Recent legislative changes have closed some of the loopholes that incentivize suspending Social Security benefits, but there are still good reasons why people might want to suspend their benefits after reaching full retirement age. If they suspend their Social Security benefits they might be able to boost their quality of life later by getting a higher benefit amount. The motivation would be to earn delayed retirement credits that would give them a benefit increase of 8% per year for each year benefits are suspended until they reach the age of 70. It is important to remember that the spousal file-and-suspend strategy is being done away with. This article discusses some of the situations when suspending Social Security benefits might be a good idea. If a person is continuing to work or is in good health they might want to think about this strategy.
See Matthew Frankel, Should I Suspend My Social Security Benefits?, My San Antonio, April 1, 2016.
