No change in SS benefit whether I start at 69Y-10M or 69Y-11M

[Time2]

I'm checking my SS benefit. My 70th birthday is the first week of March 2025. I plan to start SS in Jan, so I get 12 checks in 2025. Is my start date 69 and 10 Months?
Also, 69Y-10M payment is the same as my 69Y-11M payments, $3124, it doesn't seem right that they would be the same. Your thoughts.

 

[5Miler]

If you want 12 SS payments in 2025 you will have to start SS in Dec 2024 as it is paid the month after it is earned.

Your Feb SS payment should be 0.666% higher than your Jan payment. 8%/12. Edit - OK, not actually right but you get 0.666 percent added in DRCs each month you delay after FRA until age 70.

If you start SS in December and are over FRA but not yet 70, you will not get credit for your 2024 Delayed Retirement Credits for up to 2 years. Ask me how I know.

 

[jazz4cash]

I think the amounts are wrong. I believe you will see a slight increase for every month you wait. My estimates also show no change for many months and then it jumps up equivalent of .08/12 per month.

 

[Time2]

I did find this on SSA.gov. "
You can time your first benefit payment to avoid a gap in income. Your first check won't arrive until the month after the one you pick in your application. You can apply any time up to four months before the month you pick.
For example, you want your first check in April. Follow this timing:

• Apply in November, December, January, February, or March
• Pick March in the application
• Get the first check in April"

If you want 12 SS payments in 2025 you will have to start SS in Dec 2024 as it is paid the month after it is earned.

Your Feb SS payment should be 0.666% higher than your Jan payment. 8%/12.

If you start SS in December and are over FRA but not yet 70, you will not get credit for your 2024 Delayed Retirement Credits for up to 2 years. Ask me how I know.
[/QUOTE]
OK, so If I pick Dec, I will be 3 months before 70yrs old? That would put me down to $2,931. I can wait, I was just planning to maximize my SS income because, with the SS, my Roth Conversion is already quite limited, so I figured i would just max out my SS income.

Seems like the chart on SSA.org has the wrong amount, since it doesn't increment each month.


OK, delayed benefit:
Do I understand this correctly, if I say start in FEB, for my March birthday, Technically I'm starting at 69Y-11M, my check will be reduced 8% until the next January. Then I will get an 8% raise. So in order to get my delayed benefits, I would need to pick March and get my first check in April.

 

[SevenUp]

So in order to get my delayed benefits, I would need to pick March and get my first check in April.

Yes, in order to get all your delayed benefits you file to begin when you turn 70.

As Mike Piper on Social Security - Bogleheads.org describes, you won't "miss" any benefits earned up to that point if you file to begin SS in January, with the first payment coming in February.

 

[Randy145]

To be clear, to maximize benefits and not leave any on the table, do I file to begin SS with a start date of the month I turn 70 (for me Oct 28) or a start date of the month after, Nov? Thanks.

 

[SevenUp]

To be clear, to maximize benefits and not leave any on the table, do I file to begin SS with a start date of the month I turn 70?

Yes, that maximizes monthly benefits. You will receive the first payment in the following month.

 

[imnontrad]

I believe there IS a long term difference. If you start SS after FRA and before 70m in any month except January, the delayed retirement credits are not paid until the following year. That is why you do not see any immediate change.

 

[Perryinva]

It is a .66% increase of your FRA amount, per month for each months credit, not of the previous months amount. If you turn 70 in March and file to start in Feb, your first check will be for Jan, so you would technically be 2 months shy of the absolute maximum, or at most, about $30/month less than if you waited until your first check in April. But you would have 2 more checks, so it would take about 13 years or so before that $30 difference catches up with thise two extra checks.

 

[SevenUp]

If you...file to start in Feb, your first check will be for Jan....

Wouldn't "starting in February" mean the first payment will be for February, but not delivered until March?

 

[Randy145]

It is a .66% increase of your FRA amount, per month for each months credit, not of the previous months amount. If you turn 70 in March and file to start in Feb, your first check will be for Jan, so you would technically be 2 months shy of the absolute maximum, or at most, about $30/month less than if you waited until your first check in April. But you would have 2 more checks, so it would take about 13 years or so before that $30 difference catches up with thise two extra checks.

Wouldn't "starting in February" mean the first payment will be for February, but not delivered until March?

Interested in this discrepancy. It almost seems SSA intentionally sets traps with such convoluted timing issues they don't communicate clearly. Maybe it's just a government thing.

 

[Randy145]

Interested in this discrepancy. It almost seems SSA intentionally sets traps with such convoluted timing issues they don't communicate clearly. Maybe it's just a government thing.

Just did a quick google on this. Here's an excerpt from a writeup on a law firm's site:

The next thing to know is that the SSA won’t automatically start sending you checks once you turn 70. You need to apply for benefits. You can do this starting four months before the date that you want your benefits to begin. To get the maximum amount, you’ll want the benefits to start the month you turn 70. There is, however, one scenario where benefits will automatically kick in at 70: those who took benefits after reaching their full retirement age and then suspended their benefits to earn delayed credits until age 70. For them, the SSA should automatically restart benefits at 70.

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