When to apply for Social Security to receive first payment in January?
Trying to help my wife time her Social Security retirement application properly. She wants her first payment to arrive in January 2025, but we're confused about when she should actually submit the application. The SSA website mentions applying 3-4 months before you want benefits to start, but does that mean we should apply in September/October? And does she select January as her benefit start month, or would she pick December since payments come a month later? I know this should be simple but we don't want to mess up the timing. She hits her FRA in November if that matters.
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AstroAdventurer
Social Security benefits are paid in the month following the month they're due for. So if she wants her first payment to arrive in January, she should select December as her benefit start month on the application. And yes, applying in September or early October would be ideal timing - gives SSA enough processing time without being too early.
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Carmen Lopez
•Thanks for the clarification. So she selects December 2024 as the benefit start month on the application, even though the money won't arrive until January 2025? And if she files in September, that's not too early? I heard stories about applications getting rejected for applying too soon.
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Andre Dupont
My brother just went through this last year!! He wanted January payment and waited till November to apply and it was a HUGE mistake!! SSA took forever to process and he didn't get paid till March! Apply in Sept for sure.
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Zoe Papanikolaou
•This is such a confusing system! I applied 4 months early for mine and they still messed it up. Had to call them 6 TIMES to fix it. Each time waiting on hold for hours just to get disconnected. The whole thing is designed to make us give up.
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Jamal Wilson
congrats to your wife! i got my first check last year and its nice to finally get something back after years of paying in. make sure she has direct deposit set up they dont mail checks anymore i think
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Carmen Lopez
•Thanks! Yes, she has direct deposit already set up with her my Social Security account. Just trying to make sure we time the application right.
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Mei Lin
To be precise: Social Security benefits are paid the month after they're due. So December benefits come in January. On the application, she'll need to select "December 2024" as her benefit start month to receive her first payment in January 2025. As for when to apply, SSA recommends 3-4 months before the benefit start month. So ideally, she should apply in August or September for a December benefit start date. That gives them enough processing time. One important note since you mentioned she reaches FRA in November - if she selects December as her start month, she'll be at her full retirement age and won't have any early filing reduction. If she selected October or November instead, she'd face a small permanent reduction.
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Carmen Lopez
•That's really helpful, especially the clarification about her FRA in November. So by waiting for December (with January payment), she'll get her full benefit amount without any reductions. That's definitely what we want.
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Liam Fitzgerald
When I filed for my retirement I selected January as my benefit month and got my first payment in February. Just make sure she applies in plenty of time. Also they sometimes miss the first payment and have to pay retroactive for the missed month so don't panic if January comes and no deposit.
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Andre Dupont
•YES this happened to my sister too! First payment never came then they sent two the next month. SSA is always messing things up!
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GalacticGuru
If you're having trouble getting through to Social Security to ask these questions directly (their hold times are insane lately), check out claimyr.com. I used their service when I needed to talk to an agent about my application status - they hold your place in line and call you when an agent is available. Saved me hours of frustration. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU But to answer your question - yes, apply in September for a December benefit start date to get the January payment.
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Carmen Lopez
•Thanks for the resource. We've been trying to call to verify but haven't gotten through, so might give this a try. And thanks for confirming the timing.
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Jamal Wilson
did she work enough quarters to qualify? my cousin thought she would get ss but didnt have enough credits
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Carmen Lopez
•Yes, she has well over 40 credits. She worked full-time for about 32 years before switching to part-time for the last 5 years.
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AstroAdventurer
One last thing to consider - since your wife reaches FRA in November 2024, if she plans to keep working at all, selecting December 2024 (for January 2025 payment) as her start month means she won't be subject to the earnings test for December. The earnings test no longer applies once you reach FRA, so her December earnings won't affect her benefits regardless of the amount.
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Carmen Lopez
•That's a great point. She's still working part-time and plans to continue for another year or so. So waiting until December after she reaches FRA means no earnings test. That's definitely the way to go then. Thank you!
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