Dear Rusty: I am 69.5 years old now and applied for Social Security at the end of June. I am still working and was planning to begin my retirement in September. A couple of factors arose for me to question if I made a hasty decision by applying for Social Security.

The employer I have been working for the last 29 years has asked if I would stay on a little longer (which would be good because we have some debt I want to lose before I retire). I was reading about suspending Social Security and continuing to work.

If I understand it right, if I suspend my Social Security, no payback will be required, and I can continue to work until I’m ready to retire. No spousal benefits taken yet.

Signed: Reevaluating my Retirement

Dear Reevaluating Retirement: I’m assuming you asked for your Social Security benefits to start in September (when you originally planned to retire), but that you won’t be 70 years old until March 2027. If that is correct, be aware that you will not immediately get all of your earned Delayed Retirement Credits (DRCs) when your benefits start in September — you will only initially get the DRCs you have earned through the end of 2025. That’s because Social Security usually applies DRCs in January of each year.

So what will happen is that your September benefit amount will lack the 5.3% DRCs you earned in 2026, until January 2027 when they will apply the DRCs earned in 2026 to your monthly payment amount. Said simply, your initial September benefit will not include your full age 69.5 entitlement because it won’t include the 5.3% extra you earned in 2026. That extra monthly amount will be awarded in January 2027.

FYI, if you were to, instead, claim for your Social Security benefits to start in the month you turn 70 (March 2027), you would get your full age 70 amount immediately. Social Security awards all earned DRCs if benefits are claimed to start in the month you turn 70.

Now, on to your question: Yes, if you take your benefits effective with September 2026, you can suspend your benefits, but you can only suspend them until the month you turn 70. If you are suspending your benefits, you will not need to repay Social Security for any benefits you happen to receive before you suspend.

As is obvious, you will not receive any Social Security payments while your benefits are suspended, and you will earn DRCs for the months your benefits are suspended, resulting in a higher monthly amount at age 70. Also, since you have already passed your Social Security full retirement age, you can work and earn as much as you like, without your Social Security benefits being negatively affected.

Regarding your comment about not taking spousal benefits, you cannot get spousal benefits while your benefits are suspended, nor can your wife get spousal benefits from you while your Social Security retirement benefits are suspended. To be clear, spouse benefits are only paid when one spouse’s benefit at their full retirement age, is less than 50% of the other spouse’s benefit. Spouse benefits are always based upon full retirement age entitlements, not on the larger amounts, which will result from waiting longer to claim.

In other words, your wife would only be eligible for a spousal benefit from you if her full retirement age entitlement was less than 50% of your full retirement age entitlement, not your age 70 entitlement.

To recap: Yes, you can suspend receipt of your Social Security retirement benefits until the month you turn 70 and get credit for that delay resulting in a higher benefit. You can continue working as long as you wish, and your benefits will not be negatively affected. Just for added information, you can also ask Social Security to withdraw your current application for benefits and then reapply in January 2027 for your benefits to start the month you turn 70. You have both options.

Editor’s note: After a long career in the data processing industry, Russell Gloor joined the Association of Mature American Citizens in 2013. Gloor received training from the National Social Security Association and was accredited as a Social Security adviser in 2016. He is currently part of the AMAC Foundation’s Social Security Advisory team. He authors the AMAC Foundation’s weekly “Ask Rusty” advice column and has written three instructional books about Social Security.

This article is intended for information purposes only and does not represent legal or financial guidance. It presents the opinions and interpretations of the AMAC Foundation’s staff, trained and accredited by the NSSA. NSSA and the AMAC Foundation and its staff are not affiliated with or endorsed by the Social Security Administration or any other government entity.

To submit a question, visit amacfoundation.org/programs/social-security-advisory or email ssadvisor@amacfoundation.org.