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I believe the answer will be no but thought I'd ask.
When applying for retirement from my job there were "little tricks" about the best couple of months to retire, retire on certain days to maximize...whatever.
I'm getting ready to apply for soc sec and wondering if there are any weirdnesses like that. Best on end of month or first day of month or.....does it just not matter at all? Taxes?
Do it online? When to expect it to kick in?
Thanks (PS I'm 63 though for my question it shouldn't matter)
As far as I know just apply as soon as eligible. You will designate the date you want to start collecting. They send out checks based on the day of your birthday for example if born on the 12th it’s a certain week each month.
I think Jan is the month. My husband applied in Dec, but didn’t get his check until Jan. You get the newly updated SS check, plus you get the benefit for the whole year, not half a year.
I think Jan is the month. My husband applied in Dec, but didn’t get his check until Jan. You get the newly updated SS check, plus you get the benefit for the whole year, not half a year.
I disagree. First off, you don’t get a check. Everything is electronic direct deposit.
Second your benefit $$$ is not based on a whole year, but rather on the year plus months of the year when you start your payment. Unless you apply to start at age 70 when there is no gain as 70 is the max benefit. So if you start when you turn 66 you will get a certain $ amount. If you start benefits at age 66 plus 2 months you’ll get a slightly higher benefit amount for life. The gain is about 8% per year or .67% per month
I disagree. First off, you don’t get a check. Everything is electronic direct deposit.
Second your benefit $$$ is not based on a whole year, but rather on the year plus months of the year when you start your payment. Unless you apply to start at age 70 when there is no gain as 70 is the max benefit. So if you start when you turn 66 you will get a certain $ amount. If you start benefits at age 66 plus 2 months you’ll get a slightly higher benefit amount for life. The gain is about 8% per year or .67% per month
Not correct .
Up until fra you get every penny due you up until you file .all credits earned that year are calculated in .
Buy delayed credits do not work like that ..
Delayed credits are only calculated once a year in January and adjusted going forward.
So as an example if you file in July you have 6 months of delayed credits you earned but they are not added in until the following January when you are raised to a higher rate .
But the six months of credit you had is never retro ,it is only paid going forward starting in January ....there is no way to collect the credit thom the previous year ...it is one of social security’s gotchas ....the only way to get every penny in delayed credits is if you file for January you will earn all the previous years credits and not lose them ...
Up until fra you get every penny due you up until you file .all credits earned that year are calculated in .
Buy delayed credits do not work like that ..
Delayed credits are only calculated once a year in January and adjusted going forward.
So as an example if you file in July you have 6 months of delayed credits you earned but they are not added in until the following January when you are raised to a higher rate .
But the six months of credit you had is never retro ,it is only paid going forward starting in January ....there is no way to collect the credit thom the previous year ...it is one of social security’s gotchas ....the only way to get every penny in delayed credits is if you file for January you will earn all the previous years credits and not lose them ...
I think you misunderstood what I posted. Let me repeat: if you start your benefit date a bit later than say the month you turn 66 your benefit will be higher by .67% for each month you wait to start. Work credits? That is a totally different subject.
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Recent retirees have told me that they needed to retire before June 30th. The reason is the COLA, which is only given if you were on SS for 6 months of the previous year. If you started SS on July 3rd 2019, for example, you would not be eligible for the 2020 COLA increase, but would have to wait until 2021. That means leaving 2.8% of the monthly benefit on the table for 12 months. In my case working until 70, I can't do that since my birthday is July 15, so I would lose more by starting at age 69. Assuming 2.8% COLA then, I would only lose about $86/month that first year anyway.
I do not think there are any "tricks". But as long as your life expectancy is not affected by poor health I would wait as long as possible to collect. If you plan to work part time then you could lose part of your benefits if you earn too much money.
If you do postpone collecting be sure to sign up for medicare at 65.
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