Q: I think you covered this issue in a past column. But I’m still confused. I will turn 66 on Aug. 28. I want to start my Social Security then. And because I know that Social Security checks come one month behind, I understand that the first check I will be due will come in September. So when I sign up for Social Security, do I tell them I want my benefits to begin in August or September?
A: You tell them you want your benefits to begin in August. You are right that Social Security checks are sent out one month late. In other words, your August payment will be deposited into your bank account in September. But don’t worry about the timing of the delivery of your Social Security check. Just worry about which month you want your Social Security eligibility to begin. And since you want your benefits to start at age 66, and you are 66 in August, then that is the month you tell them you want your benefits to start.
Q: My mother passed away on March 27. The Social Security people are now demanding the check that was deposited in April (the March payment) be returned to them. How can that be? We paid her mortgage and other bills with the money taken out of her checking account. I agree that she shouldn’t get the money for the entire month of March. But why are they trying to steal her money for the 27 days she was alive?
A: The Social Security Administration isn’t trying to steal your mom’s money. They are just following the law. And that law has always said that benefits are not prorated.
That’s actually good news on the front end of someone’s eligibility for benefits. In other words, you get benefits for your whole first month of eligibility, even though you might not be technically eligible for benefits for the whole month. No one ever complains about that.
But it can be bad news on the tail end of someone’s eligibility for benefits — in other words, after a beneficiary dies. Of course, the deceased never complains about that, but his or her relatives always do.
For example, the guy who wrote the first question in this column turns 66 on Aug. 28. He will get a Social Security check for August, even though he is 66 for only three days of that month. That probably makes him happy.
But someday he is going to die. And if that happens to be near the end of a month, his family will have to return the check that is delivered the following month. And I am sure they will be upset about that and gripe about the fact that benefits are not prorated. They will probably never know that when he first started getting Social Security, that lack of proration really helped him.
Sadly, your mother didn’t live the whole month of March. So because benefits are not prorated, you are not due the March payment. But I hope she enjoyed the little bonus she got when she started getting Social Security.
Q: My father, who was a widower, died on April 2. His March Social Security check that was due to arrive on April 11 was never deposited into his bank account. But wasn’t he due that check?
A: Yes, he was — because he was alive the whole month of March. But the law requires banks to return Social Security checks for their deceased depositors. So you should call Social Security at 800-772-1213 and explain the situation. You will be asked to fill out a form, and the proceeds of that check will be sent to you — or divided up between you and your siblings if you have brothers and sisters.
Q: In a prior column, you explained that Social Security checks are sent on the second, third or fourth Wednesday of the month, depending on a person’s date of birth. But I get my check on the third of each month. How come?
According to what you wrote in a prior column, I should be getting my check on the third Wednesday of each month. But I have been getting my check on the second Wednesday, the same date as my husband. I just thought you should know.
A: These are just a couple examples of many emails I got following a column I wrote about Social Security check delivery dates. In that column, I explained that if you were born on the 1st through the 10th of the month, your Social Security check will be delivered on the second Wednesday of each month. If you were born on the 11th through the 20th, you get paid on the third Wednesday. And if you were born on the 21st through 31st, Social Security sends your check on the fourth Wednesday.
I guess I should have said those delivery dates work as a general rule. Almost all people reading this column will get their Social Security checks as explained above. I can explain why some folks get their benefits on the third of each month. Before the Social Security Administration started staggering the delivery of Social Security checks about 20 years ago, everyone got their benefits on the third day of the month. When they changed the rules, they said that people already getting their checks on that day would continue to do so. So those of you receiving your benefits on the third must have been getting Social Security checks for a very long time.
More than a few women wrote to tell me that they get their benefits on the same day as their husband, corresponding to his birthdate. I can’t really explain that. It might have something to do with a woman getting benefits on a husband’s record and whose Social Security eligibility is tied in with his account.
Of course, it really doesn’t matter which day of the month you get your check, as long as it shows up on time each month.
