Big changes are happening with Social Security, and you have questions.
My recent columns drew thousands of comments, largely centered on three big themes: fear of delayed checks and crumbling customer service at the Social Security Administration, Roth conversions on tax-deferred retirement accounts, and heart-wrenching explanations of why filing for benefits at 62 is not always a matter of choice.
The Trump administration has made considerable and controversial changes, including massive staff and field office cuts, limiting phone service. and significantly ramping up the amount it garnishes per monthly check from Social Security beneficiaries who receive overpayments. These changes are impacting the nearly 74 million retired senior citizens and disabled workers who currently receive benefits and the millions more on the cusp of doing so.
The following is an edited sample of those 5,000-plus comments and my take on them.
I am 62, retiring soon, and I’m ready to start my Social Security checks because I don’t have any savings. I have an appointment with Social Security on June 9. When will I receive my first payment?
Kerry Hannon: It typically takes at least a month, or 30 days, to receive your first Social Security check after your application is processed. It could be 45 days in some cases. The precise timing of your check delivery relies on processing times at the Social Security Administration.
During a recent operations meeting in April at SSA, an official from the agency reported that the field offices “are struggling right now to keep pace with the timeliness this year.” The fact that they are aware of this is a good thing, and, if they take action, will have this under control by the time you apply for your benefit.
In general, however, I recommend applying up to four months before you want to start receiving benefits.
I know a number of people who have claimed their Social Security benefits before their full retirement kicks in due to age bias in hiring. They can’t get an interview for even part-time jobs, let alone anything that has benefits. The only guaranteed income they can find is Social Security.
Sadly, this comment rings true. When you can’t find a new job after a layoff, involuntary retirement might be your last option, which, in turn, forces you to claim benefits early.
I’m an advocate for delaying benefits until age 70 if you can. But not everyone has the financial guardrails to pay for living expenses until they tap in or a steady income that allows them to wait it out.
You can start receiving your Social Security retirement benefits at age 62. You’re entitled to full benefits only when you reach your full retirement age (FRA). For example, if you turn 62 in 2025, your benefit would be roughly 30% lower than it would be at your full retirement age of 67.
If you delay benefits from your FRA until age 70, you earn retirement credits. Those come to roughly an 8% per year increase until you hit 70, when the credits stop accruing.
As to your point on age bias — ageism is real. For many employers, 62 is the cutoff for working, and 58 for hiring, per an analysis by Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies.
Yet, nearly half of workers expect to work past 62, according to a new survey released by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. And around a third expect to work past age 67.
Most retirees — 3 in 5 — report retiring earlier than age 65, according to the nonpartisan Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) data, with a median retirement age of 62. Nearly 7 in 10 say the reason was something out of their control.
I retired at 60 but I started my Social Security at 70. Between those two points, I did IRA to Roth conversions. I’m now in my 70s, and all of my income is tax free, and I have no required minimum distributions each year. My retired friends who started Social Security at 62, are all struggling to make ends meet. Some have had to get part-time jobs. I’m having no financial worries.
Minimizing future taxes in retirement is a benefit many people don’t factor into their retirement decision.
Learn more: Do you pay taxes on Social Security?
If you’re worried about higher tax rates in the future, Roth conversions can be a good solution for some folks.
A conversion is when you shift assets from a traditional IRA or 401(k) to a Roth IRA. You pay taxes on the funds you move, but once your money is invested in the Roth IRA, it grows tax-free and can be withdrawn tax-free in retirement.
For most people, it’s best to tackle this with a series of smaller annual conversions to keep your immediate tax bill manageable. Keep in mind that Roth conversions are permanent. If you want the conversion to be for your 2025 tax year, you must complete it by Dec. 31.
Have a question about retirement? Personal finances? Anything career-related? Click here to drop Kerry Hannon a note.
Now let’s turn to your comments slamming the cuts to the Social Security Administration’s customer service. There were slews of these. Here are a handful.
Gee, who would have thought eliminating phone service while at the same time closing field offices, plus adding extra verification steps, might have made things difficult for senior citizens to access their Social Security benefits? It took an uproar to get them to back off.
And this comment:
The idea that any agency that deals with the public by phone is overstaffed — insane. If you ever had to deal with SSA or the IRS, you know how long wait times are. Some days you cannot even get through. They need more staff, not less.
One more:
Where I live, the closest Social Security office is more than a four-hour drive. Better customer service is needed, especially in remote areas. Good phone service is needed for some, but also improving the online service would benefit most people.
The Trump Administration’s actions at SSA are already freaking out seniors who have flooded SSA’s 800 number for help to the tune of a 25% jump in April over the same time a year ago. There have been service outages and longer wait times.
Although the Social Security Administration backed off its plan to cut phone service due to the backlash, the situation is still dire.
“Already, DOGE has taken steps to eliminate 7,000 jobs at SSA and reportedly has plans for additional layoffs and cuts,” Kathleen Romig, director of Social Security and disability policy at the left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, told Yahoo Finance. “Staff cuts this fast and this deep inevitably harm Social Security applicants and beneficiaries, forcing them to wait longer for service.”
What should seniors expect moving forward?
The experts I spoke to are not optimistic about what lies ahead, at least for now.
“While Congress can technically direct the SSA on how to spend some of its administrative budget, including staffing levels, to counteract what has happened because of DOGE’s decisions, that is unlikely,” said Jason Fichtner, executive director of the Retirement Income Institute at the Alliance for Lifetime Income, who served in several positions at the Social Security Administration.
“With SSA staff being reduced while the agency was already operating at insufficient support levels and computer systems in need of modernization, continued service delays and breakdowns are likely,” he added.
Kerry Hannon is a Senior Columnist at Yahoo Finance. She is a career and retirement strategist and the author of 14 books, including the forthcoming “Retirement Bites: A Gen X Guide to Securing Your Financial Future,” “In Control at 50+: How to Succeed in the New World of Work” and “Never Too Old to Get Rich.” Follow her on Bluesky.
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