If I claim Social Security at full retirement age, when will I get my first payment?

If you set benefits to begin at full retirement age (FRA) — 66 and 10 months for people born in 1959 and 67 for those born in 1960 and later — your first payment generally will arrive in the month after you attain that age. That’s because Social Security pays benefits a month behind, so your payment for, say, June 2026 will arrive in July.

Your birthday generally determines your monthly payment schedule:

• If the birthday falls between the first and 10th day of the month, the benefit payment arrives on the second Wednesday of each month.
• If the birthday falls between the 11th and the 20th, the payment comes on the third Wednesday of the month.
• If the birthday falls between the 21st and the end of the month, the payment arrives on the fourth Wednesday of the month.

Say you were born on June 15, 1959, and claim retirement benefits when you reach FRA at 66 and 10 months (or April 15, 2026). You’ll get your first Social Security payment on the third Wednesday of May.

There's an exception if you were born on the first day of the month. In this case, Social Security considers you to have attained full retirement age on the last day of the previous month. For example, if you were born June 1, 1959, you would attain full retirement age on March 31, 2026, and your first payment would arrive on the second Wednesday in April. 

Keep in mind

• Benefit applications can take up to three months to process, so file your claim three months before your planned start date.
• If you are drawing spousal or survivor benefits on another person’s earnings record, your payment date depends on that person’s birthday and follows the schedule above.