Greetings Larry, I have an un submitted unfinished application that I have no interest in submitting now .The SSA site says I will lose benefits if I don’t complete the application by January 2022. That doesn’t make any sense that I would lose my benefits. I tried calling but I cannot get through and I would really appreciate you getting back to me. Thank you, George

Hi George. It sounds like what you received is a 6 month closeout notice. If so, it doesn't mean you'll lose your benefits if you don't complete the application you left unfinished, it just means that you'll need to start over with a new application when you do decide to claim your benefits. You'd still be free to apply for benefits any time that you want to, and your benefit rate won't be adversely affected by the fact that you didn't follow through with the previous application that you started. The only potential adverse effect would involve the date you could start drawing your benefits.

For example, say Bill is age 63 and he establishes a protective filing date on October 15th 2021. Bill could then elect to start his benefits effective with as early as the month of October 2021. However, if Bill doesn't finish his application within the 6 months allotted by his closeout notice, then he would no longer have the option of starting his benefits as early as October 2021. But, Bill would still be free to file an application anytime thereafter and start his benefits as early as the month he applies.

When a person starts an online application it establishes a protective filing date. That protective filing date would continue indefinitely until Social Security either issues a closeout notice or makes a determination on the person's eligibility. And, since Social Security doesn't have all of the information that they need to make a final determination when a person's application is unfinished, they must issue a closeout notice so that the protective filing date doesn't go on forever (https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/poms.nsf/lnx/0200204012). In other words, the purpose of a closeout notice is simply to inform a person who has established a protective filing date that that date will no longer be protective as of the date specified in the notice.

Keep in mind that I don't have full access to all of your records, so you might want to call Social Security to discuss this issue with them. You may also want to strongly consider using our software (https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase) to fully analyze the options available to you in order to determine your best strategy for maximizing your benefits.

Best, Jerry