I am 67 years old and got my first payment for April in May of last year. I turned 66 on January 28th of 2020 and was eligible at that time. I went to the SS office as I had had some problems with my 2017 tax return as the numbers contributed to SS were more than they should have been. The IRS instructed me to get an updated W2 or a letter from this employer. I got the letter and the IRS excepted it. When I went to SS, twice two different offices I was told I needed an amended W2. I had been employed for in the hospitality industry for 39 years with this employer and at this point all of our dealings are through our attorneys. And of course, during this time period everything shut down. I again checked the numbers online at the SS, as I was now unemployed once again with extra time on my hands, and of course they matched as they always had as too much had been contributed from myself and my former employer.
Long story short , am I able to retroactively get the three months I missed?
Thank you,
Peggy

Hi Peggy. I'm not sure if I'm clear on all of the issues you're concerned about. If you reached your full retirement age (FRA) of age 66 in January 2020, you could have started drawing your benefits effective with January 2020 no matter how much you were earning. There's no limit on how much you can earn and still be paid Social Security benefits once you reach FRA.

Apparently, though, when you applied for your Social Security retirement benefits last year you chose to start your benefits effective with April as opposed to January. If you want to change your month of election to January instead, you'll need to submit a written and signed request to that effect to Social Security (https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/poms.nsf/lnx/0200204047). If you do choose to start your benefits earlier, though, you'll lose the delayed retirement credits (DRC) that you would have earned for the months of January through March of 2020. That would lower your ongoing monthly benefit rate by 2%, so you'd in effect be choosing to receive 3 months of back pay in return for a lower permanent benefit rate.

Best, Jerry