Hi, Larry I was born in 1955 and will reach my full retirement age in April of 2021 (66 and 2 months). I am single, never married and have no dependents. Is there any advantage to my filing for (applying) AND suspending benefits 3 months before I reach my F.R.A.? I have read that if I want to wait longer than my F.R.A. (up to age 70) to actually receive benefits in order to increase the monthly amount, a strategy of file and suspend would allow me to receive suspended benefits owed to me starting at my F.R.A. date if I later decide I need to start receiving them before age 70 (say at 67, 68 or 69). Thanks, Allen

Hi Allen,

No. In fact, filing for and suspending your benefits could be disadvantageous in the event that you later change your mind and want to start collecting benefits sooner. The option to elect to be paid suspended benefits retroactively after filing for and suspending benefits was eliminated by Congress in the 2015 Social Security amendments. People who voluntarily suspend their benefits after April 29 2016 cannot reinstate their benefits any earlier than the month after the month that they request re-instatement (https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/planner/claiming.html). As a result, it's virtually always wiser to delay applying for benefits in order to earn delayed retirement credits (DRC) as opposed to filing for and suspending benefits.

You will accrue DRCs for any months that you don't collect benefits between your full retirement age (FRA) and age 70 regardless of whether you file for and suspend your benefits, or if you simply delay filing for your benefits. And, If you wait until after FRA to apply for your benefits, you would have the option to claim your benefits up to 6 months retroactively from the month of your application. However, you would not receive DRCs for any months that you collect retroactive benefits. On the other hand, if you've filed for and suspended your benefits you couldn't later change your mind and request to be paid retroactive benefits. Thus, waiting to apply gives you more flexibility with regard to choosing when to start drawing your benefits than does filing for and suspending your benefits.

You may want to consider using our software (https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase) to fully analyze all of the various options available to you in order to determine your best strategy for maximizing your benefits.

Best, Jerry