Question QUESTION: I am 66 years old and have been trying to delay my social security benefits for as long as possible, since I am still working part-time and do not need the money right now. I pay my Medicare B premiums directly to the medicare office, but I have recently read in the aarp bulletin that those who are not having the Medicare premiums taken out of their social security benefits may have to pay much larger premiums next year. I could wait until I get a possible notice of increased premiums and apply for social security at that point in order to avoid any increase, but my situation is complicated because I am now receiving social security from Switzerland, and I understand that my US benefits will be reduced because of that. I am afraid that there will be a long delay in getting onto US osocial security while the reduction is calculated. When I first applied for my Swiss social security, I had to go through US social security in Baltimore, and it took many months to even obtain the application. I had to go through my congressman's office to finally start the Swiss social security. I do not know whether to apply for US social security now in order to have time to get onto it before a possible Medicare B premium increase for those who are paying directly, or to wait, since I really do not need the US benefits right now. I cannot get useful information from the social security people or from the medicare person at Alliance on Aging. HELP!
Thank you so much for any advice you can give me.
ANSWER: I would suggest you apply right away. You can request a "Voluntary Suspension" of your benefits if you want to delay receiving benefits in order to earn "Delayed Retirement Credits". If you apply and ask for "Voluntary Suspension", you can change your mind at anytime and request benefits be paid at anytime back to the first month you made application or any month in between. It cannot be requested by a survivor on your behalf. If you are married, your wife if she meets all other qualifications can collect benefits from your record while your benefits remain in suspense status.
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QUESTION: Thank you so much for your prompt reply. What is the difference between requesting a voluntary suspension and just waiting to apply when I am ready to receive the benfits? If I request a voluntary suspension, will they calculate my benefits immediately (even if I will have an offset due to my Swiss benefits)or wait to do so until I decide to start taking the benefits? If they would begin calculating immediately, this would be the best way for me to go, since they could be working on calculating the reduction immediately.
Another question: Is there any law requiring the social security administration to begin benefits within a certain amount of time from an application? Would they have to begin the benefits by a certain time even though they haven't finished calculating the reduction (perhaps pay full benefits for a while and adjust after the final calculation)?
Answer They would figure your benefit amount with the "Windfall Elimination Provision" offset immediately. The advantageous of filing and asking for a "Voluntary Suspension" is that you can change your mind at anytime to start your benefits and can also ask that the benefits be started back to the date of application or any month in between. If you do not file the application you cannot do that.
For instance, you think you want to wait until age 70 to get the higher benefit amount, but at age 68 are diagnosed with an illness that may end your life. If you filed an application and asked for "Voluntary Suspension", you could change your mind and ask for the benefits back to the date you filed. If you had not filed an application, you would need to file and SS would only give you 6 months of back pay.
