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Reversing Your Decision to Claim Social Security
Of course, everyone’s personal situation is different, but it often happens that someone might claim Social Security because of an event and later find that their situation has changed and they regret claiming benefits. For example, someone in their early 60’s might lose their job and feel the financial pressure to take Social Security to replace income, only to later find another job. That could mean they now regret claiming Social Security and wish they could reverse their decision in order to allow their benefit payment to grow larger. Reality is that about half of SS beneficiaries claim benefits before their full retirement age, which means they’re taking a cut in the amount of Social Security they might otherwise get from waiting. Fortunately, if you claimed your benefits and now regret claiming that lower benefit, your decision doesn’t need to be final. It is possible to completely reverse your decision within 12 months of claiming benefits, but there are some consequences of doing so. And if you have already reached your full retirement age you can simply suspend your benefits to allow them to grow, but there are also some side-effects to doing that. This Yahoo! Finance article by The Motley Fool’s Katie Brockman explains how to reverse a decision to claim Social Security, along with the consequences of doing so. Click here to read more.
Also, if you’re unsure about how these basics apply to you, or if you have any questions about your individual situation under Social Security, note that the AMAC Foundation provides a free-to-the-public service to help Americans navigate the complexities of this program. Learn more about it here…