Should I continue paying into Social Security at 68? Can I suspend SS benefits to return to full-time work?

Yes, it's completely normal to still pay Social Security and Medicare taxes on your part-time job. The good news is that these continued contributions CAN potentially increase your benefit amount! SSA recalculates your benefits annually, and if your current earnings are higher than one of your previous 35 highest earning years used in your original calculation, your benefit could increase slightly. As for suspending benefits - yes, you absolutely can! Since you're past your Full Retirement Age (which would be 66 for your birth year), you can request to suspend your benefits and go back to work. When you restart your benefits later, they'll be higher due to Delayed Retirement Credits (8% per year until age 70). Just contact SSA and request to suspend your benefits. When you're ready to restart them (no later than age 70), contact them again.

my uncle did this exact same thing!! he took SS at 62 then went back to work at 67 and suspended his benefits. made a HUGE difference in his payments when he turned 70 and started collecting again. best decision he ever made according to him. just make sure u have enough savings to live on while ur not getting the ss checks

I want to provide some additional information to help you make the best decision for your situation: 1. At 68, you're already past your Full Retirement Age (FRA), which means there's no longer an earnings limit. You can earn as much as you want without SS reducing your benefits. 2. You can indeed suspend your benefits now that you're past FRA. This will earn you Delayed Retirement Credits of 2/3% per month (8% per year) until age 70. This is essentially a guaranteed 8% annual return - better than most investments! 3. Your current work does continue to affect your benefit calculation. SSA will automatically recalculate your benefit annually, and if your current earnings replace a lower-earning year in your calculation, your benefit will increase accordingly. 4. If you suspend benefits and return to full-time work, you can request to restart your benefits at ANY time - you don't have to wait until 70. But 70 is the maximum age for DRCs, so there's no benefit to waiting beyond that age. To suspend your benefits, call SSA at 1-800-772-1213 or visit your local office.

I was in almost the same boat! Took SS at 62 (healthcare job was breaking my body) and regretted it later. I tried calling SSA for MONTHS to ask questions like yours and could NEVER get through. Always disconnected or on hold forever!!! Finally used this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to an actual SSA agent in about 20 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU The agent I spoke with explained everything about suspending benefits and how the recalculations work with new earnings. Turns out my part-time cashier job DID slightly increase my monthly payment! Worth checking into for your situation.

you should DEFINITELY suspend your benefits and go back to work if you can physically handle it!!!!! i didn't know this was possible until it was too late for me. the difference between taking SS at 62 vs 70 is MASSIVE - like 76% more money every month FOR LIFE!!! wish someone had told me this years ago but my financial advisor was useless. good luck!!

To specifically address your question about whether these new contributions help your benefit - yes, but with some nuance. Social Security calculates your benefit based on your highest 35 years of indexed earnings. If you have fewer than 35 years of earnings, or if your current part-time job actually pays more (after wage indexing) than some of your previous 35 highest years, then yes - you'll see a benefit increase. However, since you're only earning $375/week (about $19,500 annually), this may or may not replace one of your previous years when indexed for inflation. Construction work typically pays more than retail, so your current earnings might not replace any previous years in your calculation. The benefit recalculation happens automatically every year, so you don't need to contact SSA about this. Any increase would appear after the recalculation.

I'm confused about something... if OP suspends benefits, wouldn't they lose Medicare too? I thought Medicare was tied to receiving SS benefits? That would be a disaster if you're working and suddenly have no health insurance!

Thank you all for the incredibly helpful responses! I think I'm leaning toward keeping my part-time job for now and then potentially suspending benefits to return to full-time work in a few months. My son mentioned his company is hiring for office positions that wouldn't be physically demanding like my old construction job. I'm grateful to learn that my current contributions might still help a bit, and that the suspension option is available if I want to maximize my benefits going forward. I'll definitely look into that Claimyr service to speak with SSA directly and get the specifics for my situation. It's reassuring to know I have options!