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Tips on Filing for Social Security Benefits

While there usually isn’t an issue with receiving your Social Security benefits on time, it’s always better to file early just in case.
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Tips on Filing for Social Security Benefits
Your Social Security eligibility date is always a month, not a day. Daniel Padavona/Shutterstock
Tom Margenau
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There probably is nothing I’m asked more often than some version of this question: “When should I take my Social Security?” So today, I’m going to write yet another column about that topic—and the related issue of how to file for Social Security benefits.

But first, let me clarify the “when to file” part. As I’ve said over and over again in this column, I am not a financial planner, so I really can’t advise you about the best time to start your Social Security benefits. That’s a decision only you can make, perhaps after consulting a real financial planner.

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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