Can I stop my Social Security at 64 to return to work and restart benefits later?

You have two options here: 1. File Form SSA-521 to withdraw your application. This must be done within 12 months of when you started receiving benefits. You will need to repay ALL benefits you've received so far, including any Medicare premiums or tax withholding. After that, it's like you never filed, and you can restart later with a higher benefit amount. 2. Keep your benefits and work. In 2025, the earnings limit for people younger than full retirement age is $22,320. For every $2 you earn above this amount, $1 will be withheld from your benefits. The month you reach FRA, the limit increases significantly and the withholding rate drops to $1 for every $3 over the limit. The second option might be better unless you can easily repay the $18,000 and then wait several years before claiming again.

my cousin just did somethin like this last year, she had to fill out a form and pay back everything she'd gotten so far. it was alot of money, like 22k I think? but she got a good job so it worked out for her

The SSA system is designed to PUNISH people who try to work! I started my benefits at 62, then got a part-time job. They took back SO MUCH of my benefits it wasn't even worth working. The earnings limit is a JOKE - they basically force seniors to either work full-time or not at all. And good luck getting through to anyone at SSA to explain how all this works - I spent THREE DAYS trying to get someone on the phone!!!

i went thru this exact thing last yr!! let me tell u what happend to me... i started SS at 62 then my old company asked me to come back for big $$$. i called SSA like 50 times and always got busy signal. finally i used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) and they got me connected to SSA in like 20 mins! they have this cool demo video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU anyway the SSA agent told me since i was past the 12 month window i couldnt withdraw, but they explained how the earnings limit works. turns out it was still worth it for me to work even with some benefits withheld because i'm still building up my 401k again.

Has anyone considered how this affects Medicare? I'm assuming since you're 64 you're not on Medicare yet, but that's another wrinkle to consider when you turn 65.

There's a calculation you should do before making this decision: 1. If you withdraw (within 12 months of starting) and repay the $18,000, you can restart benefits later. The increase would be about 0.5% per month for each month you delay (up to your Full Retirement Age). 2. If you keep benefits and work, they'll withhold benefits based on earnings, but at FRA they'll recalculate and give you credit for months where full benefits were withheld. Option 2 might be better in your case since you'd be getting the same benefit increase without having to repay the $18,000 all at once. The benefits withheld due to earnings aren't lost forever - they're factored back in at FRA.

one thing nobody mentioned yet - if u withdraw and reapply later u can still only go back 6 months max when u reapply. so don't wait too long thinking u can get a big lump sum for all those months u waited!

Based on what you've shared about your situation, here's what I'd recommend: 1. Since you'll be earning $65,000, which is well above the $22,320 earnings limit, a significant amount of your benefits will be withheld. 2. The SSA withholds benefits starting from January of each year until they've covered the projected withholding amount. This means you might receive no benefits for several months of the year. 3. For every month where your entire benefit is withheld due to work, the SSA will adjust your early retirement reduction when you reach full retirement age. 4. Given your earnings and the short time since you started benefits, the automatic adjustment at FRA might be more advantageous than withdrawing and repaying $18,000 now. I'd recommend creating a my Social Security account online and using the retirement calculator to model both scenarios with your specific numbers.