Can I stop Social Security after starting at 66, repay benefits, and restart at FRA in 2025?

Yes, your husband can withdraw his application within 12 months of first receiving benefits, but he must repay ALL benefits received so far. This is called a "withdrawal of application" (Form SSA-521). 1. He can withdraw now, repay benefits, then reapply at his FRA (which would be February 2025 for someone born in June 1958). His first payment would arrive in March 2025. 2. His benefit would be recalculated based on his age at the time he reapplies. Since he'd be at FRA, he'd get 100% of his primary insurance amount rather than a reduced amount if he started earlier. 3. Once he reaches FRA, there is NO earnings limit. He can earn any amount without reduction in benefits. 4. For Medicare - yes, if he withdraws, he'll need to arrange direct payment for Medicare premiums.

i was in almost the same boat last year except i was 65. social security is so confusing i swear!! once you hit your FRA you can make whatever you want with no penalty. thats the big advantage of waiting. my neighbor got caught with those earnings limits too and it was a big mess for her

Be careful with the withdrawal! You only get ONE chance to do this in your lifetime. After you withdraw, you'll need to repay ALL benefits received - that includes any benefits your spouse may have received on your husband's record too. The form you need is SSA-521. I'd recommend downloading it, filling it out at home, then taking it to your local SSA office in person rather than mailing it. That way you can get confirmation they received it. For Medicare, he'll get a quarterly bill (form CMS-500) once his SS benefits stop. It's around $540 for 3 months of Part B for most people in 2024.

I tried calling SSA for weeks about a similar issue and kept getting disconnected or waiting for hours. Finally used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to an agent in under 5 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU The agent I spoke with confirmed that withdrawing an application is definitely possible within the first 12 months, but they recommended scheduling an appointment specifically with a Claims Specialist who handles retirement benefits since it's a specialized procedure. Made things much clearer than trying to figure it out from the website.

WAIT!! Before you do anything drastic, run the numbers!!! I'm not sure withdrawing is your best option. Here's why: 1. Yes you can withdraw and reapply at FRA, BUT... 2. If he's only losing benefits for a few months (while they recoup overpayments), then next year at FRA he'll start getting full checks again AUTOMATICALLY 3. Earnings test is pro-rated - they don't just cut off benefits completely if you're over by a small amount 4. The earnings limit jumps significantly in the year you reach FRA Plus, there's something called the Adjustment of the Reduction Factor - even though he loses some benefits now due to earnings, SSA will actually INCREASE his monthly amount LATER to account for months benefits were withheld. I'd recommend running both scenarios with EXACT numbers before deciding!!!

just talk to a financial adviser that knows social security rules!!! dont trust random people on internet forums (including me lol). your FRA is based on birth year and month so double check that date. the rules are SO different before and after FRA its crazy

One more important point - if your husband withdraws and repays now, he won't be able to claim retroactive benefits when he applies at FRA. That's not a big deal since retroactive benefits are only available for 6 months max and only available AFTER FRA anyway. But if he were to wait until after FRA to apply, he could potentially get up to 6 months of retroactive benefits. And regarding Medicare - if he's paying the standard premium ($174.70/month in 2024), it's much easier to have it deducted from SS benefits. If he withdraws, he'll get quarterly bills of about $524 that must be paid directly. Just another factor to consider in your decision.

my sister had the same problem and she just let them withhold the payments to recoup the overage then everything went back to normal. she didn't want the hassle of withdrawing and reapplying. less paperwork.

To clarify something important about the Adjustment to the Reduction Factor that was mentioned: This only applies if your husband started receiving benefits BEFORE his FRA. Since he started at 66 (which is before his FRA of 66+8 months for someone born in 1958), any months where benefits are completely withheld due to earnings will be credited back to him after he reaches FRA. SSA will automatically recalculate and slightly increase his monthly benefit to account for those months where he received no payment. This is why running the exact calculations is so important - withdrawing and reapplying later means repaying benefits now, but getting a higher amount later. Letting SSA withhold benefits means keeping what he's already received, getting a slightly increased amount later, but still having taken benefits early with some permanent reduction.