Ask Larry

Will My Retirement Benefit Rate Be The Same As My SSD Rate, And Can I Suspend My Benefits Until Age 70?

I started on SSD after I turned 60. It will probably run until my full SS age, 66 years and 10 months. It then converts to plain SS.
TWO QUESTIONS- first SS will be same amount as SSD? Second - can I suspend my SS until 70 still and thus increase it?

Hi. The answer to both of you questions is yes. Your Social Security disability (SSDI) benefits will convert to regular Social Security retirement benefits at your full retirement age (FRA), and there will be no change in your benefit rate when that happens.

And, yes, you can voluntarily suspend your Social Security retirement benefits from FRA until age 70 in order to earn delayed retirement credits (DRC). If your FRA is 66 & 10 months and if you voluntarily suspend your benefits for the entire period from your FRA until age 70, the DRCs you'd earn would increase your benefit rate by 25.3%. Note that requests for voluntarily suspension must be submitted to Social Security no later than the month prior to the month that you want the suspension to begin (https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/planner/suspend.html).

Best, Jerry

Posted: 
Mar 21 2021 - 2:56pm
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