I’m all the time getting emails from readers who’re so hung up on ensuring they begin their Social Safety advantages at their full retirement age. They don’t need them a month earlier than. They don’t need them a month after. They need to make darn certain that their advantages begin at their full retirement age. They virtually appear to be shedding sleep ensuring that is going to occur. They ship me emails asking me, virtually begging me, to assist them ensure they choose the appropriate date.
I all the time need to inform these guys (and it appears to be all the time guys) to sit back out. Don’t fear. Be completely happy! You’ll most likely choose the appropriate date. However even in the event you don’t, guess what? The earth will preserve spinning, and the solar will come up tomorrow. And you’ll not be making an enormous mistake that can have an effect on your advantages for the remainder of your life. I’ll clarify what I’m speaking about in a minute.
However first, let me go over the bottom guidelines. They’re actually easy. (By the way in which, I’m going to make use of the phrase “easy” a number of instances on this paragraph. That’s as a result of I’m attempting to emphasise how easy it’s.) In order for you advantages to start at your full retirement age, you then merely point out the month you attain your FRA as your beginning month in your Social Safety retirement software. So in case your full retirement age is age 66 and two months, and you may be age 66 and two months in September 2021, you then merely point out September as your beginning month. It’s so easy!
Some individuals overthink this. For instance, they know that Social Safety checks come one month behind. In different phrases, the September 2021 Social Safety test is paid in October. So if a man turns FRA in September, he thinks too laborious, and he places October as his beginning month. However the Social Safety software query isn’t asking you which ones month you need your test to point out up in your checking account. It’s asking you which ones is the primary month you need to be eligible for a Social Safety test.
One little little bit of clarification. Social Safety eligibility all the time goes by month, not by days. For instance, in the event you have been born on Sept. 21, 1955, which means your full retirement age is 66 and two months, and that’s if you need your advantages to start, you don’t point out Nov. 21, 2021, as your eligibility date. You merely point out November 2021.
So to repeat as soon as once more: In order for you advantages to start out within the month you attain full retirement age, then SIMPLY point out that month as your beginning month on the appliance type.
Some guys have advised me that they’re afraid to file for advantages early as a result of they’re apprehensive sick that they are going to get advantages earlier than their full retirement age. For instance, Bob and I lately had a back-and-forth e mail trade. He was born Aug. 14, 1955. His full retirement age is 66 and two months. He needs to ensure his advantages start at his FRA, which might be October 2021.
He requested me when he might file for advantages. I advised him he might begin the ball rolling now already. However then he mentioned he doesn’t need to try this as a result of he’s apprehensive they are going to use August as his beginning date. I advised him that he’ll point out October as his beginning date on the appliance, and that’s when his advantages will begin. However he wrote again to say he was simply so involved about getting advantages on the incorrect date, so he was going to attend till October to use.
I then despatched him a return e mail with my “the solar will come out tomorrow” message. In different phrases, even within the EXTREMELY unlikely occasion that his profit begin date finally ends up being August, the world received’t finish, and his advantages aren’t affected all that a lot. Let me clarify.
Let’s say Bob’s October full retirement age profit charge is $3,200. If by some fluke his advantages began two months earlier in August, he’d get a barely diminished profit. Advantages are diminished about one-half of 1% for every month they’re began early. That comes out to a 1% discount for Bob. So as a substitute of $3,200 per 30 days, he’d get $32 much less per 30 days, or $3,168. That’s the draw back. He’d get $32 much less every month. However on the upside, he finally ends up getting two additional Social Safety checks at $3,168 every, or $6,336. Bob must dwell 198 months, or greater than 16 years, earlier than he comes out on the shedding finish of the Social Safety stick to that barely earlier beginning date.
Bob was a bit relieved by that time I made. However then he advised me he had one other concern: his spouse. She has a decrease Social Safety profit on her personal report, and assuming Bob dies first, she is going to get widow’s advantages on his report. He mentioned he needs her to get probably the most cash he can on his report. So if Bob finally ends up with $32 much less per 30 days in retirement advantages, then his spouse’s widow’s profit can be $32 much less per 30 days, too.
I then advised Bob that if ensuring his spouse will get the very best widow’s profit doable was his major concern, he ought to think about ready till 70 to file for Social Safety. He would get 4 years price of “delayed retirement credit” added to his profit charge, and his spouse would additionally get that more money within the type of widow’s advantages. Bob advised me he thought of that, however he and his spouse determined he mustn’t hand over all the advantages he’d get between now and age 70.
So now, again to Bob’s worries that if he recordsdata now (in August), there’s a likelihood that he’ll find yourself with August as his beginning month. What can he do? I as soon as once more reiterated to Bob that so long as he signifies October as his beginning month, that simply wasn’t going to occur. However absolute worst-case state of affairs, let’s say it did. If he didn’t need these two additional checks with a $32 month-to-month discount, his solely recourse can be to name the Social Safety Administration at 800-772-1213 and withdraw that declare with the August beginning month and file a brand new declare with an October begin date.
In case you have a Social Safety query, Tom Margenau has a e book with all of the solutions. It’s known as Social Safety – Easy and Sensible. You’ll find the e book at www.creators.com/books. Or search for it on Amazon or different e book shops. To search out out extra about Tom Margenau and to learn previous columns and see options from different Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, go to the Creators Syndicate web site at www.creators.com.
