INTRODUCTORY NOTE: The Full Retirement Age, i.e. the age at which you may receive an unreduced bnefit, has been increased. For retirement and spouse's benefit, the increase applies to those born in 1938 and later. For widow(er)s the increase applies to those born in 1940 or later. Full Retirement Age goes up on a gradually increasing basis. See Section 703 "Reductions" for a full discussion. The charts in Section 703 show the Full Retirement Age based on the year of birth.
To be eligible for Social Security monthly benefits or Medicare, an application must be filed with the Social Security Administration (SSA). SSA has its own forms for applying for the different kinds of benefits and these must be used. It is the policy of most SSA offices not to mail out blank application forms, although they will mail forms to an attorney. They prefer their own personnel to complete the applications.
This does not necessarily mean that you have to make a personal visit to a District Office to file an application. Telephone service is available to file claims (Section 103). To do that, you will have to give all the information over the phone to a Social Security employee who will fill out the application and then mail it out to you for your review and signature. Additionally, you may file certain applications, including retirement and disability, over the internet.
The date the application is filed can be very important. It can affect how much you can receive in past-due benefits. You can protect your filing date before filing a formal application by using a "protective filing statement" (Section 402).
Generally, if you believe that you are entitled to benefits you should file an application. This will require SSA to make a formal decision on your claim, it will protect your rights to any other benefits to which you may be entitled, and it will give you the right to appeal if you are dissatisfied.
Occasionally, a person is told (even sometimes by Social Security people) that he or she cannot file an application because he or she does not meet some requirement. This is not true - you can always file an application. If you do not meet the requirements the application may be denied, but that does not mean that you cannot file it. If there is any doubt you should file the application to get a formal decision.
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Section 402 - The Protective Filing Statement
A written statement showing an intent to claim benefits filed with the Social Security Administration (SSA) can protect the filing date for an applicant who later files the formal application. In certain cases, this can prevent a loss of benefits that would otherwise be payable.
As discussed below in Section 406.1, an application for Retirement benefits may not be retroactive in certain cases. This means you cannot receive benefits for any month before the month you file the application, even if you were eligible. But if a protective filing statement is filed, it will protect the filing date of an application filed at a later date. This will allow the payment of retroactive benefits. For example, lets say John Smith is 62 in January but is still working. He files a protective filing statement with his local District Office in January. In March, he is laid off and will have earnings less than the annual earnings limitation (Section 802.1) so that benefits could be payable starting from January on.
If he goes to his local District Office in April and files an application for retirement benefits he can receive past due benefits starting with January, because he filed a protective filing statement in that month. Lets take the same case except that John Smith did not file a protective filing statement. When he goes to the Social Security office in April to file an application for benefits, he can receive benefits only for April on. He will lose the benefits for the months of January, February and March. A full discussion of the retroactivity rules for retirement cases is discussed below in Section 406.1.
In order to qualify as a protective filing statement, the statement must be written, it must indicate an intent to claim benefits and it must be signed by the claimant, the claimants spouse or by a person who could sign an application (Section 403). The protective filing statement must be filed with SSA and will protect benefits starting with the month in which it is filed. A written record made by a Social Security employee of an oral request by a potential claimant can also serve as a protective filing, but it is difficult to prove if the record is lost, which sometimes happens.
SSA considers the protective filing statement filed as of the date it receives it or the date it is postmarked by the U.S. Postal Service. In that case, the postmark will be used as the date of filing if that is before it is received by Social Security. Of course, it is a good idea to mail a protective filing statement by certified or registered mail, return receipt requested, so that you can prove the date it was mailed. If the postmark is illegible, SSA presumes it was mailed 5 days before it is received, unless there is reason to believe that it was mailed later. For example if the statement is dated only 3 days earlier than receipt, it will be presumed mailed 3 days earlier, not 5.
SSA will also accept as a date of filing the date a statement is filed with a Medicare-participating hospital in which you are a patient as long as the hospital sends the statement to SSA.
