I am currently recieving disability benefits, will be 66 in jan 2017 i went to the local social security office today to suspend my benefits at fra in order to recieve drc originally ssa agent said since i have recieved disability could not recieve drc, but upon ssa agent checking with someone else was advised i could recieve drc but could not apply/suspend until i have reached fra i was given a form ssa-795 looking again at a link you had sent me previously - ssa/voluntary suspension faq #1- it is saying suspend the month before payment is due (jan benefit = feb payment) so am i to suspend in jan at fra/the month before payment or in dec the month before fra? many thanks, and best for the holidays

Hi,

Thank you, and Happy Holidays to you as well.

Your disability benefits will convert to retirement benefits effective with January, which is the payment that comes in February. If you want to suspend your benefits with the earliest possible month (i.e. January), you need to submit your request this month. If the people at Social Security told you differently, then they misinformed you.

What I would suggest you do is return to the Social Security office and submit the signed form SSA-795 stating that you request suspension of your retirement benefits effective with January 2017. You might want to ask them to date stamp your request and give you a copy if possible. If they misinform you again, refer them to POMS GN 02409.110.A.1, specifically the third example involving Casey. POMS is the Social Security operations manual, by the way. If possible you may want to print out this section of POMS and take it to the office with you. Here is a link to the online reference: https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/poms.nsf/lnx/0202409110.

Best, Jerry