Deferment of small American welfare payment (10)
I believe the answer is:
suspension
'deferment' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'small american welfare payment' is the wordplay.
'small' becomes 's' (abbreviation - e.g. clothes size).
'american' becomes 'us' (abbreviation for United States).
'welfare payment' becomes 'pension' (pension is a kind of payment. I am not sure about the 'welfare' bit.).
's'+'us'+'pension'='SUSPENSION'
'of' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for suspension that I've seen before include "Mixture with particles dispersed in a fluid" , "Car's shock-absorbing system" , "delay" , "being taken off the job" , "Car ride smoother" .)