I am filling out the application to claim my social security retirement benefit application and having difficulty finding answer one item on it. BENEFIT STARTING DATE. I will turn 70 in June, 2021. Should I put down June, 2021 as my benefit starting date or July, 2021. I waited to claim the benefit until I am 70 years old, so I do not want to end up with the benefit for 69 year and 11 months old. Am I entitled full maximum benefit on my birthday month or the month after? I searched all sorts of publications by SSA but could not find anything clear on it. Help!

Hi,

You would want to claim benefits effective with the month in which you reach age 70. You don't need to be age 70 for the entire month in order to get your full age 70 rate. Social Security counts you as reaching your next age on the day before your actual birthday, so if you were born in June and on any day other than the 1st of June, you would want to choose June as the month to start your benefits. If you happen to have been born on June 1st you would want to start your benefits effective with May, since that's the month that Social Security would then count you as reaching age 70.

By the way, Social Security pays benefits a month behind, so your payment for the month of June will not be due until sometime in July.

Best, Jerry