simple SS question

[albundyz]

I'm 68 1/2. I used the SS benefits estimator 4 months ago. I used it again today. The numbers for "current" and "at age 70" remained the same.

1. I understand that the "at age 70" estimate did not change, but why didn't the "current" estimate change since I am now 4 months older? Don't benefits rise monthly?

2. They say to file for SS 3 months before you want the benefits to start. Assuming that benefits rise monthly, will I still get credit for the 3 months, or will it be based on "when" I started the process?

thanks

 

[Walt34]

The benefits rise 8% a year but probably don't show up monthly in the estimating software.

Re the second question, I read that a good reason to apply online is that they ask you that very question: "When do you want benefits to start?" Apparently at some SS offices they assume you want it starting from the date of application, not when you want it to at a later date.

 

[N02L84ER]

I have heard that age 62, FRA, and 70 amounts are set and although you earn the increases at other ages, the increases will not appear until the following January payment. So, in your case, which is after the January following your FRA, if you say to start in November, you get the previous January amount for Nov and Dec, then in January they bump it up to include the 10 months of increase. I am still in my 50's, so I could be totally wrong.

 

[Sunset]

Just yesterday I talked to a SS fellow face to face, regarding when you file to start it is very important to tell them what effective age you want it to start at. Because they have this default rule/thought everyone wants a bonus.

Say you file at age 70 because you want to max payments, if you don't specify you want it to start at age 70, they will start your SS giving you a 6 month lump sum and consider you started at 69.5 yrs old for the rest of your payments.
He told me it is optional, but you have to tell them or they decide the option you get.

 

[mathjak107]

the increases are about 6% pre fra and about 8% from fra to 70 .

when you file pre fra you get every penny you accrued to date in your first check .

after fra you are only recalculated in january . while you get the delayed credits for the previous year in january in your checks going forward , you get nothing retro and lose forever what you accrued the previous year .

nothing is retro so filing in january after fra to age 69 is always best

 

[pb4uski]

Just yesterday I talked to a SS fellow face to face, regarding when you file to start it is very important to tell them what effective age you want it to start at. Because they have this default rule/thought everyone wants a bonus.

Say you file at age 70 because you want to max payments, if you don't specify you want it to start at age 70, they will start your SS giving you a 6 month lump sum and consider you started at 69.5 yrs old for the rest of your payments.
He told me it is optional, but you have to tell them or they decide the option you get.

What a bunch of bloody idiots! Why wouldn't they either ask or use your actual age when you apply?

 

[albundyz]

just called SS to ask these questions, 2 month wait for an appt at my local SS office and 1 month wait to have a phone call appointment. geeez.

 

[Steelart99]

FWIW, after FRA, your SS goes up 2/3 of 1% per month.

 

[albundyz]

ya, got that, but is that calculated on a monthly basis or a yearly basis? In other words, for those over 66, do they only recalculate at the start of a new calendar year? I know this sounds illogical, but I have no reason able explanation for why the SS estimator would recalculate monthly for those under 66 and not for those over age 66. The estimator implies that it is NOT recalculated every month for those over 66 because the dollar amounts don't change using the SS estimator during different time periods, in my case from may inquiry to september inquiry.

 

[RobbieB]

I had to appear at an SS office to apply for survivor benes. They got me signed up and also gave me a print out of what my payments (on my own account) would be from age 62 to 70. It was by month and increased each month.

So maybe the "estimators" don't do this monthly, but SS does?

 

[eytonxav]

the increases are about 6% pre fra and about 8% from fra to 70 .

when you file pre fra you get every penny you accrued to date in your first check .

after fra you are only recalculated in january . while you get the delayed credits for the previous year in january in your checks going forward , you get nothing retro and lose forever what you accrued the previous year .

nothing is retro so filing in january after fra to age 69 is always best

If its calculated in January, would it be better to start SS in February for those above FRA?

 

[youbet]

just called SS to ask these questions, 2 month wait for an appt at my local SS office and 1 month wait to have a phone call appointment. geeez.

At our local office, you can walk in and see someone for routine issues and questions on that same day. You go to a kiosk, answer some questions via touch screen and are given a number. Within an hour or two, you're called to a service window and have a few minutes to get the info you need or resolve your issue. If your situation is complicated, you might just get referred to a "specialist" and will have to make an appointment which, indeed, will be several weeks out.

Both DW and I had some complicated, serious issues with SS in the past couple of years and made numerous trips to the local office. The SS office is a very busy place! We were surprised to see that very few of the clients in the waiting area were fellow geezers working on retirement benefit issues. Rather, mostly younger people working on who knows what.........