After receiving a protective filing statement SSA will send a notice to the claimant advising him that an application must be filed within six months. The protective filing statement will be effective for that six-month period. The six-month period does not begin however, until Social Security actually sends the notice. If they never do, then the protective filing statement could be good forever.
If you are eligible to receive benefits and visit your Social Security office to obtain information about benefits, you should file a protective filing statement even if you do not intend to claim benefits immediately. If it turns out a few months later that you could have been eligible when you visited the Social Security office, the protective filing statement could mean additional benefits payable to you.
When filing a protective filing statement, it is a good idea to get a copy. If you visit your District Office and the Claims Representative prepares a written statement for you to sign to protect your filing, ask him for a copy and also ask him to date-stamp your copy so that you can prove that it was filed on that date. Protective filing statements have been known to get lost in the local District Office. As long as you have your copy with a date stamp you will not have to worry about that.
There is no set format for the protective filing statement but it should contain language similar to the following: "I wish to claim Social Security benefits." The statement should then be signed by the claimant, by the claimants spouse or by a person who would be able to file an application (Section 403).
Go to Home Go To TopSection 403 - Who May File an Application
The person who claims benefits must sign an application if he or she is 18 years old or over, is mentally competent and physically able to sign. An application for childs benefits may be signed by a parent or a person standing in the place of a parent. A child between the ages of 16 and 18 may sign his own application if he or she is mentally competent, has no court appointed representative and is not in the care of any person.
If the claimant is a minor, is mentally incompetent or physically unable to sign, an application may be signed by a court appointed representative or a person who is responsible for the care of the claimant, including a relative. If the claimant is in the care of an institution, the manager of the institution may sign the application. The Social Security Administration (SSA) has the discretion to accept an application signed by someone other than a claimant if it is necessary to protect the claimant from losing benefits.
For example, Mr. Jones becomes bedridden at the end of a month due to a severe medical condition. He asks the neighbor Mr. Smith to go to the Social Security office to file an application for him before the end of the month so that he may receive the benefits for that month. SSA may accept an application signed by Mr. Smith. However, it would be a good idea if Mr. Jones signed a written statement saying, "I wish to claim Social Security benefits" and gave that statement to Mr. Smith to take to the Social Security office. There would be no doubt that such a statement would be a protective filing statement and could protect that months benefits (Section 402).
Although persons other than the claimant may file an application under certain conditions, the claimant must be alive when the application is filed in order for it to be effective. There are some exceptions to this general rule.
One, if a disabled person dies before filing an application for disability benefits, a person who would be eligible to receive benefits due to a deceased beneficiary (Section 1408) may file the application. Although an application for disability benefits may be filed after the worker dies, such an application must be filed within three months after the month of death. For example, John Smith dies in June. He had been totally disabled for two years before his death but never filed for Social Security benefits. He was married and his wife was living with him. She may file an application for the past due disability benefits as long as she makes the application or files a protective filing statement no later than September, the third month after his death.
The second exception to the rule is if a protective filing statement (Section 402) was filed by the claimant and he died before an application was filed. In such a case the date of filing is established by the date of the protective filing statement submitted by the claimant and an application may be filed by a person who would be eligible to receive benefits on the deceaseds earnings record or by a person acting for the deceaseds estate.
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Section 404.1 - When to File an Application In
General
An application may be filed no more than 4 months before the first month of entitlement. It will be effective until acted upon but no benefits will be payable until the first actual month of eligibility.
As noted in Sections 406.1 through 407 there are different retroactivity rules for different kinds of applications. If an application is filed after the first month in which you are eligible for benefits, the application may or may not have retroactive effect to entitle you to past due benefits. The application should be filed before the retroactive life of the application expires so that you do not lose benefits.
For example, in the case of a person who is of full retirement age, an application can be retroactive for up to six months (Section 406.1). If you reach full retirement age in March and have no earnings for March or later, you will be eligible for benefits. In order to receive the maximum benefits, you must file the application no later than September. If the application is not filed until October, it can go retroactive for only six months so that the earliest benefits could begin would be April and you would lose the months benefits for March.
