Social Security Benefit Suspension

It used to be that you could suspend your benefits and collect another benefit. But this has changed. Nowadays, voluntary benefit suspension results in not only suspending all benefits you’re receiving, but also any auxiliary benefits being paid on the same numberholder’s record.

Benefit suspension

Previously there could be an enhancement to the overall benefits being received by suspension of benefits. In many cases this was known as “file and suspend”. In the days before the change to the rules, one spouse would file for his or her own benefit and then immediately suspend benefits. Then the other spouse would be allowed to file for spousal benefits, while the first spouse (with the benefit suspension) could delay receipt of benefits until a later age. This was only allowed when the suspending spouse was at least Full Retirement Age.

In the same way, the individual with suspended benefits could allow for his or her children to receive child’s benefits while his or her own benefit is accruing delay credits.

Now, since the change to the rules, benefit suspension results in all available benefits based on the same record (including spousal or other auxiliary benefits).

While the obvious change is that the old school file and suspend is no longer useful. But the other change is that any other benefits that you might be eligible for would also be suspended upon voluntary suspension of benefits.

For example, Jane, age 66, was collecting her own retirement benefit in the amount of $750 per month (reduced from her FRA amount of $1,000). Her husband Michael died. Michael had been collecting a benefit of $800 per month at the time of his death.

Jane wonders if benefit suspension could apply in her case. If she suspends her own benefit, she’d be able to accrue delay credits on her own benefit, which by age 70 would increase her benefit to $990. In the meantime, she could collect the survivor benefit ($800) which Michael had been receiving… right?

Unfortunately, with the new rules, although Jane could use benefit suspension to accrue the delay credits, she cannot at the same time collect the survivor benefit.

The one type of benefit that is not impacted by benefit suspension is an ex-spouse’s spousal benefit. So in other words, if you’re divorced you cannot suspend your benefits to control the amount of spousal benefits your ex-spouse is eligible to receive.