 

[braumeister]

At our local office, you can walk in and see someone for routine issues and questions on that same day. You go to a kiosk, answer some questions via touch screen and are given a number. Within an hour or two, you're called to a service window and have a few minutes to get the info you need or resolve your issue. If your situation is complicated, you might just get referred to a "specialist" and will have to make an appointment which, indeed, will be several weeks out.

Same here. I've been in half a dozen times in the last five years and never had to wait more than an hour. The longest was just about an hour, and I commented on it to the guy I talked to. His response was "You never want to come in here during a week that has a holiday in it. We have no idea why, but that's always the case."

 

[Independent]

I'm 68 1/2. I used the SS benefits estimator 4 months ago. I used it again today. The numbers for "current" and "at age 70" remained the same.

1. I understand that the "at age 70" estimate did not change, but why didn't the "current" estimate change since I am now 4 months older? Don't benefits rise monthly?

2. They say to file for SS 3 months before you want the benefits to start. Assuming that benefits rise monthly, will I still get credit for the 3 months, or will it be based on "when" I started the process?

thanks

We typically think that our SS monthly benefits go up by 2/3% of our PIA for for each month that we defer past our Normal Retirement Age.

However, that's not true about the first year that you get benefits. They only give you increases that occurred thru the prior year end (2015 in this case).

That explains the lack of increase in 1.

They will reset your benefit at the beginning of 2017 to include deferrals earned in 2016, but no retroactive benefit.


See this thread http://www.early-retirement.org/for...t-ss-after-fra-but-before-age-70-a-73525.html

For example, suppose my PIA is $1,000/month, and I turn 66 half way through 2015. Then, if I start benefits

Three months into 2016, my benefit for the remaining 9 months of 2016 will be $1,040 (not $1,060). My benefit will go up to $1,060 at the beginning of 2017.

Six months into 2016, my benefit for the remaining 6 months of 2016 will be $1,040 (not $1,080). My benefit will go up to $1,080 at the beginning of 2017.

Nine months into 2016, my benefit for the remaining 3 months of 2016 will be $1,040 (not $1,100). My benefit will go up to $1,100 at the beginning of 2017.

The 9 x $20, or 6 x $40, or 3 x $60 that I don't get in 2016 is permanently lost.

However, (an exception to an exception) they give you all the increases immediately if you start exactly at age 70.

 

[Ian S]

We typically think that our SS monthly benefits go up by 2/3% of our PIA for for each month that we defer past our Normal Retirement Age.

However, that's not true about the first year that you get benefits. They only give you increases that occurred thru the prior year end (2015 in this case).

That explains the lack of increase in 1.

They will reset your benefit at the beginning of 2017 to include deferrals earned in 2016, but no retroactive benefit.


See this thread http://www.early-retirement.org/for...t-ss-after-fra-but-before-age-70-a-73525.html

For example, suppose my PIA is $1,000/month, and I turn 66 half way through 2015. Then, if I start benefits

Three months into 2016, my benefit for the remaining 9 months of 2016 will be $1,040 (not $1,060). My benefit will go up to $1,060 at the beginning of 2017.

Six months into 2016, my benefit for the remaining 6 months of 2016 will be $1,040 (not $1,080). My benefit will go up to $1,080 at the beginning of 2017.

Nine months into 2016, my benefit for the remaining 3 months of 2016 will be $1,040 (not $1,100). My benefit will go up to $1,100 at the beginning of 2017.

The 9 x $20, or 6 x $40, or 3 x $60 that I don't get in 2016 is permanently lost.

However, (an exception to an exception) they give you all the increases immediately if you start exactly at age 70.

I was the one who originally posted the graph that showed the strange kink in the curve of SS benefits between FRA and age 70. I missed your explanation in the thread linked above and want to belatedly thank you for that. It's been bugging me ever since and I'm glad to finally know the cause.

 

[albundyz]

Independent: thank you. that explains it.

 

[mathjak107]

If its calculated in January, would it be better to start SS in February for those above FRA?

filing in january gets you everything due you

 

[Independent]

I was the one who originally posted the graph that showed the strange kink in the curve of SS benefits between FRA and age 70. I missed your explanation in the thread linked above and want to belatedly thank you for that. It's been bugging me ever since and I'm glad to finally know the cause.

Yeah, I'm like that, too.

 

[albundyz]

final followup

FWIW, I went to my local SS office. I did not know that I could wait and ask them my question. Waited 90 minutes before being called.

(I'm 68.5 yrs old and want to file for SS in Jan 2017)

1. SS man said "if you are between 66 and 70, the SS estimator on the SS website, does not give totally accurate data on your monthly payment, it needs to be calculated (by me) manually." This puzzles me, but oh well.