As noted in Section 407, it may be important to file an application before the month you reach age 65, even if you do not intend to collect monthly benefits, to avoid losing some Medicare coverage.
Section 404.2 - When to File for Retirement
Benefits
The rule of thumb frequently heard is that you should file an application for Retirement Benefits three months before you plan to retire. This is good general advice. However, there are certain situations where you can actually lose benefits by following this guideline. The earnings test (Section 801) and retroactivity rules (Section 406.1) work together in such a way that hundreds or even thousands of dollars may be lost if you dont plan in advance.
Depending on the amount of your annual earnings and the amount of your benefit, it is possible to receive some benefits even if you have not retired. An application (or a protective filing statement, see Section402) must be filed at the right time.
Let's take the example of John Smith. He will reach full retirement age in December of 2004, will work throughout the whole year of 2004 and earn total annual earnings of $70,000. He goes to the Social Security office to file his application in September. He learns that his unreduced benefit at full retirement age will be $1,500. The benefit figured for January (an 11 month reduction for age - Section703.1) would be $1,407.
Based on his annual earnings, the sum of $12,973 will have to be withheld from any benefits payable to him in 2004 (Section 802.2). If his month of entitlement to benefits began with January, a total amount of $16,884 ($1407 x 12) would otherwise be payable for the year, but only the amount of $12,973 would have to be withheld based on his annual earnings, leaving the sum of $3,911 payable.
However, since he didnt file his application until September, he will lose these benefits, because an application for retirement benefits cannot be retroactive for months before full retirement age. Although the benefit is reduced for age for figuring benefits for January through November, starting with the month of full retirement age it will be readjusted (Section704.4) to exclude any reduction factor for the months under full retirement age that were withheld to satisfy the earnings test.
Another situation where benefits may be lost even though you file three months before you retire is if your countable earnings will be less than the annual earnings limitations (Section 801).
For example, let's say Jane Smith will reach full retirement age in May 2004. Her earnings for January through April will be less than $31,080, the yearly limit for those attaining full retirement age in 2004. Note that only earnings for months before the month of full retirement age are counted for the earnings limits. She goes to her local Social Security office in February, three months before May, and files an application for retirement benefits. She will be entitled to monthly benefits beginning with the month of February, the month she filed her application.
Because her countable earnings will be less than the annual earnings limitation, she is potentially eligible for benefits for all months of the year she reaches full retirement age. However, because payment of the benefit for the month of January would result in a permanent reduction for age, her application cannot be retroactive (Section 406.1). If she had filed her application in January, she would have been able to receive a benefit for that month. Although this would cause an extra reduction because of age, the reduction would be only a few dollars per month. She would receive hundreds of dollars (or more) for the January benefit.
It is impossible to know whether or not you should file an application for benefits before the usual three-month rule of thumb without knowing the exact benefit amount and the exact amount of your yearly earnings. However, if you will earn less than the annual earnings limit (Section 801) in any year you are at least age 62, you should file a protective filing statement (Section 402) during the month of January of that year. At the same time, you can request a benefit estimate (Section 1403) and then make an informed decision as to when you should start your retirement benefits (Section 408).
If you will be working during the year you reach full retirement age, it is a good idea to file a protective filing statement in January even if you do not plan to retire. Request a benefit estimate at the same time. Remember, only earnings for months before you reach full retirement age are counted for the annual earnings test in that year. In this way, if it turns out that you can receive benefits by having a January Month of Election (Section 408) you will be protected.
If you will have a "non-service" month (Section 804) at any time after age 62, you should file a protective filing statement no later than the first such month. This is a month where your wages are below the monthly limit, and you do not perform substantial services in self-employment. You may be eligible for a benefit for such a month, despite your annual earnings. In some cases you may not wish to take this benefit (Section 408), but if you file the protective filing statement, you will preserve your option.
