Confused about Delayed Retirement Credits after suspending Social Security benefits - did I mess up?

You're definitely not getting accurate information from that second rep. I dealt with the exact same situation last year. When you voluntarily suspend benefits AFTER your Full Retirement Age, you DO earn Delayed Retirement Credits during the suspension period. This is 100% confirmed in SSA's own Program Operations Manual System (POMS). The key difference is between WITHDRAWAL (which requires repayment and must be done within 12 months of starting benefits) and SUSPENSION (which can be done any time after FRA with no repayment). The second rep clearly confused these two different procedures. When you restart your benefits after suspension, you WILL receive the additional DRCs you earned during the suspension period. I recommend calling back and specifically asking to speak with a Technical Expert who understands the difference between withdrawal and voluntary suspension after FRA. I used Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to SSA quickly rather than waiting on hold forever. Their service connects you with an SSA agent in minutes - here's their demo video: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU - definitely worth it when you need accurate information on something this important!

The previous commenter is correct. There's a lot of confusion about this even among SSA employees. Here are the facts: 1. SUSPENSION after FRA: You keep what you've received, and earn DRCs during suspension period 2. WITHDRAWAL: Must be within 12 months of filing, requires repayment of ALL benefits SSA's own website states: "If you have reached full retirement age, but are not yet age 70, you can ask us to suspend your retirement benefit payments. This allows you to earn delayed retirement credits for the months your benefits are suspended, which will result in a higher benefit payment when you restart your benefits." I'd suggest printing this page from SSA.gov and bringing it when you go to your local office. Some reps unfortunately don't understand this distinction.

lol classic SSA...different rep tells u totally different things 🙄 my sister got 3 different answers to the same question calling 3 times. They need better training seriously

I can confirm what others are saying. I suspended my retirement benefits at 68 1/2 until age 70, and when I restarted, my benefit amount WAS higher with all the DRCs applied for the suspension period. The catch is that you only get DRCs for complete months of suspension, and they're applied in January of the year after you earn them. So when you restart, you might not immediately see the increase if it's before January of the following year. But they WILL be applied retroactively. The SSA's computer systems automatically calculate this - it's not something a representative needs to manually process. That's probably why some reps get confused about it - they don't see it happening on their end because it's automated. Trust the system more than the rep in this case.

wait i'm confused... what's the difference between suspending and withdrawing? i thought they were the same thing??

When I suspended my benefits after FRA, I made sure to get written confirmation from SSA. Request a formal suspension letter that clearly states you'll receive Delayed Retirement Credits during the suspension period. Having that documentation will save you major headaches if there's any confusion when you restart benefits.

THIS EXACT THING happened to my husband!!!! He suspended at 68 and restarted at 70 last year. When the payments started again they were THE SAME as before!!! We called and called and got nowhere until we finally went to our local office with printouts from the SSA website. Turns out they had processed it as an "administrative suspension" (like for earning too much) instead of a "voluntary suspension"! It took 3 months to fix and he got a big retroactive payment once they fixed it. CHECK YOUR PAPERWORK!!

im pretty sure u made the right choice. My cousin did somethin similar and his checks got bigger when he turned 70. The SS people sometimes don't know there own rules lol

Just to add one more technical detail - the DRC rate is 2/3 of 1% per month, which works out to 8% per year for each full year you delay. So in the original poster's case, if they suspend from age 68 to 70, they'd get approximately 16% increase from the DRCs earned during suspension (plus any COLAs that occur during that period). Also important: while benefits are suspended, any benefits payable to others on your record (like spousal benefits) are also suspended, except for divorced spouse benefits. Make sure that doesn't impact your situation.