Veteran personal finance journalist Robert Powell answers questions from USA WEEKEND readers. His column runs Tuesdays and Thursdays at usaweekend.com.
Is it possible to claim Social Security and then suspend the benefit for a time, and then restart the benefit again, say, one or two years later but at a higher level? Would Social Security recalculate a new (and higher) benefit because you are now older?
— Terry Mellenberger, Benton, Wis.
If you are already entitled to Social Security retirement benefits and have reached full retirement age, you may voluntarily suspend benefit payments up to age 70, says a spokesman for the Social Security Administration. You can ask the SSA to suspend your benefit orally or in writing.
FYI: The SSA pays Social Security benefits the month after they are due. So, if you contact the SSA in June and request that Uncle Sam suspend benefits, you will still receive your June benefit payment in July. If your benefit payments are suspended, they will start automatically the month you reach age 70.
If you change your mind and want the payments to start before age 70, just tell the SSA when you want your benefits reinstated. Your request may include benefits for any months when your payments were suspended.
And yes, you can earn delayed retirement credits while your benefit is suspended and receive a higher benefit payment the following year, says Andy Landis, author of Social Security: The Inside Story.
Social Security has additional details about this subject on its website, Retirement Planner: Suspending Retirement Benefit Payments.
One last note: If you suspend your retirement benefits and you are enrolled in Medicare Part B, the SSA says you will be billed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services for future Part B premiums. Those premiums, says the SSA, premiums cannot be deducted from your suspended retirement benefits. And if you don't pay the premiums in a timely manner, you might lose yo! ur Part B Medicare coverage.
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