Newsbreak: Increase Your Social Security Benefits by Forfeiting Checks? Here’s How

If you’re claiming Social Security benefits before full retirement age and you’re also working, your benefits could be impacted. The amount you can earn while receiving benefits depends on your age and can lead to you forfeiting some of your benefits. However, according to a report by USA Today on February 25, 2023, this may actually be a good thing in the long run. By earning enough to forfeit your Social Security checks, you can increase the amount of your benefits later on.

If you stop receiving Social Security checks because of excess earnings, your benefits will be recalculated at your full retirement age, resulting in a higher monthly payment, as reported by AARP on December 23, 2022. This can help eliminate early filing penalties that you would have otherwise faced. If you’ve claimed Social Security due to job loss or a health issue, the ability to stop your checks by earning sufficient income can be a great thing since those early filing penalties will disappear.

However, stopping benefits means you won’t receive income from both Social Security and your job. Therefore, it’s important to plan your retirement income carefully. If you can manage to earn enough to forfeit your benefits, it could be a good strategy to increase your lifelong income. Keep in mind the earning limits based on your age, and remember that this option is only available if you haven’t reached your full retirement age yet.