what month you take ss after fra can matter

[TheShadow]

Originally Posted by mathjak107

Okay let me try to explain.


If you turn 68 and wanted checks starting in october ,any delayed credits from the past january until october that you got credited with will not be included in the checks you get for october , nov and december. They will be at the same level as last january.

They will increase you after the coming january to those levels but you lose the credits in your , october november and december checks and never get that back.

if you waited until january instead of october you would have gotten paid for all of the previous years credits plus an extra 3 months in credits accumulated which would all be in the checks starting in january instead of october.

slick move by ss ....

Using this example...wouldn't you lose those 3 months checks though (oct/nov/dec)? If so, then
I guess you could calc the break even point of claiming in Jan with a higher monthly amount versus the 3 months of no check at all. I mean they don't pay you backpay for time before you file, right?

[mathjak107]

yes , you will not get those checks . but i am not sure if you can still claim back 6 months of checks owed like you can at fra at age 70 but i would think you could . so as long as you filed in january and it wasn't 6 months after you were 70 perhaps you can still get those checks.

i know you can do that at fra, but i am not sure about 70.

at least prior to 70 you do not lose the money in those checks. you get the higher amount from delaying the extra 3 months.

[reed303]

Originally Posted by reed303

Mathjak,

Are you saying that payments from Oct to Dec will be at your FRA/PIA amount, then in Jan will jump to your age 68 "delayed" amount ? Is the difference then paid retroactive ?

This may explain what I see happening with my "turned age 70 last month (Aug)" delayed application. The initial "Letter of Award" shows my FRA $$, not my age 70 $$. When I called SS about this, all they said was "Yeah it does look wrong, you need to file a written appeal", which I have done.

And there was no mention of this in my phone interview part of application in May. All she talked about was the possibility of the 6 month "lookback" for a lump sum payment, with then a reduced monthly rate.

Is nothing ever simple ?

It's a miracle .

My appeal, filed Aug 8, finally came thru, and I have been credited with 2 months (Sept Oct) retroactive payments, plus my mySSA account now shows my age 70 $$ amount.

SSA's own rules at https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/poms.nsf/lnx/0300615690 do say:

"DRC increases are effective either:

• January of the year following the year the increment months were earned; or
• The month of attainment of age 70 (age 72 when applicable); or
• The month of death for widow(er)s"

So the "following January" start date does apply to applications from FRA up to age 70, but at or after 70 benefits should start right away.


Oddly, they double-deducted my Medicare Part B premiums. For Sept they sent me a paper check as make-up (even before the Sep $$ were deposited). For Oct it was included in the retroactive payment. Can't wait to see what happens in Nov.


SSA does move in strange and mysterious ways...........