (401k withdrawals, pension, etc.) that you're taking in December, adding Social Security on top might push you into a higher tax bracket or affect your Medicare premiums (IRMAA). Also consider Required Minimum Distributions if you have traditional IRAs/401ks - those start at age 73, so you have some time, but it's worth planning ahead. Sometimes spreading income across tax years can save you hundreds or even thousands in taxes, which would far outweigh that small 0.67% benefit increase. The good news is you have time to plan this out properly with your tax professional. They can model both scenarios and show you the actual dollar impact. Don't just focus on the Social Security amount - look at your total tax situation!

Great question! I'm actually facing a similar decision with my FRA coming up next year. From what I've researched and discussed with SSA, the timing really doesn't make much difference from a benefit calculation standpoint - that 0.67% increase for one month delay is pretty negligible. One thing I learned that might be helpful is that you can actually change your mind about your start date if you apply early enough. If you apply 3-4 months before your December birthday and initially choose December as your start month, you can call SSA up until about a month before and change it to January if your tax situation makes that more advantageous. Also, something to keep in mind - if you have a spouse who might claim spousal benefits later, your benefit amount becomes their baseline for those calculations, so every little bit does matter in that scenario. But for most people, the tax planning aspect is going to be way more impactful than that small monthly increase. The advice about talking to your tax advisor first is spot on. They can run scenarios based on your actual income sources and tax bracket to show you the real dollar difference!

I'm a newcomer here but have been lurking and reading posts like this as I approach my own retirement planning. This thread has been incredibly helpful! I'm still a few years away from FRA but the discussion about tax implications vs. benefit amounts really opened my eyes. One thing I'm curious about - for those of you who mentioned talking to tax advisors about this decision, did you find that most tax professionals are well-versed in Social Security timing strategies? I'm wondering if I need to find someone who specializes in retirement planning specifically, or if my regular CPA would be able to help with this kind of analysis when my time comes. Also, the point about being able to change your start date after applying is something I definitely want to remember. That flexibility could be really valuable for optimizing the tax situation as the year progresses. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences - this is exactly the kind of real-world insight that's hard to find elsewhere!

As someone who just went through this exact decision last year (December birthday, FRA of 67), I can share what I learned after doing a lot of research and consulting with both SSA and my financial advisor. The key insight that helped me decide was realizing that the Social Security timing question is really secondary to your overall tax strategy. That 0.67% monthly increase everyone mentioned is accurate - in my case it would have been about $15 more per month, which over a lifetime might add up to a few thousand dollars if I live into my 90s. But the tax implications were much more significant. I had significant 401k withdrawals planned for December, plus some capital gains from rebalancing my portfolio. My tax advisor ran the numbers and showed me that keeping my December income lower and pushing the first SS payment to January saved me nearly $800 in taxes that year by keeping me in a lower bracket. One practical tip: I applied in September for December benefits, but in November when I had a clearer picture of my year-end income, I called SSA and switched my start date to January. The process was surprisingly easy - just one phone call. The bottom line is that for most people in this situation, the tax planning considerations will far outweigh that small monthly benefit difference. Definitely worth spending an hour with a tax professional who understands retirement income planning!

As a newcomer to this community, I just want to say how valuable this discussion has been! I'm about 5 years out from my FRA but already thinking about these timing decisions. What really strikes me from reading everyone's experiences is how the "right" answer seems to be so individualized based on your complete financial picture. The consensus seems clear that the actual Social Security benefit difference for waiting one month is minimal, but the tax implications can be substantial. I'm curious - for those who worked with tax advisors on this decision, roughly what did that consultation cost? I'm trying to budget for retirement planning expenses and want to make sure I allocate enough for proper professional guidance when the time comes. Also, I noticed several people mentioned applying 3-4 months early to preserve flexibility in changing the start date. Is there any downside to applying that early, or is it pretty much always the smart move to give yourself those options? Thanks again to everyone who shared their real experiences - this is exactly the kind of practical insight that makes this community so valuable!

As a newcomer who's been following this excellent discussion, I wanted to add one more consideration that might be helpful. I just went through this decision process myself (November birthday, so similar timing issues) and discovered something my tax advisor called the "Medicare premium cliff" that's worth being aware of. If your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) is close to the IRMAA thresholds for Medicare Part B and D premiums, adding that first Social Security payment to your December income could potentially push you over and result in higher Medicare premiums for the following two years. The IRMAA brackets for 2024 start at $103,000 for individuals, and the premium increases can be substantial - we're talking hundreds of dollars per month in additional Medicare costs. In my case, this Medicare premium consideration ended up being even more significant than the regular income tax implications everyone else mentioned. My advisor ran the numbers and showed that avoiding IRMAA by pushing my first SS payment to January saved me over $2,000 in Medicare premiums over the next two years. Just another reason why that consultation with a knowledgeable tax/retirement planning professional is so valuable. There are layers to this decision that go way beyond that small 0.67% benefit increase!

