Social Security – Plan Ahead

Sometimes it pays to plan ahead and learn the rules before you file for Social Security.  The personnel at your local Social Security office are trained in the rules surrounding the benefits available to people who contact them.  These rules are very complicated and difficult to master.  However, the customer service agents at the SS office are supposed to be fully knowledgeable on what is and what is not allowed under the rules. In this post, we discuss a case where the Social Security office originally gave a person incorrect information about an available claiming option for Social Security benefits.
Claiming Strategy
This story involves a single, unmarried person who went to her local SS office and asked to file and suspend her benefits. She wanted the option of either delaying her benefits to receive a larger monthly benefit in the future OR receiving a lower monthly amount in addition to a lump sum payout.  In the past we have discussed the file and suspend strategy and the flexi