Many Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) beneficiaries look for ways to maximize their benefits due to the low payout of SSDI. And since delaying your SSDI benefits can do this, many wonder if they can stop and restart benefits later.
Yes, they absolutely can.
You can stop SSDI and restart it again. Stopping your SSDI benefits is as simple as submitting a withdrawal of benefits form to your local SSA office. You can restart benefits by either submitting a new application or through expedited reinstatement.
Keep reading below to find out what this entire process entails.
How to Stop Social Security
If you want to stop receiving Social Security benefits so that you can return to work, you must submit a “withdrawal of benefits” form. But you are only allowed to proceed with this step if you have applied for your retirement benefits within the previous year.
You’ll have to pay back your whole Social Security payout, plus any payments that have been paid out to your spouse, children, or anybody else, at that point. It’s important to remember that if other beneficiaries are going to be impacted, the Social Security Administration will need their consent too.
You must submit Form SSA-521 to request a withdrawal of benefits. Thereafter, you’re given a period of 60 days to change your mind and cancel your application. If you do not respond, they will complete your request, and you will be responsible for repaying the funds.
Timeframe for Withdrawal of Benefits
If it has been more than 12 months since you first started receiving Social Security payments, you will no longer be able to withdraw your benefits. However, you do have another tactic at your disposal that you can use.
You have the option to pause retirement benefits once you reach the full retirement age, which is 67 years old for the vast majority of employees.
If this is the case, you won’t have to worry about giving back any of the benefits you’ve already received. Instead, you’ll begin accumulating retirement savings for your later years.
It also means that the amount of your monthly Social Security payouts will be larger, by roughly 8% for every year you choose to delay them until you start receiving them, which you are required to do before the age of 70.
You could potentially have your cake and eat it too when it comes to your income if you continue to work throughout the years in which you have your payments delayed.
Your Social Security payment grows by a large amount each year without any action on your part, and the money you make working over that period will probably be greater than your Social Security payments would have otherwise been.
Expedited Reinstatement of SSDI
Social Security disability insurance payments would end if a recipient began working and earned more than the significant gainful activity level while receiving benefits. This will be true if the recipient continues to work beyond their nine-month trial work period.
If you have had your SSDI benefits terminated and then, within five years, your income starts to drop below the substantial gainful activity (SGA) threshold once more, you can petition for expedited reinstatement to have your benefits reinstated. In 2023, the SGA will be $1,470 ($2,460 for the visually impaired). Be aware that the SGA can change annually, so it is best to check the SSA website for the annual SGA amount.
You must have quit working (or cut down your hours) due to the same type of disability that resulted in you initially getting SSDI benefits (or, in some situations, a closely similar disability) o qualify for expedited reinstatement of your benefits.
Additionally, you cannot be in a better medical state now than you were when you first applied for SSDI.
Awaiting a Decision on an Expedited Reinstatement
Disability Determination Services (DDS) must review your request for expedited reinstatement of benefits, and this may require some time. You should count yourself fortunate because Social Security will continue to pay you payments for up to six months while you wait for a decision regarding your EXR (Expedited Reinstatement).
If Social Security does not approve your request for expedited reinstatement, you will still be able to keep any benefits you have already received.
Furthermore, Medicare (for SSDI recipients) or Medicaid (for SSI recipients) will take care of you while you wait for an outcome. If your request is denied, your Medicaid or Medicare will be terminated.
Requesting a Review of a Declined Expedited Reinstatement
If your request for expedited reinstatement is turned down, you have 60 days following the rejection letter’s receipt to submit a request for reconsideration. If DDS believes it made a mistake, it will review your application again.
If your Request for Reconsideration is turned down, you will have 60 days to apply for a hearing before an administrative law judge (ALJ). The appeals process for initial disability applications is fairly similar to this one.
Expedited Reinstatement vs. New Application
Instead of initiating a fresh application, most people opt for expedited reinstatement so they can receive interim or temporary benefits for as long as six months as the SSA reviews their application for reinstatement.
Interim benefits may take the form of cash compensation in addition to Medicare or Medicaid coverage. After accounting for inflation, the cash payments will be the same as the monthly benefit payments they replaced.
Even if your request is turned down by the Social Security Administration, it is quite unlikely that you would be required to repay any of the interim benefits.
You will no longer be eligible for provisional benefits if you achieve full retirement age within that six-month period, since your retirement benefits will start. If you begin to earn more than the SGA threshold again, or if you obtain a decision on reinstatement earlier than your retirement age, your provisional benefits will end as well.
You could always submit a fresh application, but most individuals prefer the expedited reinstatement option if it’s available. It may be preferable to submit a new application in certain circumstances.
If, after submitting your initial disability claim, you were able to significantly increase the amount of money you were bringing in each month, you may be eligible for a higher amount of money in monthly benefits if you file a new claim.
Conclusion
If you find that your disability benefits are lower than what you require, stopping and restarting your benefits later can be a good option to maximize your SSDI payout. Consider talking to a disability attorney to find out other options for maximizing your SSDI benefits.
