Husband retired due to lay-off 12-2015, started new job 01-2016. Received 2016 W-2 for a "special payment," for "volunteering" to retire 12-2015...not worded as a buyout or severance, but similar. Then for tax year 2016, received Form SSA-131 EMPLOYER REPORT OF SPECIAL WAGE PAYMENTS. Employer has filled it out. Husband (age 68) has been on file-and-suspend, planning to collect SS at age 70. Reluctant to turn form in because within the paragraph under Part 2 is the sentence--THE ABOVE NAMED INDIVIDUAL HAS FILED FOR SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS. Am afraid that whoever gets the form at SS will screw up the file-and suspend plan! Any advice on how best to deal with the form? The employer instruction for filling the form out states that responding is voluntary. I (the wife) have been receiving SS spousal benefit since my FRA of 66...am now age 67. Thank you!

Hi,

It sounds like your husband can simply disregard the form SSA-131. That form is used to document a person's countable earnings for Social Security earnings test purposes (https://www.ssa.gov/planners/retire/whileworking2.html). Since your husband hasn't started receiving benefits, and was already over full retirement age in 2016, form SSA-131 serves no meaningful purpose in his case.

Best, Jerry