Key Points
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You cannot claim Social Security until you’ve been 62 for the entire month.
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The Social Security Administration pays benefits in the month after the month they’re due.
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Delaying your Social Security application could increase your benefits.
You’ve heard for years that you’re allowed to claim Social Security once you turn 62, and now that you’re almost there, you can’t wait to sign up. Only it’s a little more complicated than it sounds.
While you can receive Social Security at 62, you must be 62 for the entire month before you qualify. Most people won’t be able to claim Social Security in their birth month thanks to a little-known rule.
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The Social Security Administration follows English common law when determining your age. Under that system, you’re only 62 during your birth month if you were born on the first or the second of a month. If you were born on the third or later, you won’t qualify until the month following your birth month.
This can be a little frustrating if you’d built your entire budget around claiming Social Security as soon as you could, especially if you were born late in the month. For example, if you turn 62 on Aug. 22, you wouldn’t be eligible for your first check until September. The Social Security Administration pays benefits the month after they’re due, so you wouldn’t get any money until October. And since you were born on the 22nd, you’d get paid on the fourth Wednesday of each month, so you wouldn’t get your first check until Oct. 28, 2026. You’d need a way to cover your expenses on your own until then.
The silver lining to all of this is that, by claiming a month later, you’ll boost your checks by 5/12 of 1%. It’s not much, but it could add a couple of dollars to your benefit.
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