Social Security payments: how to pause them and potentially get a bigger amount later

If you decide retire early — before age 67 — and start receiving your Social Security benefits at a reduced rate, you have a window of time to change your mind. If you’re wondering why you’d want to stop getting your Social Security money, the benefit of doing so is receiving more money at a later date.

Let me explain: if you start collecting your benefits at age 62, you will receive a reduced amount each month, instead of receiving the full amount waiting until age 67 to retire. The Social Security Administration gives you 12 months from the time you applied to begin receiving benefits to withdraw your retirement application, if you change your mind for any reason; for example, you have been offered a well-paying job and may be deferring the collection of benefits. .

I’ll explain how long you have to stop your Social Security benefits and what happens if you do. For more, here is the Social Security payment schedule Y how to check your account statements online.

What you need to know about suspension of your benefits

If you want to withdraw your application for Social Security, there are a few things you need to know first.

• You only have 12 months from when you became eligible for Social Security benefits to make a decision. So if you have been receiving benefits for several years, you will not be eligible to pause your payments.
• You can only withdraw once in your life.
• You will have to pay back all the money you and your family received from Social Security (see below).
• If others receive benefits based on your application, they must consent to withdraw your application.

Money to pay back from Social Security benefits

If you decide to stop receiving benefits at this time, you will have to repay what you and your family have already received from Social Security. That includes:

• Benefits received by your spouse or children, even if they do not live with you.
• Money withheld from your Social Security retirement checks for Medicare Part B, Part C, or Part D premiums.
• Voluntary federal income tax withholding.
• Garnishments, including child support and alimony, civil penalties, overdue federal taxes, or if you owe a non-tax debt to a federal agency.

Here’s how to stop your Social Security benefits

Ready to withdraw your benefits? This is what you should do.

1. Complete Social Security Form SSA-521 (PDF). You will need to provide information such as your Social Security number, the benefit you wish to withdraw from, and the reason. You can also choose whether to keep your Medicare benefits (if applicable).

two. You will then send that completed form to the nearest Social Security office.

The Social Security Administration will contact you once a decision is made about your retirement. If approved, the administration will also let you know how much money you will have to pay back.

If you change your mind about ending your benefits, you have 60 days to cancel your withdrawal request.

For more information, here they are Six important things to know about your Social Security money. Also, here it is how your social security benefits are calculated and the best time to collect them.