Many Considerations Regarding Social Security Benefits, Who Knew?

File and Suspend. Sounds like orders for a top secret spy. But no, it is a term used in the world of Social Security benefits. File and suspend means that someone can apply for their Social Security Retirement benefits but then suspend receiving their payments. Why? Well some people want to delay collecting their Social Security because there is a retirement bonus for putting off collecting your benefits. The reason that some individuals may elect to file and then suspend those benefits is so a husband or wife can collect spousal benefits presently and the individual can still receive the delayed bonus when they unsuspended their benefits at age 70.

Confused? So were we. Upon reading about this in a Social Security advice column in the Trenton Times, we did some research. There is a lot of information online about Social Security benefits and financial advice regarding applying for your benefits. As always, we suggest you start at the source and only trust information from the Social Security Administration website. This page on the Social Security Administration website, http://www.ssa.gov/retire2/suspend.htm tells you about your option to suspend benefits and a few cautions before making your decision.

If you receive Medicare Part B, you will be billed directly by Medicare for that premium which is usually deducted straight from your Social Security payment. If you suspend and are not receiving a Social Security payment but still are enrolled in Medicare Part B you will be billed for your premium for that coverage. The other caution which may affect less people is that if you are an SSI recipient, suspending your Social Security Retirement benefit will make you ineligible for your SSI benefits.

So, if you want to hold off until age 70 to receive your Social Security Retirement benefits and receive  bonus for delaying your benefits, whatever the reason may be, you can do so by using the file and suspend method. If you have questions or need further advice contact the Social Security Administration online at www.ssa.gov, on the phone at  1-800-772-1213, or TTY number, 1-800-325-0778, between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Monday through Friday. You can also contact your financial advisor.

Be sure to read the next issue of Renaissance magazine for important information on financial planning, social security and more. Don’t know how to find it? Ask us at office@njfoundationforaging.org