Delay past full retirement age for 8% annual growth: If you continue working beyond your full retirement age (67 for those born in 1960+, 66 for those born 1943-1954), your monthly benefit increases by 8% per year until age 70 when it maxes out — claiming early at age 62 reduces benefits by 30%, turning every $1,000 into $700 for life.

Suspend benefits after FRA to restart growth: If you're already receiving Social Security and have reached full retirement age, you can temporarily suspend your payments until age 70 — during the suspension period, your future monthly benefit grows at about 8% per year, allowing you to receive larger checks when you resume.

Know the tradeoffs of suspending: Voluntarily suspending your benefits also suspends spousal benefits (up to 50% of your benefit), and Medicare premiums can no longer be deducted from your Social Security check — instead, you'll be billed directly by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

Major change to disability reviews: Medical Continuing Disability Reviews (CDRs) — the process that determines if disability beneficiaries still qualify for benefits — will now be handled by SSA's federal Disability Case Review office instead of state agencies, giving SSA complete ownership and accountability.

States can now focus on reducing backlogs: State Disability Determination Services can now dedicate their resources to processing initial disability claims and reconsideration cases — the initial claims backlog has already been reduced by over 33% from 1.26 million in June 2024 to 831,000 as of February 2026.

Faster decisions for eligible individuals: The centralized approach aims to provide "best-in-class service" with expedited access to benefits for those who qualify — SSA's Disability Case Review already has experience processing these types of cases and will handle all medical CDRs nationwide.

22 states now restrict certain foods: Five plaintiffs from Colorado, Iowa, Nebraska, Tennessee, and West Virginia sued the USDA to overturn "food restriction" waivers that ban SNAP recipients from buying sugary drinks, energy drinks, and candy — Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. endorsed the restrictions as part of the "Make America Healthy Again" movement.

Confusion at checkout and forced choices: Plaintiffs say the waivers "destabilize food access" and cause confusion at the register — they claim the restrictions force them to choose between spending cash on restricted items or forgoing spending on basics like rent and transportation.

Health conditions complicate the bans: Some plaintiffs say they or family members rely on restricted foods to manage health conditions like diabetes and allergies or to get energy boosts for daily activities — one Tennessee mother says the waiver would limit her autistic 19-year-old daughter (who has a serious eating disorder) to only 3 "safe" foods, ruling out 6 others including M&M's and Welch's fruit punch.