Tom's Life Bits

Little-known rule lets you restart Social Security and collect more each month
By Andrea Coombes, MarketWatch

Last update: 8:16 p.m. EST Feb. 27, 2008

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) – Many people start their Social Security benefits early – at age 62 – because they embrace the adage that a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. It turns out that sometimes you can have all three birds. You may think that once you start Social Security benefits, you can't go back and change your mind, but a little-known rule allows you to cancel your decision and start over.

The catch? You must have the assets available to pay back all the benefits you received. There's no interest or penalty tacked on. After paying back those benefits, you can re-apply for benefits at a higher monthly amount, thanks to the fact that you're older. Consider high-wage earners who are now 63 years old. If they started benefits at age 62, the payout would total just $18,794 per year. By waiting until full retirement age of 66 to start benefits, the annual take goes to $25,732. At 70, the benefits jump to $35,250, almost double the dollars earned when tapping the system at the earliest age. (In general, your benefit increases by 8% per year until age 70, after which it does not increase). See Social Security Administration page on delaying benefits. Paying back your benefits and then restarting at a later age can mean a “potentially huge increase in your living standard,” said Laurence Kotlikoff, an economist at Boston University.

Still, the window during which this strategy makes sense is somewhat narrow. Someone who is already, say, 78 years old likely shouldn't do it “because they don't have that many years over which to recover” the lump-sum repayment, Kotlikoff said. “It's sensitive to your particular circumstances. If you're 68, 69, 70 and you took your benefits around 62 and you have less than $500,000 in assets, then you're talking about anywhere from a 5% to 30% living-standard hike,” said Kotlikoff, based on his plugging sample scenarios into a financial tool he developed. That tool, available for a fee at ESPlanner.com, is based on the theory that individuals are best served by smoothing their living standard over time, thus avoiding major financial spikes and declines.

The payback-and-restart strategy won't provide the same living-standard hike to retirees with higher net worth, as Social Security benefits comprise a smaller percentage of income. Meanwhile, people with health concerns who don't expect to live an average life span, or those who expect to need that lump sum for, say, nursing-home costs should probably avoid this pay-back strategy. Don't forget the opportunity cost, said Christine Fahlund, senior financial planner with T. Rowe Price in Baltimore. If you pay back the money and delay benefits for a few years, you're delaying money you could otherwise invest or spend. If you die sooner than you expect, you may not recoup the lump-sum you paid back (though your widow and minor children are eligible for survivor benefits). Still, she said, while investing Social Security benefits can result in a nice nest egg down the road, choosing to delay receiving benefits is often the more lucrative option, and that means paying back and restarting may make sense. Read Robert Powell for more Social Security questions and answers. Social Security beneficiaries “should definitely look into it because the increases you get by delaying are so substantial and they are guaranteed,” Fahlund said. Plus, she said, Social Security's annual cost-of-living adjustment works in your favor at a higher monthly benefit. Social Security “takes your initial [benefit amount] and compounds that number over the years for inflation. Compounding a bigger number gives you more money,” Fahlund said.

Often, people don't like the idea of delaying money into the future – they want the bird in hand – but given longer life expectancies many planners are trying to convince people to change those views. “People don't necessarily get where the risk is here,” Kotlikoff said. “When you're dead, you're not going to feel bad because you left money on the table. It's only when you're alive that you've got to care about it.” Running out of money before you die is the biggest risk, he said. The decision to delay benefits “comes down to your life expectancy,” said Brian Berberet, a chartered financial analyst at Carrick Bend Advisors, in San Mateo, Calif. The question of “when will I die” is difficult for anyone to answer, so people must turn to average expectancy. If you're in your sixties, your average lifespan could well be mid-80s – and some will live long beyond that. Some financial planners assume their clients, if healthy, will live to their late 90s or even 100. Berberet said the break-even point – when it makes more financial sense to delay benefits versus taking them early – will vary due to a variety of factors. But if you're likely to live to your 80s, delaying usually makes sense. Fahlund said she's seen a break-even age of 77. It all depends on taxes, inflation and other factors. When to take benefits is a complex decision perhaps best discussed with a financial planner and tax expert. For couples, the best strategy may be for the low-wage earner to start benefits early, and the high-wage earner to delay as long as possible, at which point the low-wage earner can switch to collect 50% of the spouse's benefit. But again, it depends on your situation.

If you plan to go ahead with the payback strategy, you'll need to file Form SSA-521, “request for withdrawal of application,” with the Social Security Administration. See Form 521 on SSA Web site (PDF). The form asks for your reason for stopping benefits. It's OK to say “because it's financially better for you,” said Mickie Douglas, a spokeswoman with the Social Security Administration. Note that a widow or widower cannot payback and reapply for benefits received on behalf of a deceased spouse. The agency will inform you how much you need to pay back, leaving any Medicare premiums paid out of the calculation, she said. After paying back your Social Security benefits, you'll need to reapply when you decide to restart benefits. If you paid taxes on the benefits you are paying back, there's no need to refile your tax return for those years. Instead, you have two choices. You can claim a deduction for those payments in the year in which you pay them back, or you can figure out a tax credit for that year, said Bob Scharin, a New York-based senior tax analyst with RIA, of Thomson Tax & Accounting. The first choice is simpler to calculate, but you must itemize to take it. “You would figure your tax with an itemized deduction for the amount that you returned that had been taxable,” Scharin said. On the 2007 tax return, you enter that amount on Schedule A, line 28 (note the line number may change on future-year tax forms). The line is labeled “other miscellaneous deductions.” The second choice is to figure out how much extra tax you paid and get a credit for that tax, Scharin said. It's a complex calculation. For more information, see Publication 915 on the IRS Web site. Scroll down to the section titled “Repayments more than gross benefits.” Note that the rules are different if the amount you're repaying is less than $3,000. See IRS Publication 915. End of Story

Andrea Coombes is MarketWatch's assistant personal finance editor, based in San Francisco.