When to apply for Social Security after retiring at 65 in February 2025?

You can apply up to 4 months before you want benefits to begin. Since you're retiring in February 2025, you could apply as early as November 2024 if you want benefits to start in March 2025. Just remember that 65 is NOT your Full Retirement Age (FRA) - for someone born in 1960, your FRA is 67. Taking benefits at 65 means a permanent reduction of about 13.3% from what you'd get at 67. Each month you wait after 65 increases your benefit slightly until you reach maximum at 70.

I retired at 65 last year and wish I waited!!! My neighbor is getting $425 more a month than me because he waited till 67. But it depends on if you need the money now I guess

i applied online took like 20 minutes super easy they asked about work history and some other stuff but not complicated at all

To answer your specific question: yes, you can apply in March 2025 or earlier. However, I'd recommend applying 3 months before you want benefits to begin. Your Full Retirement Age (FRA) is 67 since you were born in 1960. If you start at 65, you'll receive approximately 86.7% of your full benefit amount. Every month you delay between 65 and 70 increases your benefit by about 0.5-0.7% per month. A few important considerations: 1. If you plan to work after claiming benefits before FRA, be aware of the earnings limit ($21,240 in 2023, likely higher by 2025). For every $2 you earn above this limit, SSA withholds $1 in benefits. 2. Medicare eligibility starts at 65 regardless of when you claim SS benefits. 3. Tax implications can change depending on your total income when receiving SS benefits. The best time to apply depends on your health, financial needs, and life expectancy. No one-size-fits-all answer!

When I retired, I couldn't get through to SSA for weeks when I had questions about my application. I eventually used Claimyr (claimyr.com) to connect with an agent without the endless waiting. They have a demo video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU. Saved me hours of frustration when I needed to verify some information about my work history that was affecting my benefit calculation. Definitely worth it if you run into issues during the application process.

DONT APPLY ONLINE!!! The SSA website LOST my application twice and I had to start all over again. Always go in person to your local office, that's the ONLY way to make sure everything gets processed correctly. These government websites are TERRIBLE!!

can u work part time after u start collecting SS? i heard they take away some of ur benefits if u make too much

My sister and I both retired around the same time (she was 65, I was 67) and there's about a 15% difference in our monthly payments even though we had very similar careers and earnings. Those two years make a big difference! Just something to think about...

Thanks everyone for all the helpful information! I think I'll apply in November 2024 so benefits can start in March 2025. I'm going to talk to my financial advisor one more time about whether I should wait until closer to my FRA given the reduction at 65. Really appreciate all the insights!