When Benefits Change
As an attorney who specializes in Social Security disability claims in San Diego and Temecula, I find many people question what happens to their Social Security Disability benefits when they reach retirement age. If you are wondering what happens to your SSDI benefits once you reach age 65, the following information will help.
The Benefits Do Convert
The first thing you need to understand when receiving SSDI benefits is that the benefits do convert from Social Security Disability benefits to Social Security Retirement benefits once you reach retirement age. Nothing will change. The SSA will simply change your disability benefit to a retirement benefit once you have reached full retirement age. When you reach that age, however, can vary depending on which year you were born.
It’s Not Automatically 65
Many people think that their SSDI benefits will automatically change to retirement benefits when they reach age 65. This is only true for those who were born before 1937. Those born after 1937 do not reach full retirement age at exactly 65, so their SSDI benefits will not change to retirement benefits as soon as they turn 65. Benefit conversion depends on birth year. The following outline will help you understand at what age your SSDI benefits will convert to retirement benefits:
- 1938 – 65 years and 2 months
- 1939 – 65 years and 4 months
- 1940 – 65 years and 6 months
- 1941 – 65 years and 8 months
- 1942 – 65 years and 10 months
- 1943 through 1954 – 66 years
- 1955 – 66 years and 2 months
- 1956 – 66 years and 4 months
- 1957 – 66 years and 6 months
- 1958 – 66 years and 8 months
- 1959 – 66 years and 10 months
- 1960 and later – 67 years
The age breakdown above should help clarify when Social Security Disability benefits will convert to Social Security Retirement benefits. Once you begin receiving Social Security Retirement benefits, you will receive your benefits without any limit on your earnings. This means that you will begin receiving your monthly benefits regardless of your income, unlike when these benefits were simply SSDI benefits. When your SSDI benefits convert to retirement benefits, the SSDI rules no longer apply as the benefits now fall under the retirement guidelines.
