When will I receive my first Social Security payment after reaching FRA of 66 and 8 months?

Social Security payments are scheduled based on your birth date: - Born on 1st-10th: Second Wednesday of the month - Born on 11th-20th: Third Wednesday of the month - Born on 21st-31st: Fourth Wednesday of the month Since you'll be eligible for May, you should receive your first payment on the appropriate Wednesday in May 2025 based on your birth date. As for dos and don'ts, make sure to create a my Social Security account online if you haven't already to track your application status and future payments. Also, keep in mind that even at FRA, if you decide to work, there's no earnings limit, so you can earn as much as you want without affecting your benefits.

Congrats on reaching FRA! Make sure you print out confirmation pages for EVERYTHING. I applied last year and somehow SSA lost my application. Took 3 extra months to get it all sorted out and I had to reapply. So frustrating!!!!

You'll get paid in May based on your birthdate like the other person said. I found out the hard way that they pay a month behind though! So May's payment is actually for April. Just something to keep in mind for your budget.

One thing I'd recommend is checking if your bank account information was correctly entered in your application. That's the #1 reason for payment delays in my experience. Also, while your application is processing, don't be alarmed if you call SSA and they initially can't find record of your application - it can take 7-10 business days for online applications to show up in their main system. If you need to reach them about your application status, Claimyr (claimyr.com) helped me get through to an agent without the usual 2+ hour wait. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU - saved me a lot of frustration when I needed to fix an issue with my application.

doesnt matter when u applied ur payment date is based on ur bday like others said. my advice is dont spend the money before it hits ur account lol. SSA is always having computer problems or whatever excuse they use when things get delayed

Since you applied in April 2025 for benefits to begin in May 2025, everything should process smoothly. A few important points: 1. Your first payment should arrive on the third Wednesday of May (since your birthday is on the 17th) 2. The payment will be for the full month of May 3. You may receive a letter in the mail before your first deposit confirming your benefit amount 4. Keep an eye on your mySSA account for status updates As for dos and don'ts: - DO make sure SSA has your correct contact information - DO report any address changes promptly - DON'T worry if the online status doesn't update immediately - DO keep records of all confirmation numbers - DON'T ignore any mail from SSA as they may request additional information One last thing - your first payment will be the full FRA amount since you waited until 66 and 8 months. Good planning on your part!

I just went through this process! Applied in January, got my first payment in February. The letter with my official benefit amount showed up about 3 weeks after I applied. Then the payment hit my account on the 3rd Wednesday as expected. The whole process was actually smoother than I anticipated after hearing all the horror stories. One thing - I noticed my Medicare premium was already being deducted from my SS payment, so the deposit was less than the full benefit amount they quoted. Just something to be aware of if you're already on Medicare.

My mom applied at FRA last year and her application got stuck in processing for almost 3 months! When she finally got through to someone, they said there was a flag on her account because she had worked overseas for a few years in the 90s. The system got confused even though she'd been back working in the US for 25+ years after that. So if you've ever worked outside the US, you might want to proactively call them.

One additional point: since you're applying right at your FRA (66 and 8 months), double-check that the SSA correctly notes your FRA date in your application status. Sometimes their automated system can miscalculate by a month if you're right at the cutoff. Your benefit amount should be 100% of your Primary Insurance Amount (PIA) since you're claiming exactly at FRA - not reduced for early claiming or increased for delayed credits. Also, in May when you get your first payment, take a moment to verify that the amount matches what was shown on your Social Security statement. If there's a discrepancy, contact them right away. It's much easier to fix payment issues in the first few months than trying to correct them years later.