How Many Months in Advance Should You Apply for Social Security Benefits?

Wondering how many months in advance you should apply for your first Social Security check? Be sure to get on applying much earlier than you might realize.

Introduction

“Hi, is this the right place to talk with someone about starting my Social Security? If so, I’d like my first check on the 1st of the month, next Wednesday.”

Were it so easy!

No, that’s not the way it works…not even close.

The agency that handles Social Security payments suggests that it can take months from the time you apply and request your benefits until the time you receive your first check.

Truth is, that is more of an administrative issue and it’s actually a small consideration when it comes to deciding when you should start receiving your Social Security benefits.

There are actually an array of considerations that go into the decision of when to start your Social Security income stream. They range from the year you were born, your age, the month you are applying, your spouse’s age (If applicable), whether or not you’re okay with discounted benefits or prefer to receive the maximum amount of benefits for the remainder of your lifetime, and many more.

Today we look at key considerations regarding how to apply for your Social Security benefits and when you should do so.

When should you apply

OK, so you’ve been thinking about starting your Social Security benefits and you’re wondering how long it will take before you receive your first check.

Well, you’re correct in recognizing that there will be some time between when you apply for your Social Security and when you’ll see your first check.

The Social Security Administration or SSA, who administers the Social Security program, suggests you start the process at least four months in advance of when you hope to receive your first benefit check.

We’ll come back to the steps necessary and what you will need in order to apply for your Social Security benefits, but we do need to point out that the key issue of what you need to know is what “advance” really signifies.

In other words, what does advance mean to you? Are you planning to start your payments as soon as you are eligible or do you wish to hold them until you reach full retirement age or FRA? Or do you wish to maximize the amount of money that you will receive in your monthly checks and over the course of your lifetime?

You really need to make those decisions in advance of applying for your Social Security benefits. They are significant and highly impactful, capable of affecting the rest of your life.

How do you apply

Let’s start with how you go about applying for the benefit before we move on to some of the other pressing questions.

According to the SSA, you can apply online, or call them at 1-800-772-1213 or via TTY at 1-800-325-0778. You can also visit them at the local Social Security office, although they do suggest that you set up an appointment in advance.

If you do live outside of the United States or one of its territories, you can contact your nearest U.S. Social Security office, U.S. Embassy or Consulate.

One of the key points they make on their website is that you should gather all of the information they suggest in advance, no matter how you intend to apply.

In support of your application you will need to provide information about yourself and your past work. According to the agency, the list of information you will need, includes:

Personal information

1. Date of birth
2. Place of birth
3. Social Security number
4. Any other Social Security number you might have used
5. Citizenship status
6. The name, Social Security number and date of birth or age of your current spouse and any former spouse
7. Names of any unmarried children under age 18, those age 18-19 and in elementary or secondary school, or children disabled before age 22
8. Your bank or other financial institution’s Routing Transit Number and the account number
9. Let them know if you or someone else has ever filed for Social Security benefits, Medicare or Supplemental Security Income on your behalf
10. Month you want your benefits to begin
11. Whether you want to enroll in Medical Insurance (Part B of Medicare) if you are within three months of age 65

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Information about your work

1. Name and address of your employer(s) for this year and the previous year
2. Earnings this year and the previous year. If you’re filing for benefits in the months of September through December, you will also need to estimate next year’s earnings
3. A copy of your Social Security Statement or a record of your earnings
4. The beginning and ending dates of any active U.S. military service you had before 1968
5. Whether you became unable to work because of illnesses, injuries or conditions at any time within the past 14 months. If “Yes,” they will also ask the date you became unable to work
6. Whether you or your spouse have ever worked for the railroad industry
7. Whether you have earned Social Security credits under another country’s social security system
8. Whether you qualified for or expect to receive a pension or annuity based on your own employment with the Federal government of the United States or one of its States or local subdivisions

The SSA does note that you may have to submit this documentation at the end of the online application if you elect to go that route, or you may have to submit them via mail. An original birth certificate, proof of citizenship, military discharge paperwork, W2s, 1099s, self-employment tax return, and more may be required as part of the process.

Sounds like a lot, but that in fact is the easy part.

If there are any issues, the SSA will let you know what might still be needed and will help you through completing the process.

Lastly on the issue of timing, there’s obviously a lot that goes into verifying who you are and then setting up payments in the correct amount and going to the right place. Hence, they suggest getting started on this at least four months in advance.

Now we will look at some of the tougher issues you should tackle before ever starting the application for benefits.

Retiring sooner or later

Beyond the mechanics, when it comes to applying for Social Security benefits there are key milestone issues and ages you should be aware of relating to when you can start to receive your benefits. These include if you are disabled, age 62, your FRA and age 70.

Disability

Many people believe that if disabled you can apply for Social Security benefits at any age. That’s actually not true. You have to be between ages 18 and 65 to be eligible for Social Security Disability Insurance, also known as SSDI.

There is a different insurance, known as Supplemental Security Income or SSI, that you may be eligible for from birth up to age 65. There are disability and income requirements that you will have to satisfy in order to receive SSI.

Minimum age – 62

The minimum age you are eligible to begin receiving your Social Security benefits is age 62. If you do decide to start benefits at that time, you must wait until at least one full month after turning age 62 to start receiving checks, but you still want to start the application process at least four months in advance.

Starting your benefits that far in advance of your full retirement age will result in a significant discount for you and your spouse that will remain in place for the remainder of your lifetime.

