What is a withdrawal of benefits? How do I request a withdrawal of benefits? What are the consequences of a withdrawal? Can I change my mind? What is a suspension of benefits? How can I request a suspension of benefits? What are the consequences of a suspension?

Cancel Your Benefits Application , Social Security Administration Withdrawal of an Application , Code of Federal Regulations, Social Security Administration Requirements for Withdrawal (WD) of a Benefit Application , Program Operations Manual System, Social Security Administration Pause Your Retirement Benefit , Social Security Administration Suspending Your Retirement Benefit Payment , Social Security Administration

Can I Stop Social Security Benefits and Restart Them Later?

You may be able to suspend or withdraw from retirement benefits, depending on when they started and how long you’ve been receiving them

5-minute read

Part of Series: Retirement Benefits

Andy Markowitz,

AARP

Expert reviewed by

Tom Margenau

Published October 12, 2026

Andy Markowitz is an AARP senior writer and editor covering Social Security and retirement. He is a former editor of the Prague Post and Baltimore City Paper.

Tom Margenau writes the "Social Security Simplified" column for AARP Bulletin and the nationally syndicated column "Social Security and You." He is a former public information director at the Social Security Administration and a 32-year veteran of the agency.

Key takeaways

If you started Social Security early and have changed your mind, you can withdraw your claim, but only once and only within a year of starting benefits.
A withdrawal requires repaying all benefits received, including family benefits and money withheld for Medicare premiums.
After reaching full retirement age, you can suspend benefits to earn delayed retirement credits and increase future payments, without having to repay past benefits.

As we cover elsewhere in this series, you can file for Social Security retirement benefits as early as age 62, but your payment gets bigger the longer you wait to claim it, up until age 70. Many people claim early, taking a reduced benefit in the bargain, for health or financial reasons. But what if your circumstances change and you come to regret that decision?

What is a withdrawal of benefits?
How do I request a withdrawal of benefits?
What are the consequences of a withdrawal?
Can I change my mind?
What is a suspension of benefits?
How can I request a suspension of benefits?
What are the consequences of a suspension?

In this case, Social Security affords a couple of opportunities for a do-over: a withdrawal of benefits and a suspension of benefits. Here’s what to know about temporarily stopping Social Security.

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What is a withdrawal of benefits?

If you started retirement benefits early — that is, before reaching full retirement age, or FRA — and are in your first year of collecting them, you can apply to the Social Security Administration (SSA) for a withdrawal of benefits.

Why would you want to do that? Say you filed for Social Security as early as possible, at age 62, because you needed the money. Then suppose you got an unexpected windfall — an inheritance, perhaps, or a new, well-paying job. Now you can afford to wait until you are older and can collect a larger benefit.

How do I request a withdrawal of benefits?

Timing is key. Social Security will let you withdraw your original claim for retirement benefits only once, and it must be within 12 months of starting benefits. For example, say you filed for your benefits to start in April 2026. You got that April payment in May, but the clock for withdrawal starts ticking with the approval month, so you have until the end of April 2027 to request one.

The SSA says you must file the request in writing. You can do so online by signing in to your My Social Security account and uploading a completed Form SSA-521, along with supporting documents. Alternatively, you can download the form, fill it out and mail it to your local Social Security office. If you have questions about the process, call Social Security’s national helpline, 800-772-1213.

If the application is approved, the SSA will treat it as if you never claimed retirement benefits in the first place. When you decide you want to start collecting again, you’ll go through the normal application process.

What are the consequences of a withdrawal?

Because Social Security treats it as if you never filed, you can’t keep what you’ve received. You’ll have to repay every dollar you collected from Social Security before you withdrew your claim.

That means paying back:

All your monthly retirement payments.
Any family benefits your spouse or children have collected. They must consent in writing to the withdrawal.
Any money withheld from your payments — for example, to pay Medicare premiums if you’re already enrolled in the health care program.

The SSA-521 form includes a question asking if you want to keep your Medicare benefits. You can, but you will have to start paying the Medicare Part B premiums directly to Medicare, since they can no longer be deducted from your Social Security payment.

If you decide to stop your Medicare coverage, you’ll also need to pay back any medical expenses that Medicare Part A covered while you were receiving Social Security. When you want to return to Medicare, you may face a coverage gap unless you qualify for a special enrollment period.

Can I change my mind?

Yes. You have 60 days from the date the SSA approves your application to cancel the request for a withdrawal of benefits.

The cancellation must be in writing, be signed by you or someone authorized to sign for you, provide the reason for the cancellation, and state that you want to confirm that your original application for retirement benefits is reinstated. This request must be mailed to or dropped off at a local SSA field office.

What is a suspension of benefits?

If you’ve been getting retirement benefits for more than a year, your window for a withdrawal of benefits has closed. However, once you reach full retirement age, you have a different option for pausing and boosting your payment: You can request a suspension of benefits. Full retirement age is 66 and 10 months for people born in 1959 and 67 for those born in 1960 or later.

How can I request a suspension of benefits?

Unlike with a withdrawal, there is no application form or official process. You can ask for a suspension by calling the SSA at 800-772-1213 or by requesting one at your local Social Security office, orally or in writing.

You can ask Social Security to resume payments the same way — by phone or in person at a local office — at any time until you turn 70. If you haven’t done it by then, the SSA will automatically reinstate your benefits at the higher amount.

What are the consequences of a suspension?

While your retirement benefits are suspended, your spouse and children cannot collect family benefits on your work record (although divorced-spouse benefits to an ex can continue). Similarly, you cannot collect spousal benefits on your mate’s record if your retirement payments are suspended.

You cannot collect retroactive benefits for the months your payments were suspended. Retroactivity is available only for an initial retirement benefits claim if it’s made after full retirement age.

During the suspension period, you’ll need to pay your Medicare premiums directly, as they can’t be deducted from Social Security benefits you aren’t collecting.

The key takeaways were created with the assistance of generative AI. An AARP editor reviewed and refined the content for accuracy and clarity.

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