When to apply for Social Security with July 1955 birthday - July or August 2025 to maximize benefits at 70?

You need to select July 2025 as your start month. Since you were born in July 1955, your full retirement age (FRA) is 66 and 2 months. If you wait until July 2025, you'll have earned the maximum delayed retirement credits because you'll be exactly 70. The payment for July benefits will come in August, but that's just how SSA handles the payment schedule - it doesn't affect your benefit calculation. If you selected August as your start month, you'd actually be leaving money on the table by not claiming your July benefit.

Actually this isn't quite right... The MONTH you turn 70 is when your max delayed retirement credits are reached, but SS benefits are paid for the ENTIRE month regardless of what day your birthday falls on. So if your birthday is July 15th 1955 for example, you'd select July 2025 as your start month to get maximum benefits. If you chose August, you'd miss out on an entire month of payments you're entitled to at the maximum rate. Just make sure you apply about 3-4 months BEFORE you want benefits to start. So applying around March or April 2025 would be ideal for July 2025 benefits.

anyone else find it RIDICULOUS how complicated they make this?????? i mean seriously why not just tell people EXACTLY when to apply with clear instructions! my sister applied 2 months too early by mistake and now gets $340 less EVERY MONTH FOR LIFE!!!!! call them to ask questions? HAHAHAHA good luck getting thru to an actual person who knows what they're talking about!!!!!

I've been helping people with this exact situation for years. Here's what you need to know: 1. You select July 2025 as your benefit start month (the month you turn exactly 70) 2. Your first payment will arrive in August 2025 (they pay one month behind) 3. Apply 3-4 months before July (so March/April 2025) 4. Use the online application if possible - much faster than calling And don't worry - SSA calculates your delayed retirement credits (DRCs) based on your full retirement age (66+2mo for you) through the month before you start benefits. So selecting July gives you full DRCs through June, which equals exactly 70 years.

have you even tried calling SSA directly? good luck with that lol. I tried for TWO WEEKS to get through to discuss my retirement application. Always disconnected or 3+ hour wait times. Finally used Claimyr (claimyr.com) - they got me connected to a real SSA agent in under 20 minutes. You can see their video at https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU showing how it works. Totally worth it to get a definitive answer on something this important. The agent confirmed everything - apply 3-4 months before, specify July as start month, and you'll get max credits.

Remember one more thing - when you're doing the online application, there's a specific question about when you want your benefits to START. That's where you'll put July 2025. The fact that you're applying in March/April 2025 doesn't matter - they understand you're applying in advance. They'll ask separately when you want benefits to begin - that's the critical date for your situation.

My husband messed this up last year and it was such a headache trying to fix it... he applied online but misunderstood some question and ended up with a start date BEFORE he intended. We had to go to the local office twice to get it sorted out. Just double check everything before you submit!!

Quick question - are you still working? Because if so there might be other considerations beyond just when to start benefits. The earnings test doesn't apply after FRA but might affect how backpay is calculated depending on your situation.

I went through this exact same situation two years ago with my July 1953 birthday! The confusion is totally understandable because SSA's website doesn't explain it clearly. Here's what I learned after speaking with an SSA representative: You absolutely want to select July 2025 as your benefit start month. The key thing to understand is that delayed retirement credits stop accumulating the month you turn 70 - they don't continue past that point. So waiting until August would mean you're leaving July's benefit on the table for no additional gain. The payment timing (receiving August's payment for July benefits) is just administrative and doesn't affect your benefit calculation at all. I applied in April for July benefits and everything worked perfectly - got my first payment in August and it was calculated at the full delayed retirement credit rate. Don't second-guess yourself on this one!

Just wanted to add one more important detail that might help - when you do apply online, there's a section where they ask about "protective filing date" vs "benefit start date." The protective filing date is when you submit your application (March/April 2025 in your case), but the benefit start date is what actually matters for your delayed retirement credits - that's where you'll specify July 2025. I see some people get confused thinking they need to wait until July to actually submit the application, but that's not the case at all. Submit early but specify July as your benefit start month. This way you avoid any processing delays that might push your first payment back. The SSA processes thousands of these applications and they're very familiar with people applying months in advance for future benefit dates.

As someone who just went through this process myself (born August 1955), I can confirm what everyone else is saying - you definitely want to select July 2025 as your benefit start month! I was in the exact same boat last year, stressing about the timing and worried I'd mess something up. Here's what worked for me: I applied online in March 2024 for August 2024 benefits (my 70th birthday month). The application was straightforward - there's a clear question asking when you want your benefits to start, and that's where you put July 2025. My first payment arrived in September 2024 and was calculated at the full delayed retirement credit amount. The one-month delay in payment is just how SSA processes things - it has nothing to do with your benefit calculation. Trust me, apply early (March/April) but specify July as your start month. You'll sleep much better knowing you're getting every penny you've earned by waiting until 70!

I'm going through this exact same situation right now! Born in July 1955 and planning to apply for benefits next year. Reading through all these responses has been incredibly helpful - it sounds like the consensus is clear: apply in March/April 2025 but specify July 2025 as the benefit start month. I was getting confused by the payment timing too, thinking that receiving my first payment in August meant I was somehow losing out on delayed retirement credits. But it makes perfect sense that the payment schedule is just administrative and doesn't affect the benefit calculation. Thanks to everyone who shared their personal experiences - especially those who went through this recently with similar birth dates. It's so reassuring to hear real-world examples of people who did this successfully. I feel much more confident about the process now and know I won't leave any money on the table by waiting the full 70 years!