If I am born January 1st, is my first social security check for the month of December or January?

Hi,

Social Security counts you as reaching your next age on the day prior to your birthday. So, if age 66 is your full retirement age (FRA) and you were born on January 1 1954, for example, Social Security would consider you to reach FRA in December 2019. If you then claimed benefits effective with December 2019, your benefit rate would be unreduced but your first payment would not be due until January 2020 because Social Security pays benefits a month behind.

Best, Jerry