As a newcomer to this community, I want to thank everyone for this incredibly thorough discussion! I'm about 3 years away from my FRA (also with a December birthday) and this thread has been more helpful than anything I've found online or in official SSA materials. What really stands out to me is how this seemingly simple question about waiting one month has revealed so many interconnected financial considerations - income tax brackets, Medicare IRMAA thresholds, COLA timing, spousal benefit implications, and overall retirement income strategy. It's clear that the 0.67% benefit increase is almost irrelevant compared to these broader tax planning opportunities. I'm particularly grateful for the real-world examples with actual dollar amounts - like Sofia's $800 tax savings and Finley's $2,000+ Medicare premium avoidance. These concrete numbers really help put the decision in perspective and show why professional guidance is worth the consultation fee. The tip about applying 3-4 months early to preserve flexibility in changing the start date seems like a no-brainer strategy. I'll definitely be planning to do that when my time comes. One question for the group: has anyone encountered situations where starting in December actually turned out to be better than waiting until January, or do most of the financial incentives seem to favor the January start for people in this situation?

As a newcomer to this community, I've been following this discussion with great interest since I'm facing a very similar situation - my FRA is coming up in about 18 months with a late December birthday. This thread has been absolutely invaluable! What strikes me most is how this has evolved from a simple "December vs January" Social Security question into a comprehensive retirement income planning discussion. The real-world examples everyone has shared - particularly the tax savings and Medicare IRMAA implications - have completely changed how I'm thinking about this decision. I'm curious about one practical aspect that hasn't been mentioned yet: for those who decided to delay from December to January, how did you handle the income gap during that transition month? Did you adjust your other retirement account withdrawals to compensate, or did you just plan for a lower-income December? Also, I'm wondering if anyone has experience with how this timing decision might affect state taxes, particularly in states that tax Social Security benefits differently than federal taxation. Thank you all for creating such a comprehensive resource - I'll definitely be saving this entire discussion for reference when my decision time arrives!

As a newcomer to this community, I've been reading through this entire discussion and it's been incredibly enlightening! I'm about 2 years out from my FRA with a December 15th birthday, so this topic is very relevant for me. What I find most valuable about this thread is how it's shown that the actual Social Security benefit calculation (that 0.67% increase) is really just a small piece of a much larger financial puzzle. The tax implications, Medicare IRMAA considerations, and overall retirement income strategy seem to be far more impactful on your actual financial outcome. I'm particularly impressed by the concrete examples people have shared - Sofia's $800 tax savings and Finley's $2,000+ Medicare premium avoidance really demonstrate why professional tax/retirement planning consultation is worth the investment. One thing I'm taking away is the importance of applying 3-4 months early to preserve flexibility, then making the final December vs January decision based on your actual year-end financial picture. That seems like the smartest approach given all the variables involved. For anyone else reading this who might be in a similar situation, this thread has basically created a comprehensive checklist of considerations: income tax brackets, Medicare IRMAA thresholds, state tax implications, cash flow planning, and overall retirement income coordination. Thanks to everyone who shared their real-world experiences - this has been more helpful than any official government resource I've found!

As a newcomer to this community, I've been following this discussion with great interest! I'm still about 4 years away from my FRA but already starting to think about these timing decisions. This thread has been incredibly educational and has completely changed how I'm approaching retirement planning. What really stands out to me is how everyone's experiences demonstrate that the Social Security benefit amount difference (that 0.67% monthly increase) is almost negligible compared to the potential tax planning opportunities. The real-world examples shared here - like the $800 in tax savings and $2,000+ in Medicare premium avoidance - really put things in perspective. I'm particularly grateful for the practical tips about applying 3-4 months early to maintain flexibility in changing the start date. That seems like such a smart strategy that gives you time to optimize based on your actual year-end financial picture. One question I have for the group: for those who worked with financial advisors or tax professionals on this decision, how did you find someone who was truly knowledgeable about these Social Security timing strategies? Did you specifically look for retirement planning specialists, or were you able to work with your existing CPA/financial advisor? Thanks to everyone who has shared their experiences - this discussion has become an invaluable resource for anyone facing similar timing decisions!

As a newcomer to this community, I've been reading through this entire discussion and it's been absolutely eye-opening! I'm about 6 years out from my FRA but this thread has already changed how I'm thinking about retirement timing decisions. What strikes me most is how this seemingly simple "December vs January" question has revealed so many interconnected financial considerations. The consensus seems clear that the actual SS benefit difference is minimal (0.67% or roughly $12-15/month), but the tax planning opportunities can be worth hundreds or even thousands of dollars. I'm especially grateful for everyone who shared real dollar amounts - Sofia's $800 tax savings and Finley's $2,000+ Medicare premium avoidance really demonstrate why professional consultation is worth the investment. The IRMAA consideration was completely new to me and something I never would have thought to factor in. The strategy of applying 3-4 months early to preserve flexibility seems brilliant - it gives you that valuable option to optimize based on your actual year-end financial picture without any downside. One thing I'm curious about: has anyone here dealt with this timing decision while also coordinating spousal Social Security benefits? I'm wondering if there are additional considerations when both spouses are approaching FRA around the same time and trying to optimize the timing for both. Thanks to everyone who has made this such a comprehensive and valuable discussion!