Q: I have been a casual reader of your column for years. But now that I am finally approaching Social Security age, Iโm starting to pay closer attention to what you write. For reasons Iโm not going to go into now, Iโve decided to buck the current trend of delaying benefits as long as possible. Instead, I plan to file when I turn 62, which will be on Jan. 8, 2016. I have a 58-year-old wife who is still working. So she is out of my Social Security picture. Our kids are grown. I just want to know the basics: when, where, and how do I file for my Social Security?
A: Social Security Administration computers are set up to begin taking retirement claims three months ahead of the date you want your benefits to begin. You turn 62 in January, and three months before that would be October. So normally Iโd tell you to start the process any time now.
But there is a twist in your case โ and for that matter, in the case of anyone who starts his or her Social Security at age 62. There is a law that says you have to be age 62 for an entire month before you are eligible for Social Security. February is the first full month you will be age 62, so that means February is your โmonth of entitlementโ for Social Security purposes. Three months before February is November. So I suggest contacting SSA any time after Nov. 1 to start the ball rolling.
I know that lots of people criticize the government for sluggishness and inefficiency. Iโm sure those labels are sometimes earned. But one thing the government is very good at is processing Social Security retirement claims. They are usually done in a matter of days. (When my wife filed her retirement claim, she had an online confirmation of her eligibility within three days and she received an โaward letterโ in the mail in less than two weeks.)
The point I am trying to make is that the recommended three-month filing window is plenty of time to take care of your Social Security business. In your case, you could delay filing your claim until January and there still would be sufficient leeway to have your benefits begin in February. Or I should say โMarch.โ As Iโm sure youโve heard, Social Security benefits are always paid one month in arrears. So your first check โ the February payment โ will be sent to you in March.
Now letโs answer your questions about how and where to file. You are a prime candidate for filing your Social Security claim online. It sounds like youโve got a very simple, straightforward situation, with no complexities (which Iโll discuss in a minute). So sometime in November, go to socialsecurity.gov, SSAโs website. At the home page, you will find a very prominent link about filing an online claim for Social Security benefits. That link will lead you to an application that I bet will take you less than 30 minutes to complete.
And thatโs probably all you will need to do. Depending on circumstances, you might need to show SSA one or two documents; you may need to provide a birth certificate. Back in the days when I worked for SSA (I retired about 10 years ago), birth certificates were required for all claims. But for reasons I donโt have time to explain in this column, they are no longer always needed. If they tell you a birth record is needed, all you need to do is take a certified copy down to your local Social Security office. They will make a photocopy for their files and return the original to you.
SSA may also ask you for proof of earnings for the previous year โ if those earnings are not yet posted in their records. But because it is so late in 2015, I am sure that your 2014 earnings are already in SSA files.
If you are wondering about 2015 earnings, they canโt be posted to your records until the end of the year. But SSA has an automated process in place that identifies earnings each year and refigures your benefit rate, if applicable. In other words, sometime in mid-2016, you will get a notice from SSA telling you that they have added 2015 earnings to your record and refigured your benefit accordingly. Any increase you might be due is retroactive to January 2016.
If you are not comfortable with computers or you just donโt want to file your Social Security claim online, or maybe you just like the idea of dealing with a real human being when you take that once-in-a-lifetime step of filing for Social Security, then you should call SSA at 800-772-1213 โ again, in your case, any time after Nov. 1.
When you do that, you will be given the option of filing your claim over the phone or setting up an appointment to talk to a โclaims representativeโ at your local Social Security office.
Earlier, I mentioned complexities in certain Social Security situations. These are possible complications that should steer people away from their computers and filing online Social Security claims and into their local Social Security office to deal with real people. The most common complex Social Security claim today involves maximizing strategies. Anyone who wants to employ one of those strategies, usually either filing and suspending or filing and restricting โ tactics that Iโve discussed almost ad nauseam in this column โ should NOT file online. The situations are just too messy or involve too many potential variables for SSAโs online claims-taking system to handle. I strongly recommend anyone who wants to try to maximize benefits to deal with a representative at their local Social Security office.
In fact, even if you donโt want to use a maximizing strategy, but simply have a spouse or child who is possibly eligible for benefits on your account, I recommend you forgo the online world and talk to a human being either on the phone or at your local office.
