Effectively organizing everything related to our Social Security benefits in the United States should be one of our top priorities. After all, if we don’t organize our retirement well, we may face some disadvantages, such as going a month without an income.
The truth is that in today’s world, going a month without income can be disastrous, as there are many bills to pay, everything is more expensive and sometimes savings are not enough. That’s why, as soon as we know that we are definitely going to retire, we need to look at the best time to do so.
Fortunately, the Social Security Administration, through its website, warns us that we have to check in advance when we want to apply for the retirement check. Only by knowing this in advance, and acting in time, can we avoid going a whole month without any income.
How can I avoid having no income when I apply for SSA?
The first thing to bear in mind is that when we actually apply for the Social Security retirement benefit we will have to wait a month until we receive the payment. If we apply for the check in May, the payment should, as a general rule, arrive for the first time in June.
We will always get the first of our Social Security retirement payments one month after the month we have chosen to retire. For that reason, we should plan in advance the month in which we want to stop working. Luckily, we can send the documentation four months before the final month.
This way, if we want to get the check in June, for example, and our last month of collection at work is May, we must submit the application in May, but do so before the month arrives. It is true that it is a great advantage to know this, since it will make our life easier in the sense that we will not have to go a whole month without getting an income.
What are the conditions for applying for retirement?
The truth is that even if our goal is to retire, we must bear in mind that there are requirements to do so. If we do not meet the conditions, we will not be able to get our monthly check. Leaving aside Disability payments, which have different rules, there are two main conditions for retirement payments:
- Be 62 years of age.
- Have 40 work credits.
Although it is true that both requirements are mandatory, it is not advisable to apply for Social Security under these conditions. At the end of the day, we will get the minimum payment and that, in these current times, can be too low an income to live on from month to month.
