selecting month to start benefit when not full retirement age

[c697281r]

My spouse needs to start ss payments BEFORE full retirement age. Do we specify to start the month of the birthday, when the payment amount changes, or the month AFTER the birthday? 

[GailL1]

@c697281r 

The longer you wait to start benefits, the more you get even if you are filing before your full retirement age because the early retirement reduction factor computation goes by months before Retirement age.  

So the longer (in months) you delay, the higher your benefit because the reduction percentage is lessened with each month that you delay.

You have to be at least 62 years old for a FULL month before you can get the earliest benefits, so don’t pick that month.   To cover all the bases, there is also a rule for IF you are born on the 1st of any month (see the link below).    Other than that, you can pick any month to begin your reduced benefits - it would be best to pick a month that is 3-4 months out due to processing time.  

SSA.gov - Retirement Age and Benefits Reduction 

SSA.gov- Early or Late Retirement -  

When you actually physically get your benefits is a calendar fixed date - based on your actual birth day.

SSA.gov - Calendar of Benefit Payments 2025 

Now IF you decide to delay your benefits until AFTER your FRA, you get a bonus up to age 70 called the Delayed Retirement Credit - which is about 8% per year (computed by month) added to your benefit.

Hope this answers your question - most everything can be found on the SSA.gov site - you just have to search for it and then hope that the answer is clear.  

Good Luck in retirement.

[c697281r]

Thanks for that response, as well.

But I'm clearly NOT asking the question so that it's understood.

We know how benefit amounts change with age; we know they are less before full retirement age.

We know the age at which we want to start benefits EARLY, the birthday in this case is in the month of May.  At the birthday at the end of May, the benefit increases $95 over the amount today.

For anyone who has applied BEFORE full retirement age, you'll know the application asks which MONTH to start benefits, and that the payments start the NEXT month.

So, our question: does anyone know, when applying for benefits BEFORE full age and wanting the $ AMOUNT to be what it INCREASES to on the BIRTHDAY in a given MONTH,

WHICH month to put in the application to start the benefits: the BIRTHDAY month, or the month AFTER ? 

The reason for our question is that when you apply to start benefits at full retirement age, the selection month is understood to be the when full benefit age is reached.  It is not clear whether if the month of the early-benefits age is selected and the birthday occurs at the END of the month, whether the SS system assumes the "requested month to start" is the month BEFORE.

Does this clarify for anyone what we're asking?  Thanks, but we don't need referrals to the SS website, or to local offices, as in this case we cannot contact them, being ouf of the country where US toll-free numbers don't work.

[GailL1]

@c697281r 

BEFORE FRA can be anyplace from 62 up to the 66 + whatever number of months that is the beneficiary’s FRA.

So if one is 62 and want to file for benefit - you just can’t ask for benefits to begin UNTIL the person has been 62 years of age for a full month.  

After that, you pick the month and the benefits are calculated to that time based on the reduction factor by month -  per the link I gave you before -

SSA.gov - Early or Late Retirement 

Per the link [copy & paste]

In the case of early retirement, a benefit is reduced 5/9 of one percent for each month before normal retirement age, up to 36 months. If the number of months exceeds 36, then the benefit is further reduced 5/12 of one percent per month.

For example, if the number of reduction months is 60 (the maximum number for retirement at 62 when normal retirement age is 67), then the benefit is reduced by 30 percent. This maximum reduction is calculated as 36 months times 5/9 of 1 percent plus 24 months times 5/12 of 1 percent.

Since benefits are paid one month in arrears, you would put in the month after to get the result that you want.  

You can use the reduction calculator on the same SSA page to give you the reduction factor for a particular month/year and then use that to reduce your PIA.

Per the link

If you enter your date of birth and the effective month for beginning your benefits, we will tell you the effect of early or delayed retirement as a percentage of your primary insurance amount. Please note that benefits are generally paid in the month following the effective month.

That’s the formula - 

[c697281r]

Thanks again for that info, Gail1.  Have seen it all, it's all good, all understood.

The question is specific to the application constraints, which do not allow requesting a start month more than 5 months in advance.  So, the answer I'm looking for is whether specifying the 5th month from now, which is May, the birth month, means the benefit amount would be the $ effective on the birthday that month, or whether start month needs to be the month AFTER the birthday to ensure the increase is effective, in which case we need to wait til February for the application.  Again thanks for the information, but we'll continue the hunt for the answer.  

[cat0w]

I gave you a link so you can look for your nearest SS office. Have you looked at that? If it's far away from you, give them a call. If it's close by then visit the office if you need to. They should have an e-mail address for emailing them too.

[cat0w]

Have you or your spouse been to the Social Security website and created an account?

The United States Social Security Administration | SSA

Another way to get information is to check with the closest local SS office. What city/state do you live in?

Social Security Office in the US - The County Office

[c697281r]

Both of us have accounts.  I'm already receving.  The website has no clear info on my question; the FAQs are clear that if starting bennies at full-retirement age, the first payments is month following.  That's not our question: ours is if one wants to start early at a specific age when the payment changes, which month goes in the application, the month of the birthday for that age, or the month after?  In this case, the age month is May, so if it's June to start, presently it's too early to apply, because the application only allows specifying up to 5 months out to start.

Does that clarify what we're asking?

[Tonster521]

@c697281r Are you aware that SS Benefits are calculated month by month rather than birthday to birthday? Folks starting SS Benefits before their Normal Retirement Age (NRA) are reduced by a factor each month prior to NRA. As Gail1 pointed out, the factor is 5/9 of 1% for each month up to 36 months or .00555 per month and 5/12 of 1% or .00416 per month for months in excess of 36 months ( I truncated the decimals to five places for this reply). Also,  if your spouse is just attaining age 62, she needs to be 62 and a full month. I am not sure if you receive credit for a full month if you were born on the first day of the month (i.e., May 1, etc.). At any rate, it appears you are thinking about starting SS Benefits in either April, May, or June 2025. If your spouse just attains age 62 in May 2025, her SS Benefits are effective June 2025 and you can apply in February 2025. The difference in the amount of SS Benefits month to month is minimal.

[c697281r · Accepted solution]

Thankyou for the reply, Tonster.  Although you missed the details in prior segments (the age we are starting benefits is 64, so achieving age 62 is not an issue), the month when age 64 is reached is indeed May, and correct, we want benefits to start in June, and bingo, your reply that the application can be file in February, NOT now, in order to be able to specify June start.  Thankyou - you had the closest read and understanding of the question!