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What month is better to retire?

I hear if you retire in the middle of the year that social security may hold your check for months because you made too much money already for the year, is this true?

Comments for What month is better to retire?

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Social Security
by: Diane

The best book to read on SS is "Get What's Yours" by Laurence J. Kotlikoff, Philip Moeller and Paul Solman. I learned so much from this book prior to retiring at 66.
Be sure that you buy their updated book.

It was a "eye opener" for me. I also did a lot of research online. Went on the SS website and called an actual person to ask questions. It was hard work to do this research, but well worth it.

I was taking my widows benefits from the previous fall and they would change over to my own SS benefits the month that I retired. To lower my income for tax purposes, I put the max amount in my 401k for most of that year. Worked out perfect for me.
Social Security: First Year Retired
by: Wendy, retirement-online.com

Your question is about the Special Earnings Rule for the first year of retirement.

There is a special rule that applies to earnings for one year, usually the first year of retirement. Under this rule, you can get a full Social Security benefit for any whole month you are retired, regardless of your yearly earnings.

You can read it here on the SS Site.

You might want to look at this pamphlet too: How Work Affects Your Benefit

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