My Friend’s Social Security Benefits Have Been Suspended – What Should We Do Next?

Many retired Americans today rely on Social Security to make ends meet. But sometimes, things don’t go smoothly in the context of applying for and getting benefits.

In this Reddit post, we have someone who’s trying to help a friend navigate some Social Security complexities. The friend applied for Social Security spousal benefits following the Social Security Fairness Act, which is set to increase benefits for recipients who were previously subject to certain offsets.

The problem is that while the poster’s friend applied for Social Security in February, they just checked their Social Security account and saw that their benefits have been suspended. But that doesn’t make sense seeing as how the poster never started receiving benefits in the first place.

Now, the poster doesn’t know how to help their friend. But the solution may boil down to having a conversation.

When things don’t go as planned

With an agency as large as Social Security, there are likely to be snags and glitches along the way. It doesn’t really make sense for the poster’s friend’s benefits to be suspended, since that would imply that they were getting those benefits in the first place.

To be clear, it’s more than possible to have your Social Security benefits suspended. What this means is that you’re eligible to receive those payments, but you’re not getting them at the moment.

Suspending benefits is something you can ask Social Security to do, and it could actually work to your advantage. By suspending your benefits, you can potentially accrue delayed retirement credits. Those do the job of boosting your benefits so you’re eligible for a larger check down the line.

But getting back to the poster, the Social Security Administration is still trying to manage the impact of the Social Security Fairness Act. There are millions of seniors who may be entitled to a benefit increase and/or retroactive benefits. But the agency needs time to process all of those changes.

The Social Security Administration says on its website that it expects all beneficiary records to be updated by early November of this year. But that means that a lot of people may be in limbo until that. And the poster’s friend could be part of that group.

There are two options to look at here

The poster’s friend, at this point, can do one of two things. One option is to sit back and do nothing.

They’ve already applied for Social Security, so that part is done. If they don’t need the money right away, they could opt to sit tight and wait for the Social Security Administration to get caught up on what it’s doing.

But if the poster’s friend doesn’t want to wait — which would be understandable — then their best bet may be to make an appointment at a local Social Security office and speak to a representative about their situation. Someone from the agency might at least be able to explain what’s going on and give the poster’s friend a realistic timeline for when their benefits can start.

For now, though, anyone who’s waiting for a benefits adjustment or retroactive payment related to the Social Security Fairness Act should be aware that they may not see the money right away. And there’s no need to panic or assume something is wrong if that’s the case.