mathjak107
Well-known Member
- Location
- bayside ,queens , ny
there are some little quirks in the ss system that most folks are not aware of .
one quirk is this :
after your full retirement age but before age 70 what month you file for ss matters .
it matters because ss only calculates your benefit after full retirement age in january .
so for an easy example lets say you were born in july so you decide to file at age 67 . so if you file for checks in july the rate you get initially will be based on the previous january rate . the amount you get will have no credit for january through july in it .
comes the following january you will be recalculated and your new rate will include the credits earned from january to july the previous year .
but the quirk here is you never get paid anything additional retro for the past january to july . while the higher rate you get recalculated to is only going forward , you never get the extra money for the 6 months from the past year .
so the answer is , if you want everything due you and do not want to give up any credit then from fra to 69 only file for checks in january . if you do it that way you will get paid for those months you normally would have lost .
do not wait if you will be 70 since all you will do is give up checks because your benefit stops growing . this also does not apply when filing pre fra either . you are calculated right up to the moment then , unlike once you reach fra .
this is one of those things very few ever realize .
one quirk is this :
after your full retirement age but before age 70 what month you file for ss matters .
it matters because ss only calculates your benefit after full retirement age in january .
so for an easy example lets say you were born in july so you decide to file at age 67 . so if you file for checks in july the rate you get initially will be based on the previous january rate . the amount you get will have no credit for january through july in it .
comes the following january you will be recalculated and your new rate will include the credits earned from january to july the previous year .
but the quirk here is you never get paid anything additional retro for the past january to july . while the higher rate you get recalculated to is only going forward , you never get the extra money for the 6 months from the past year .
so the answer is , if you want everything due you and do not want to give up any credit then from fra to 69 only file for checks in january . if you do it that way you will get paid for those months you normally would have lost .
do not wait if you will be 70 since all you will do is give up checks because your benefit stops growing . this also does not apply when filing pre fra either . you are calculated right up to the moment then , unlike once you reach fra .
this is one of those things very few ever realize .