Section 404.3 - When to File for Medicare
Medicare has two parts: Hospital Insurance and Medical Insurance (Sections 1202 and 1203). An application for Hospital Insurance may be retroactive for six months. However, unless you will be covered under your employers group health plan, you must file for Medical Insurance before the month you turn 65 (Section 407) to avoid losing some coverage. Therefore, you should file for Medicare at least one month before you turn 65, even if you are still working. Note that even though full retirement age for monthly benefits has increased (see Section 703.1), Medicare entitlement still begins at age 65.
You have the option of filing only for Medicare, without having to file for Retirement Benefits. Social Security prefers you to file the retirement application even if you are working, and place your benefits in suspense. Usually this makes no difference, but in some cases it does.
If your spouse is under full retirement age and may be eligible for benefits on her/his own account as well as yours, she/he may be better off if you file only the Medicare application if you cannot receive benefits. If her/his benefit is less than one half of yours, she/he will be required to file for spouses benefits when she/he files for her/his own benefits if you are "entitled" on your retirement account, even if you are in work suspense. If she/he is under full retirement age, this will cause the amount of her/his spouses benefit to be reduced based on her/his age at that time. If you retire before she/he reaches full retirement age, the extra age reduction for her/his spouses benefit stays in effect until she/he reaches full retirement age(Section 302).
If you are self-employed, you may be able to exclude some of your income from earnings for purposes of the earnings limitation, but you may require a different month of entitlement for retirement (Section 808).
If you have a "non-service" month (Section 804) in the year you turn 65, but do not wish to use it because you will have more non-service months in a later year, you may have to restrict your filing for Medicare only to do this (Section 408).
Social Security does not usually suggest that you split your entitlement to Medicare from benefits entitlement. It is up to you to specifically request this if it is to your advantage.
Section 404.4 - When to File for Survivor
Benefits
As noted in Chapter 2, certain widows, widowers, children and parents of deceased workers may be eligible for monthly benefits. The earliest such an application can be filed, of course, is the month of death of the covered worker. In the case of Child's Benefits, Mother's or Father's Benefits (these are benefits payable to widows or widowers who have children under 16 or disabled adult children in their care) and in the case of Parent's Benefits, there is no reduction for age. Therefore, an application for these types of benefits may be retroactive up to six months (Section 406.1).
Applications for these types of benefits usually should be filed within six months of the date of death. Of course, an application can be filed at a later date so long as the eligibility requirements are still met, but such an application can be retroactive for only six months and benefits may be lost if filed later than six months after the death. Sometimes, however, you may wish to start entitlement at a later date (see Section 408).
In the case of a disabled widow or widower between the ages of 50 and 59, an application can be retroactive for up to twelve months (Section 406.1). If you became disabled after your husband or wife died, you must file an application no later than 17 months after the beginning of your disability to avoid a loss of any benefits. This is because there is a five-month waiting period before any benefits are payable (Section 507). If you became disabled before your husband or wife died, then you must file an application within 12 months of the month of death in order to avoid the loss of any possible monthly benefits. This is because the waiting period during which no benefits are payable may be used up during months before the death of your husband or wife.
In the case of benefits payable to widow's or widower's age 60 and over, an application cannot be retroactive if it would result in a payment of a full monthly benefit reduced for age (see Section 406.1). This means that if you file an application for widow's benefits before you have reached full retirement age, you cannot receive full benefits for any month before the month of filing. (The only exception to this rule is the widow who files for benefits the month after her husband dies. Her application can be retroactive one month to the month of death.)
Depending on the amount of your earnings and the amount of the benefit, some benefits may be payable even though you are working (Section 408). Therefore, it is a good idea to at least file a protective filing statement (Section 402) in the first month in which you may be eligible for widows or widowers benefits and then obtain benefit estimates (Section1403) to determine whether or not you should file an application. The same principles noted in Section408 also apply to widows claim. You may lose benefits in certain cases if you wait to file until three months before you plan to retire.
If you have worked on your own account and may be eligible for a Retirement Benefit in addition to the Widows Benefit, you will have an option as to which one to receive (Section 303).