Contributor ⭐⭐

Starting Social Security then stopping then starting again

Forum|Forum|9 months ago
November 15, 2025
8 replies
2816 views

Lets say FRA is in April next year and I draw Social Security at that time. Now lets say after 3 months I learn that if I had waited till January when I could have drawn $200 more a month from Social Security. If I stop my Social Security draw after 3 months and then start it back up in January when my pay would be $200 more per month, if I pay back all of the money I had received, would I get the January increase?

RT

GailL1

Community Champion ⭐⭐⭐

@RichardT153220

Yes, you can reverse your decision but there are rules in play that you must follow depending on whether or not you are LESS than FRA or AT or OVER FRA. So just to highlight both for those who may read this.

LESS THAN FRA - deemed by SSA as a “WITHDRAWAL” -

SSA.gov- 03/13/2024- Can I withdraw my Social Security retirement claim and reapply later to increase my benefit amount?

This has the procedure that ALL benefits have to be paid back for that 12 month or less period, including those that others maybe being paid off your record.

MORE specifically on the details: SSA.gov- Cancelloing or WITHDRAWING your Benefits Application

➡️ FULL RETIREMENT AGE BUT LESS THAN 70 YEARS OLD - deemed by SSA as a “SUSPENSION”⬅️

SSA.gov - SUSPENDINGYour Benefits Application

IF you are FRA but not yet 70 years old, you will be SUSPENDING your Retirement benefits. This is when you stop them to apply again later in order to get any Delayed Retirement Credits (DRC) you are due by NOT receiving benefits during these few years from FRA to 70 years old.

You do not have to repay benefits under a suspension but what you may have drawn up to the point of suspension will be recalculated out of your benefit so that you will not get any delayed retirement benefits on a few dollars of the benefit that you already received before you did the suspension.

Since Delayed Retirement Credits are ONLY applicable to the actual Number Holder (NH) and NOT to any other RETIREMENT benefits, what others might have received isn’t affected. However, your widow or others who may receive your SURVIVORS benefits will have the DRC that you earn figured into their benefit. So to recap - DRC are NOT included in RETIREMENT benefits received by others under your number but DRC are included in all SURVIVORS Benefits that come from your number.

Read carefully the (above linked) SUSPENDING Your Benefits Application SSA page and any other embedded links in the page cause the details are important. It gets kind of complicated in how your Medicare Part B premiums are handled.

Delayed Retirement Credits are GREAT if you can wait to get your benefits or until 70 to get your benefits. The current rate is 8% per year or equally divided by month. SSA.gov - Delayed Retirement Credits

The longer you wait past your FRA up until age 70, the bigger your benefit will be because of these DRC.

However, I believe you may be miscalculating - and also misinterpreting when you get these DRC. Read the above link on SSA - DRC. It takes awhile for the DRC to show up.

ALL benefit increases STOP at age 70 but from your FRA to age 70 the DRC are calculated to your Retirement benefit up to the date you decide to draw them or age 70. But you will not actually see all of them in your benefit distribution until the following January.

IT‘S ALWAYS SOMETHING . . . . .. . . . Roseanne Roseannadanna

T

Tonster521

Community Champion ⭐

@gail1, I asked Richard how he developed $200/month for 6 months of DRCs. It seems high for just 6 months. You are correct. He may be miscalculating. Or there is another factor. Anyway, electing $0.00 SS Benefits after attaining FRA takes a minimum of 12.5 years to recoup the loss of SS Benefits. For example, using 1 year of delay for a FRA 67 starts one at -100% and that loss is recouped at 8% per year or 12.5 years (100% divided by 8% is 12.5). Delaying for 3 years would start one at -300% and that loss is recouped at 24% per year which is 12.5 years. I used a 0% discount rate for arithmetic simplicity. Who earns 0%? Using 3% puts equivalency at 13 to 14 years depending on the method of compounding. So, one thinking about delaying to obtain a greater monthly SS Benefit also need to think about life expectancy. Folks who are financially savvy earning 5% or more need to live into their 90's to recoup the upfront loss of delaying SS Benefits. This is the time value of money. It is why SS benefits are reduced if one elects prior to FRA or increased if one delays after FRA. Hope this helps.

GailL1

Community Champion ⭐⭐⭐

@Tonster521

Yes, I don’t understand the $ 200 increase - does seem very high for just those few months.

Maybe he is talking about suspending his benefits at FRA and then reapplying in January of the next year and then asking for a 6-month back payment - this can be done but not with any DRC bonus amount. It would just be a 6-month backpay. OH Well, he will just have to explained.

I am a rules person with an emphasis on the logic basis of the rules. I have to rely on you for the numbers.

However, I do believe that you may be missing another very important part of the DRC and that is the benefit that it brings to the Survivors of the NH (number holder). I do not know if that would change your analysis.

IT‘S ALWAYS SOMETHING . . . . .. . . . Roseanne Roseannadanna

T

Tonster521

Community Champion ⭐

@RichardT153220, Are you thinking about receiving Delayed Retirement Credits (DRCs) for approximately 6 months? If so, how have you developed the amount of $200/month as the DRC?

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