Can you stop and restart Social Security benefits?

Dear Savvy Senior,

Can I extremity my Social Security status benefits and restart them later to get a bigger payment? I precocious sewage a bully unexpected inheritance, truthful don’t request nan money from Social Security correct now. If possible, I would for illustration to suspend my benefits and restart them astatine property 70.

Do-over Dan

Dear Dan,

Yes, location are really 2 different strategies that let Social Security beneficiaries to undo their claiming decision. But to beryllium eligible, location are definite conditions you’ll person to meet. Here’s what you should know.

Withdrawal benefits

If you are successful your first twelvemonth of collecting status benefits, you tin use to Social Security for a “withdrawal of benefits.” Social Security will fto you retreat your original exertion for status benefits, but it must beryllium wrong 12 months of nan day you first claimed your benefits.

If you opt for a withdrawal, Social Security will dainty it arsenic if you ne'er applied for benefits successful nan first place. But there’s a catch. You’ll person to repay each dollar you’ve received, including those of immoderate family members who person been collecting benefits connected your net record, specified arsenic a spouse aliases insignificant child, on pinch immoderate money that was withheld from your Social Security payments – for example, to salary your Medicare premiums.

You tin only retreat your exertion for Social Security benefits once, but you tin use for benefits again later erstwhile nan monthly magnitude would beryllium larger.

To withdrawal your benefits, capable retired Social Security shape SSA-521 (see ssa.gov/forms/ssa-521.pdf) and nonstop nan completed shape to your section Social Security office.

If you alteration your mind, you person 60 days from nan day Social Security approves your withdrawal to cancel nan request.

Suspend benefits

If, however, you miss nan 12-month window, aliases if repaying your Social Security benefits is not financially feasible, location is different do-over option, but you’ll request to beryllium afloat status property aliases older to beryllium eligible.

Full status property is 66 and 6 months for those calved successful 1957, but it rises successful two-month increments each commencement twelvemonth to property 67 for those calved successful 1960 and later. You tin find your afloat status property astatine SSA.gov/benefits/retirement/planner/ageincrease.html.

At that point, you tin “suspend” your Social Security use and nan bully news is you don’t person to repay anything. But nan bad news is your monthly Social Security benefits extremity and truthful do those of immoderate limited family members (except a divided spouse).

During nan suspension, you will besides accrue delayed status credits, which will summation your monthly status use by two-thirds of 1 percent for each suspended period (or 8 percent for each suspended year) up until property 70.

Suspended benefits would automatically resume astatine 70, aliases you could take to resume Social Security benefits earlier, but you’d only person delayed status credits for nan play erstwhile benefits were suspended.

You tin petition a Social Security suspension complete nan telephone (800-722-1213), successful penning aliases successful personification astatine your section Social Security office. The suspension would statesman nan period aft you make nan request.

Also statement that if you’re enrolled successful Medicare, there’s different consequence of withdrawing aliases suspending your benefits.

Normally, Medicare Part B premiums ($174.70 per period successful 2024 for astir beneficiaries) are deducted straight from monthly Social Security payments.

If you withdrawal aliases suspend your benefits and you’re enrolled successful Medicare Part B, you’ll commencement receiving a quarterly measure from Medicare. You’ll person nan action of paying electronically aliases by mail. Or you tin motion up for Medicare’s Easy Pay, which automatically deducts your premium payments from your savings aliases checking relationship each month.

Send your elder questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, aliases sojourn SavvySenior.org. Jim Miller is simply a contributor to nan NBC Today show and writer of “The Savvy Senior” book.

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