Can I suspend SS benefits I started due to WEP concern now that I'm reconsidering waiting until 70?
I started collecting Social Security in January 2025 at my full retirement age (67), but I'm having second thoughts. I'm still working full-time as a high school English teacher and have a state pension coming. I originally claimed early because I was worried about the Windfall Elimination Provision reducing my benefit when I eventually retire from teaching. Now I'm hearing conflicting information about WEP "being passed" or possibly changing, and I'm wondering if I made a mistake. Is there any way to stop receiving my SS payments now, and restart them at age 70 to get the delayed retirement credits? I'm only 5 months into collecting and realize I could get about 24% more if I waited until 70. Can I "unclaim" somehow, or at least suspend payments until then? Would suspending affect how WEP is calculated against my teacher pension? I'm really confused about my options at this point.
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Connor Gallagher
Yes, you CAN suspend your benefits! This is called "voluntary suspension" and it's exactly for situations like yours. If you're between your FRA and age 70, you can contact SSA and ask to suspend your benefits. During suspension, you'll earn delayed retirement credits that will increase your benefit amount by 8% per year until age 70. Important points: 1. You can't suspend before FRA, but since you're already at FRA, you're eligible 2. During suspension, you won't receive monthly checks 3. Any benefits based on your record (like spousal benefits) will also be suspended 4. Medicare premiums can't be deducted from suspended benefits, so you'll need to pay them directly Regarding WEP - there's been discussion about reforming it, but nothing has "passed" that eliminates it completely. WEP will still affect your benefit calculation when you have both SS-covered earnings and pension income from non-covered employment.
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Zainab Omar
•Thank you for this information! Do I need to repay the 5 months of benefits I've already received? And do I just call the regular SSA number to request the suspension?
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Yara Sayegh
my spouse did this 3 yrs ago. its called voluntary suspension. he was 68 when he did it, wish we knew about it sooner! but its saving us alot now that hes 71 and the checks r bigger
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Keisha Johnson
•Be careful with the advice here. Voluntary suspension is indeed an option, but I've never heard of WEP being "passed" or eliminated. As a teacher with a pension from non-covered employment, WEP will still reduce your Social Security benefit regardless of when you claim unless the law changes significantly. Suspending may still be beneficial for the delayed credits, but don't expect WEP to disappear.
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Paolo Longo
I'm confused about this whole WEP thing being "passed" too. What does that even mean? Has the law changed? I'm in a similar situation with a firefighter pension and SS benefits and my financial advisor never mentioned anything changing with WEP recently. Can anyone clarify what's supposedly different now??
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Connor Gallagher
•Nothing major has changed with WEP. There have been various proposals in Congress over the years to modify or repeal WEP, but none have been enacted into law as of now. Perhaps the original poster heard about a proposed bill and thought it had passed? WEP still reduces Social Security benefits for those with pensions from non-SS-covered employment (like many teachers, firefighters, and other public sector workers).
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CosmicCowboy
When I tried calling SSA directly to suspend my benefits last year, I spent HOURS on hold and got disconnected twice!!! So frustrating!!! Third time I finally got through but they transferred me to someone else and I had to explain everything all over again. The whole process took me THREE DAYS of calling!!!
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Amina Diallo
•I had the same experience trying to reach SSA about my benefits! After multiple disconnections, I found a service called Claimyr that got me connected to an agent in about 20 minutes. It basically holds your place in line and calls you when an agent is available. Saved me hours of frustration. Check out their video explanation: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU or their website claimyr.com - especially helpful for complex issues like benefit suspension where you really need to talk to a knowledgeable person.
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Oliver Schulz
I went thru something similar but with early retirement at 62 and then wanting to go back to work. What ppl aren't mentioning is that when u suspend, ur Medicare premiums won't be automatically deducted anymore. I wasn't prepared for that and almost lost my coverage! Make sure u set up a way to pay those premiums directly if u suspend ur SS benefits.
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Zainab Omar
•That's really important information - thank you! I'm not on Medicare yet (still on my school district's health plan), but I'll keep that in mind for when I do enroll.
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Keisha Johnson
There's a lot of confusion here about WEP. To clarify: WEP is still very much in effect. What you might have heard is that there have been multiple bills introduced in Congress to reform or repeal WEP, but none have passed into law yet. The most recent was the Social Security Fairness Act, which would eliminate both WEP and GPO (Government Pension Offset), but it hasn't become law. Regarding your suspension question: Yes, you can suspend your benefits now that you're at FRA and restart at age 70. You don't need to repay anything you've already received. The process is: 1. Contact SSA (in writing or by phone) and request voluntary suspension 2. Your benefits will stop the month after your request 3. They'll automatically restart at age 70 if you don't request them earlier This will increase your monthly benefit by approximately 8% per year for each year of suspension.
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Zainab Omar
•Thank you for the clear explanation! This helps a lot. I think I must have misunderstood something I read about proposed changes to WEP. I'll call SSA tomorrow to request the suspension.
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Yara Sayegh
wait i thought teachers cant get ss at all...my sister is a teacher and was told she cant get social security when she retires??
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Connor Gallagher
•This depends on the state. In some states like California, Texas, and several others, many teachers don't pay into Social Security through their teaching jobs. However, if they worked other jobs where they paid into Social Security for at least 40 quarters (10 years), they can receive benefits, but they'll likely be reduced by WEP. In other states, teachers do pay into Social Security. Your sister should check with her specific pension system for accurate information.
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Paolo Longo
Has anyone actually been through a voluntary suspension and then restarted their benefits? Did your benefit amount actually increase as expected? I'm wondering if there are any surprises or gotchas in the process that aren't obvious from reading about it.
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Oliver Schulz
•My husband did this! Suspended at 67.5 and restarted at 70. His benefit went from about $2200 to $2750 per month. The only issue we had was we didn't realize we needed to pay Medicare premiums separately during suspension. But the benefit increase was exactly what SSA estimated it would be. Definitely worth it for us since he was still working anyway.
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CosmicCowboy
I HATE the windfall elimination!!!! Its so unfair to teachers!!! We work our whole lives and then get penalized for choosing a public service career?? Make it make sense!!!
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Keisha Johnson
•The rationale behind WEP is that Social Security benefits are designed to replace a higher percentage of income for lower-wage workers. Since teachers with non-covered pensions appear to Social Security as "low-wage workers" (because their teaching earnings don't show up in SS records), WEP was created to adjust for this. I agree it feels unfair, but that's the current policy logic. There are ongoing efforts to reform it.
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Connor Gallagher
Just to add to my earlier comment: When you suspend benefits, you continue earning delayed retirement credits until age 70, which will permanently increase your benefit by about 8% per year. So suspending from FRA (67) to 70 could increase your benefit by around 24% for the rest of your life. Also, regarding WEP - if you have 30+ years of "substantial earnings" in Social Security-covered employment, WEP doesn't apply at all. If you have 21-29 years, the WEP reduction is lessened. Might be worth checking your earnings record to see where you stand.
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Zainab Omar
•I just checked my SS statement online and I only have about 15 years of substantial earnings under Social Security. Most of my career has been teaching. So I guess the full WEP will apply to me regardless. Still, getting that 24% increase by waiting until 70 seems worthwhile.
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