Social Security benefits are a crucial factor for many Americans who have retired. Amidst the inflation and high cost of living, the payment checks that people get can be very important to cover their expenses.
Retirees with little to no income rely on social security checks to cover their living expenses. With the Social Security Administration going through so many changes and changing their guidelines, a few groups are at risk stop receiving the checks.
There are a few cases where the SSA suspends the monthly payments for an individual receiving them. Immigration status and unupdated personal information could be one of the reasons behind suspended Social Security payments. You might stop receiving your benefits in May 2025 if you fall under any of these 5 cases and haven’t rectified it by then.
If SSA has contacted an individual and they fail to respond to the Social Security communications, they might lose their check. The SSA sometimes reaches out to people for specific documents or to verify information. If an individual remains unresponsive, the agency may suspend their checks.
If an individual has resided outside the country for 30 consecutive days, it could affect their Social Security payments. A person missing from American soil for more than the specified period risks losing their benefits.
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If an individual lands in jail, their Social Security benefits get suspended immediately. The payments are suspended for the period that the person spends in prison. The individual can expect to receive the checks a month after release. In some cases, they might have to get in touch with the SSA to provide documents related to their release.
If a person is earning more than what they have declared, or a person earning more than the set income limit, can get their benefits suspended as well. If a retiree is working part-time and their income exceeds the income limit, they might see reduced benefits or, in some cases, even have them suspended.
The last reason for suspended Social Security benefits could be your changed immigration status. If a non-resident loses their legal status, the payment checks will immediately stop coming in.
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If you fall under any of these categories, you still have time until May 2025 to make the necessary changes. If your payments have already stopped coming in, the next thing to do would be to contact the Social Security Administration as soon as possible. Once you get in touch with the agency, you can understand the exact reason behind a suspended payment.
There are a few precautions you can take to make sure you are prepared. The first would be to make sure all the information on your personal file is up to date. Respond to letters from the SSA, which are usually sent out to ask the individual to complete a simple verification process. Sometimes, if the individual fails to do so, their payments get suspended.