2. The SS man gave me a printout, specifically for me, covering multiple months between ages 66 and 70 and highlighted Jan of 2017, like I asked. Each month showed an increase in my monthly payment. He also stated that I could file for Jan 2017 SS online, right now (9/29/16).

3. I asked him directly.. "If I had filed in May of this year, would I have received all of my benefits up to and including the month of May? " He said "yes". I said "So, I would not have lost any benefits between January and May." He said "No, of course not".

I post this only as the solution to my situation. I had found that the SS estimator numbers for "current" did not change from one month to the next making me suspicious and unable to accurately calculate what my payment would be in Jan, 2017.

 

[Sunset]

FWIW, I went to my local SS office. I did not know that I could wait and ask them my question. Waited 90 minutes before being called.

(I'm 68.5 yrs old and want to file for SS in Jan 2017)

1. SS man said "if you are between 66 and 70, the SS estimator on the SS website, does not give totally accurate data on your monthly payment, it needs to be calculated (by me) manually." This puzzles me, but oh well.

2. The SS man gave me a printout, specifically for me, covering multiple months between ages 66 and 70 and highlighted Jan of 2017, like I asked. Each month showed an increase in my monthly payment. He also stated that I could file for Jan 2017 SS online, right now (9/29/16).

3. I asked him directly.. "If I had filed in May of this year, would I have received all of my benefits up to and including the month of May? " He said "yes". I said "So, I would not have lost any benefits between January and May." He said "No, of course not".

I post this only as the solution to my situation. I had found that the SS estimator numbers for "current" did not change from one month to the next making me suspicious and unable to accurately calculate what my payment would be in Jan, 2017.

For 3. - this does not tell me the worker was thinking of everything.

For 1. - I find this scary,,, so what happens when I get a math challenged worker, do I get the correct number ?

 

[nwsteve]

FWIW, I went to my local SS office. I did not know that I could wait and ask them my question. Waited 90 minutes before being called.

(I'm 68.5 yrs old and want to file for SS in Jan 2017)

1. SS man said "if you are between 66 and 70, the SS estimator on the SS website, does not give totally accurate data on your monthly payment, it needs to be calculated (by me) manually." This puzzles me, but oh well.

2. The SS man gave me a printout, specifically for me, covering multiple months between ages 66 and 70 and highlighted Jan of 2017, like I asked. Each month showed an increase in my monthly payment. He also stated that I could file for Jan 2017 SS online, right now (9/29/16).

3. I asked him directly.. "If I had filed in May of this year, would I have received all of my benefits up to and including the month of May? " He said "yes". I said "So, I would not have lost any benefits between January and May." He said "No, of course not".

I post this only as the solution to my situation. I had found that the SS estimator numbers for "current" did not change from one month to the next making me suspicious and unable to accurately calculate what my payment would be in Jan, 2017.

I had a similar conversation with rep in our local office when I was exploring taking my benefit on Jan 17 vs Sept 17.
She, however, acknowledged and confirmed that after Jan, my monthly payment would NOT include the monthly adjustment. She also indicated that the payment would then be adjusted the next Jan. to the correct level. So you would "not loose any benefits" unless you count not getting the missing payments for prior months. I did not clarifications without asking very specifically amounts. I suspect some reps consider you getting the adjustment the following Jan "not losing any benefit".
Nwsteve

 

[eytonxav]

filing in january gets you everything due you

Just to clarify, filing means applying or does it mean starting to collect in January?

I am assuming this means, you can't apply in December for payments starting in January and expect to receive everything due you.

 

[mathjak107]

imagine your boss says to you as a hypothetical example. in am giving you a raise in july of 10 dollars a month but i am not going to give you the money until january . comes january you will get the new pay amount going forward but i am not actually going to give you the 10 bucks a month retro for the months you got you old rate . we will just accumulate each month and in january give you that increase on new checks .

that is what ss does from fra to 69 if you file mid year . you get the new higher rate in january but they do not go back and give you the retro money you did not receive yet

 

[Independent]

I also asked a rep in person. He said he guessed I got the increase, but he was new so he'd check with his guru. That answer was consistent with the one I posted earlier.

The new rep said to the guru "But he get a retroactive payment, right?". The guru half smiled and said "no". I expect he's had that question before.

 

[Sunset]

Just to clarify, filing means applying or does it mean starting to collect in January?

I am assuming this means, you can't apply in December for payments starting in January and expect to receive everything due you.

I "think", from talking to a SS fellow, that you can apply in Dec to start your SS in January.

You don't have to show up January 1st , and tell them "start me today" .