You can stop Social Security benefits and restart them later, but the mechanism depends on which benefit you receive and how long you’ve been getting it. Retirement beneficiaries have two options: withdraw the application entirely within the first 12 months, or, after reaching full retirement age, suspend payments and let them resume later. Disability beneficiaries can’t simply pause SSDI or SSI, but a set of work incentives lets you test employment, and Expedited Reinstatement gives you a fast path back if benefits end because of work.
Withdrawing Your Retirement Application in the First 12 Months
If you started collecting retirement benefits recently and want a full do-over, you can cancel the application within 12 months of approval by filing Form SSA-521.1Social Security Administration. Cancel Your Benefits Application It resets the clock as if you never applied, so when you refile later your benefit is calculated at whatever age you refile.
The price is repaying every dollar you and your family received, including amounts SSA withheld for Medicare premiums, taxes, and garnishments. If Medicare Part A covered any medical costs during that period, those have to be repaid to Medicare too. You get one withdrawal in your lifetime.2Social Security Administration. Code of Federal Regulations 404-0640 – Withdrawal of an Application
Withdrawal fits a narrow situation: you claimed early, then landed well-paying work or realized you’d be better off waiting. For most people who’ve collected more than a few months, the repayment burden makes it impractical, and suspension is the better tool.
Suspending Retirement Benefits After Full Retirement Age
Once you’ve reached full retirement age but aren’t yet 70, you can ask SSA to suspend your retirement payments.3Social Security Administration. Suspending Your Retirement Benefit Payments Nothing has to be repaid. Your checks stop, and for every month they stay suspended you earn delayed retirement credits that permanently raise your future benefit by about two-thirds of one percent per month, roughly 8% per year, up to age 70.4Social Security Administration. Effect of Early or Delayed Retirement on Retirement Benefits
Request suspension by phone or at a local SSA office. Payments stop the month after SSA receives your request.3Social Security Administration. Suspending Your Retirement Benefit Payments
One consequence to weigh before you act: anyone drawing benefits on your record, such as a spouse or dependent child, will also stop receiving payments for as long as yours are suspended.3Social Security Administration. Suspending Your Retirement Benefit Payments If your family relies on that money, suspension may not be the right move even when your own finances allow it.
Restarting a Suspended Retirement Benefit
Getting suspended retirement benefits back is straightforward. Contact SSA and request reinstatement whenever you want payments to resume. If you take no action, they automatically restart the month you turn 70, because delayed retirement credits stop accruing at that point.3Social Security Administration. Suspending Your Retirement Benefit Payments
Disability Benefits Don’t Have a Pause Button
SSDI works differently. There’s no request to stop payments while you try working. Instead, SSA runs a structured set of work incentives that let you test a job before benefits are affected.
The Trial Work Period
Every SSDI beneficiary gets a Trial Work Period: nine months, not necessarily consecutive, within a rolling 60-month window during which you can earn any amount and still receive your full disability payment.5Social Security Administration. Fact Sheet – Trial Work Period 2025 In 2026, a month counts toward the Trial Work Period if your gross earnings reach $1,210 or more.6Social Security Administration. Trial Work Period
After all nine months are used, SSA evaluates whether your work is Substantial Gainful Activity. In 2026, the SGA threshold is $1,690 per month for non-blind individuals and $2,830 for blind individuals.7Social Security Administration. What’s New in 2026 – The Red Book Consistently earning above SGA after the Trial Work Period ends will cause SSA to stop your cash benefits.8Social Security Administration. POMS DI 13010.160 – Suspending Benefits for Title II
Reporting Your Earnings
Report all work activity and earnings to SSA promptly. SSDI beneficiaries and their representative payees can report wages online through the “My Profile” tab in their my Social Security account.9Social Security Administration. Definition – MyWageReport SSI recipients have additional options, including an automated telephone wage reporting line and a free mobile app. Missed reports lead to overpayments you’ll owe back, and SSA can impose penalties for repeated failures.
Getting Disability Benefits Back Through Expedited Reinstatement
If SSDI or SSI benefits ended because of earnings from work, you don’t have to file a brand-new disability application to get them back. Expedited Reinstatement lets you request reinstatement within five years of the month your benefits ended.10Social Security Administration. Expedited Reinstatement (EXR)
You’ll need to be unable to perform Substantial Gainful Activity because of an impairment that’s the same as or related to the one that originally qualified you. While SSA reviews the request, you can receive provisional cash payments and Medicare or Medicaid coverage for up to six months. Those provisional payments generally don’t have to be repaid even if SSA ultimately denies the request.10Social Security Administration. Expedited Reinstatement (EXR) Provisional payments end early if SSA reaches a decision sooner, if you start earning above SGA again, or if you reach full retirement age.
Medicare After Disability Payments Stop
Losing SSDI cash payments does not mean losing Medicare right away. If your disability benefits end because of work, your premium-free Medicare Part A continues for at least 93 months (about seven years and nine months) after your Trial Work Period ends, as long as you still have a disabling impairment.11Social Security Administration. Medicare Information – Disability Research
Tax and Medicare Premium Effects When You Restart Work
Going back to work while collecting Social Security can pull more of your benefits into taxable income. The IRS uses “combined income,” meaning adjusted gross income plus tax-exempt interest plus half of your Social Security benefits, to decide how much is taxed.
For single filers, up to 50% of benefits become taxable when combined income is between $25,000 and $34,000, and up to 85% is taxable above $34,000. For married couples filing jointly, the 50% threshold starts at $32,000 and the 85% threshold at $44,000.12Social Security Administration. Must I Pay Taxes on Social Security Benefits These thresholds have never been adjusted for inflation, so even a modest part-time job can shift you from paying no tax on benefits to paying tax on 85% of them.
Work income can also raise Medicare costs. Medicare Part B and Part D premiums include an Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount based on modified adjusted gross income from two years earlier. In 2026 the standard Part B premium is $202.90 per month, with surcharges beginning when income exceeds $109,000 for individual filers or $218,000 for joint filers.13Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. 2026 Medicare Parts A and B Premiums and Deductibles
At the top bracket ($500,000 or more for individual filers, $750,000 or more for joint filers), the Part B premium reaches $689.90 per month and Part D adds a $91.00 monthly surcharge on top of the plan’s base premium.13Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. 2026 Medicare Parts A and B Premiums and Deductibles Because the surcharge tracks income from two years back, a premium increase may not appear until a couple of years after your return to work. If your income later drops, you can ask SSA to use a more recent tax return to recalculate.