Social Security expert Martha Shedden has spent decades advising people how and when to file for their benefits. Last December, with her own 70th birthday on the horizon, it was finally time for Shedden to apply for her own benefits. As of late April, she was still waiting to receive a decision letter from the Social Security Administration confirming that her application had been approved. The process of beginning Social Security benefits has never been speedy, but the system is moving especially slowly in 2025.
Bottom Line Personal asked Shedden what Social Security applicants need to know now…
Apply four months before the month you plan to start receiving Social Security benefits
That’s as far in advance as Social Security Administration rules allow. Considering how slowly things are moving these days, it’s worth applying as early in this four-months-prior month as possible. Example: If you want your benefits to officially start in March, apply in early November and select March as your “entitlement date” on the application.
Mind the gap—there’s a lag between your official benefit start date and your initial payment
The month you select as the one you want your Social Security benefits to officially begin is not the month when you’ll actually receive your first payment. The benefits you’re due for a particular month actually are paid during the following month. So if you choose March as your starting month, your first payment won’t arrive until April. Precisely when in the month of April depends on the date of your birth.
If you were born on the first through the 10th of a month, your Social Security payments will arrive on the second Wednesday of each month.
If you were born on the 11th through the 20th, they’ll arrive on the third Wednesday.
If you were born on the 21st through the 31st, your payments will arrive on the fourth Wednesday.
Keep this lag in mind when you choose your benefit start date and/or your retirement date if your goal is to have your Social Security benefits begin precisely as your salary ends.
You might have a lump-sum payment option
If you apply to begin your Social Security benefits after reaching your full retirement age, you can choose to receive up to six months of retroactive benefits as a lump sum. But: If you decide to take this lump sum, the Social Security Administration will calculate your future monthly benefit payments as if you started your benefit earlier than you actually did. Example: If you wait until age 70 to claim because you want to maximize your monthly benefit but then take a six-month lump-sum payment, your monthly benefit will be calculated as if you claimed at 69½.
The lump-sum option makes sense for people who need money to pay for a major expense…for unmarried people who receive unfortunate medical diagnoses that suggest they won’t have many more years to live…and for people who accidentally wait beyond age 70 to start their benefits—there’s no upside to waiting past age 70, so there’s no downside to taking a lump sum that in essence back-dates the start of benefits to age 70.
Key details: The lump-sum option is available only to people who wait beyond full retirement age to claim. The lump-sum amount cannot exceed the value of six months of benefits payments. If the recipient’s entitlement date is less than six months past his/her full retirement age, the lump sum also cannot exceed the total amount of benefits that he would have received between full retirement age and the entitlement date. Example: If your entitlement date is two months after the month you reached your full retirement age, the largest lump sum you could claim would be equal to two months of benefits.
Apply online
Applying for Social Security benefits online at SSA.gov/apply saves you from having to contact the currently overburdened Social Security Administration over the phone or in person. It also reduces the odds for miscommunication, because online applicants can complete the application at their own pace and set everything down in writing. Exception: “Survivor” benefits—benefits a widow or widower receives based on a late spouse’s earnings record—must be applied for in person or over the phone, not online.
