Yeah, but my understanding is that there is still a once-in-a-lifetime option but it must be exercised within the first year of collecting. That can help a few people in specific situations (those who still wanted to work, gave up and applied for SS then found a job within a year), but in terms of strategic retirement planning (save it all for a few years and pay it all back for a larger benefit if you're still healthy, using it like an annuity), that train has left the station. I've come to expect that nothing related to retirement benefits that sounds "too good" will be around when I get there, so I've stopped being disappointed when something else happens that I'm too young to take advantage of.