Payback: Making Money Off Social Security

Americans give the government interest-free loans with their salary withholdings. There's a way to turn the tables.

In what could be called a free loan from the Social Security Administration (SSA), savvy investors have found a way to maximize the federal benefit by telling the government to stop sending the monthly checks, repaying what has already been received and, years later, refiling their claim.

The strategy can potentially yield big profits if the money is invested, according to the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College. Though, of course, all of it could be lost. ...