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Don’t Overthink Social Security Starting Date Questions

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Don’t Overthink Social Security Starting Date Questions
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Tom Margenau
Updated:

I frequently get emails from readers who turn a little molehill of an issue into a big mountain of a problem, and it has to do with the starting date for their Social Security benefits.

The Social Security retirement application asks a question that goes something like this: “Which month do you want your benefits to start?” Way too many folks overthink the question, and it’s especially vexing for those who absolutely insist that their benefits start at their full retirement age—not a month before and not a month later. (Near the end of this column, I will point out why people shouldn’t get so hung up about this FRA start date business.)

Tom Margenau
Tom Margenau
Author
Tom Margenau worked for 32 years in a variety of positions for the Social Security Administration before retiring in 2005. He has served as the director of SSA’s public information office, the chief editor of more than 100 SSA publications, a deputy press officer and spokesman, and a speechwriter for the commissioner of Social Security. For 12 years, he also wrote Social Security columns for local newspapers, and recently published the book “Social Security: Simple and Smart.” If you have a Social Security question, contact him at [email protected]
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