Will Social Security payments start same month as retirement if last paycheck exceeds earnings limit before FRA?

Social Security benefits are paid the month after they're due. If your wife retires March 1, her first benefit would normally be paid in April (for March). BUT - and this is important - if her March earnings exceed the monthly limit ($1,870 in 2025, will be higher in 2026), she won't be eligible for benefits that month. So yes, in your scenario, her first payment would likely come in May (for April benefits). Retiring February 28th would mean her first benefit is for March, paid in April. The annual earnings test for people under FRA in 2026 will be around $22,000 (estimating based on current increases), so keep that in mind for her total 2026 earnings.

you should have her talk to SSA directly, I retired at 62 last year and got so much conflicting info from friends and online. my situation was that i got a bonus after retiring and it mess up my benefits for 2 months!

This is a common timing question with retirement and Social Security. Here's how it works: 1. SSA uses a monthly earnings test in the first year of retirement 2. Your wife won't receive benefits for any month her earnings exceed the monthly limit (likely around $1,920 in 2026) 3. The income counts when it's EARNED, not when it's paid So if she works through February but gets paid in March, that February work counts toward February's limit, not March. However, if she works March 1, even just that one day, and her total March paycheck exceeds the limit, she won't get March benefits. Retiring on February 28th would mean March has no earnings, so she'd get March benefits (paid in April). This assumes her February earnings (paid in March) don't exceed the limit. Starting in 2027, she'll switch to the annual earnings test, where only total yearly earnings matter.

Your post got me thinking about my own situation (retiring next year at 64). I've been reading through so many Social Security publications I'm going cross-eyed! One thing I noticed - even if your wife loses a month of benefits due to earnings, it's not truly "lost" - those early retirement reductions get recalculated once she reaches FRA. So while it might seem like retiring Feb 28 is better, the long-term difference is minimal. The bigger issue is making sure her 2026 total earnings don't excessively reduce benefits throughout the year.

If you're having trouble getting answers from SSA directly (which is pretty common these days), I found a service called Claimyr that helped me get through to a live person at Social Security when I was dealing with a similar retirement timing issue. Their website is claimyr.com and they have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU I was on hold for hours before discovering this. Got through in about 10 minutes using their service. The agent I spoke with confirmed that for early retirement, the month of benefit eligibility depends on when the income is earned, not received. They also explained how my final vacation payout factored into the earnings test.

you might wanna double check about vacation/sick time payouts too! when i retired they paid out my unused vacation and that pushed me over the limit for an extra month, nobody warned me about that!!

Another important thing to consider - Social Security follows a quirky payment schedule based on birth date. Once benefits start, if your wife was born between the 1st-10th of her birth month, she'll get paid on the 2nd Wednesday; 11th-20th, she'll get paid on the 3rd Wednesday; 21st-31st, she'll get paid on the 4th Wednesday. So even after you figure out which month her benefits start, the actual payment date will depend on her birth date. Just another wrinkle to factor into your financial planning!

Based on everything in this thread, here's a summary that might help: 1. If your wife retires March 1, 2026: - March earnings likely exceed the limit - First benefit would be for April, paid in May 2. If your wife retires February 28, 2026: - No March earnings - First benefit would be for March, paid in April The February 28th retirement date gives her benefits one month earlier. Just make sure any vacation/sick payouts are properly accounted for in the month they're attributed to, not when they're paid. And remember that the annual earnings test will still apply for total 2026 earnings.