Were you to start your benefit as soon as you are eligible when turning age 62, your checks would be discounted by up to 30-percent of the amount you would have received if you waited until your FRA. You can view your discounted amount here based on your age if born in 1960 or later.

FRA

Your full retirement age is based on your birth year. You can view a table here to determine your FRA. It would be age 66 if you were born between 1943 and 1954.

The age would scale upward each year thereafter, so if you were born in 1958 your FRA would be 66 years and eight months. For those born in 1960 and thereafter, your FRA is age 67.

Once you do reach your FRA you are eligible for 100-percent of the benefits the SSA calculated for you based upon the top 35 years of earnings you received during your working years.

Age 70

If you did elect to continue to defer the start of your benefit payments up to age 70, you would receive an additional 8-percent per year, or up to 124-percent of the benefit the SSA deemed you were eligible for at your FRA.

You would receive that enhanced benefit for the remainder of your lifetime. Your spouse’s benefit would be capped at 50-percent of your FRA benefit amount.

Keep in mind that your spouse would receive a discounted benefit if they were less than their FRA at that time. That discount would remain in place for the remainder of their lifetime.

Spousal and survivorship benefits

Your spouse can be eligible for up to 50-percent of your benefit at the point you apply, unless they choose their own eligible Social Security benefit, whichever is higher. They cannot collect both their own Social Security benefit and the spousal benefit.

Keep in mind that your spouse would receive a discounted benefit if they started payments early (before your FRA), or if they were less than their own FRA at that time. That discount would remain in place for the remainder of their lifetime.

One last point is the fact that if you die, you spouse can be eligible for survival benefits and so can your kids; up to 50-percent of your FRA benefit.

The earliest they could receive survivor benefits is age 60 (50 if disabled), but they would receive a reduced monthly benefit amount depending on their age, up to their FRA. If they elect to delay until their own FRA, they would be eligible for the full surviving spousal benefit amount.

Continuing to work

One question that people often have regarding Social Security is whether or not they can continue to work while receiving benefits. The answer is that you can do so, but depending upon the age when you do so you may have partial benefits withheld, according to the SSA.

The SSA does impose earnings limits. If your earnings exceed those limits they will withhold a percentage of the discounted amount you are due.

For example, If you are more a year from the time you will reach FRA, they will deduct $1.00 for every $2.00 that you earn above the limit, according to the SSA. For 2024, that limit is $22,320.

In the months of the year you do reach your FRA they will deduct $1.00 for every $3.00 you earn above the limit, which for 2024 is $59,520.

Once you do reach your FRA, there is no earnings limit and the agency will no longer reduce your benefits, although you will have permanently locked in the discounted-percentage associated with when you originally elected to start taking Social Security payments.

You may owe taxes

Surprisingly, many people incorrectly assume they don’t have to pay taxes on the Social Security benefits they receive. Fact is that you can be forced to pay the IRS taxes on up to 85-percent of what you receive in payments from the SSA.

According to the IRS, they look at what they consider your “combined income.” This equates to your adjusted gross income (AGI) plus nontaxable interest plus half of your social security benefits.

• If you file as an individual and your combined income is $25,000 – $34,000, you may have to pay income tax on up to 50-percent of your Social Security benefits
• If you file as an individual and your combined income is more than $34,000, you may have to pay income tax on up to 85-percent of your Social Security benefits
• If you file a joint return and your combined income is between $32,000 – $44,000, you may have to pay income tax on up to 50-percent of your Social Security benefits
• If you file a joint return and your combined income is more than $44,000, you may have to pay income tax on up to 85-percent of your Social Security benefits

Obviously, when making your determination as when to apply for your Social Security benefits, you want to be sure you consider the possibility of paying taxes on the SS money you collect for 2024.

One note on that issue is there is a current legislative proposal to end taxing Social Security starting as early as tax year 2025, and there seems to be interest on both sides of the isle on making this happen.

Mulligan

If you did previously apply for and start receiving your Social Security benefits early, you can change your mind and stop them as long as you do so within 12-months of when you first received benefit approval.

According to the SSA, to be eligible to do so you must withdraw your original claim in writing and repay the benefits that you received.

If you do withdraw your claim you can reapply at a future date and receive the benefits due at that time. Keep in mind that you can only take advantage of this “Mulligan” one time.

Conclusion

Okay, so now you know you can’t just call up the Social Security Administration and tell them to send you a check next week when you’re ready to start receiving your Social Security benefits.

It obviously takes some time to set up those payments and a fair amount of information that you must provide to get those checks flowing.

As we’ve demonstrated here, there’s obviously many more decisions that must be made in advance of actually applying for your Social Security benefits to start.

In order to make the best decision for you and your family, it’s best to do a full assessment on when it makes best sense to start your benefits before ever contacting the Social Security Administration. Not doing so could cost you considerably during your retirement years.

Fact is, there are myriad retirement decisions to be made, many of which can get very complicated. Frankly, you’d be best served working with a proven team who can help you navigate your golden years.

At Oak Harvest we’d be happy to consult with you in making the decision as to when to start your SS benefits. And we can look at your current retirement plan to determine if it can really meet your goals.

Or we can assist you by creating a retirement plan capable of helping you do so. We can build a holistic, comprehensive retirement plan addressing relevant issues, utilizing strategies that cover your Social Security, taxes, income, spending, healthcare, legacy, and more, customized to your family’s specific needs.

A plan created with the goal of ensuring you can successfully live out the retirement you and your spouse envision.

If you are ready to take the next step and talk to a team of financial advisors and retirement planners who can advise on all your retirement needs, and who will put your interests first, Schedule a call today!

 

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