sooo wait... does this mean they count ALL income or just wages? like what if i sell some stuff online or rent out a room in my house? does that count toward the 23,400? im so confused by all these rules!

i remember my uncle had to deal with this when he retired he told me its always better to just wait til FRA then u dont have to worry about any earninsg limit at all. but i get it if u need the money now, just be super careful cuz SS doesnt mess around with overpayments!!

One thing nobody's mentioned - if you're working enough hours to make good money, make sure you're not hitting the earnings limit! For 2025 if you're under your FRA for the whole year, SS will deduct $1 from your benefits for every $2 you earn above $20,750. Once you hit your FRA, you can earn unlimited amounts with no penalty. This caught me off guard a few years ago!

does anyone know how long it takes for them to add the new money? my mom said she had to wait like 6 months or something

My sister just retired and she gets SS and a small county pension too. She said she had to go to her local SS office in person with paperwork showing her pension amount. They couldn't do it over the phone.

I know this isn't directly related to your question, but have you looked into whether that Nevada government job might make you eligible for Medicare Part B premium reduction through the Medicare Savings Program? Some state/local government retirees qualify for help with Medicare costs even with small pensions.

To summarize what everyone is saying (correctly): 1. The 45-hour per month limitation is ONLY for self-employed individuals who own or have substantial interest in a business. 2. As a 1099 independent contractor with no ownership stake, you're only subject to the annual earnings limit ($24,780 for 2025 if you're under full retirement age). 3. You can work any number of hours as long as your earnings stay under that threshold. 4. Make sure you have documentation that clearly shows you're truly an independent contractor and not a disguised business owner. 5. Be aware that if you exceed the annual limit, SSA will withhold $1 in benefits for every $2 you earn above the limit. One additional note: Keep track of your projected annual earnings carefully. If you think you might exceed the limit, it's better to report this to SSA proactively than to face an overpayment notice later.

Yes, that's correct about the monthly earnings test in your first year. For the remainder of 2025 after you start receiving benefits in April, you'll be subject to a monthly limit (approximately $2,065 based on the $24,780 annual limit) rather than the annual limit. So from April-December 2025, you'd need to keep your earnings under $2,065 each month. Then in 2026, it switches to the annual limit instead of monthly. This is actually helpful for many people because it allows you to earn whatever you want in the months before you start collecting benefits (January-March 2025 in your case).

Has anyone here actually gone through the process of notifying SSA about remarriage after 60? Do you just call them or is there a special form? Also wondering if there's a deadline for how soon after the wedding you need to report it?

Thank you all so much for your helpful responses! Based on everything you've shared, I feel much more confident about moving forward with wedding plans. I'm definitely past 60 now, so timing should be fine, but I'll keep all the documentation organized and make reporting the marriage to SSA a priority right after the ceremony. I really appreciate everyone sharing their experiences and knowledge!

is your LTD insurance reducing your payment because your getting SSDI? most policies do that. mine takes every dollar of my ssdi away from what they pay me. if you get more ssdi from the ex spouse thing your LTD might just reduce your payment anyway so you end up with the same total. check your ltd policy!!

Based on the numbers you've shared in your comments, if your SSDI is $1,850 and 50% of your ex's potential benefit would be around $1,600, you wouldn't receive any additional amount through divorced spouse benefits. Your own benefit is higher. Regarding what happens at Full Retirement Age (FRA): 1. Your SSDI automatically converts to retirement benefits at the same amount 2. There's no longer a disability designation, but the payment continues 3. The divorced spouse benefit calculation remains identical The one advantage of reaching FRA is that if you wanted to delay your own retirement benefit to earn delayed retirement credits (8% per year until age 70), you could potentially take ONLY the spousal benefit while letting your own benefit grow. However, in your case, since the spousal benefit amount is lower, this strategy wouldn't make financial sense. As another commenter mentioned, definitely verify how any changes would affect your LTD payments, as those often have offset provisions for any type of Social Security benefits.

When I applied last year the SSA website kept crashing when I tried to enter my self-employment info. Called for help but waited 3 hrs just to be told to "try again later" 🙄 Ended up having to go to the local office. Bring EVERYTHING with you if you go that route. My friend applied online with no issues tho so maybe I just had bad luck

Exactly right about the Grace Year. During your first year receiving benefits, you can receive a full benefit check for any month you earn under the monthly limit (which is the annual limit divided by 12, so about $1,770 for 2025) regardless of your annual total. This is specifically helpful for seasonal workers like yourself. After your first year on benefits, they switch to the annual method. At that point, they only care if your total annual earnings exceed the yearly limit. One more thing to consider: The earnings limit increases in the year you reach FRA and then disappears completely once you hit your full retirement age. So these restrictions won't apply once you turn 67.

Has anyone else tried that Claimyr service? I'm thinking about using it because I've been trying to get through to SSA for over a week with no luck. Just want to know if it's worthwhile before I try it.

To answer your original question more directly: The 8% per year delayed retirement credit is still correct, but what you're seeing is the projection tool's attempt to show your actual expected benefit after all factors are considered. Here's how it really works: 1. Your Primary Insurance Amount (PIA) is calculated at your FRA 2. For each month you delay beyond FRA, you get a DRC of 2/3% (which equals 8% per year) 3. These DRCs are applied to your PIA 4. Annual COLAs are applied to both your PIA and any accumulated DRCs 5. The projection tool tries to estimate future COLAs So if the COLA estimate for the coming year is lower than in previous years, your total percentage increase might appear lower than 8%. The 8% delayed credit is still being applied, but other factors are affecting the final number.

One important thing to know: if your wife is planning to claim her own retirement benefits before her Full Retirement Age, she should consider how that might affect her future survivor benefits. Sometimes it's better financially to take your own reduced retirement benefit early and then switch to the survivor benefit at your Full Retirement Age. Other times it makes more sense to wait. It depends on your specific benefit amounts. This is one area where getting some professional advice might be worthwhile. The rules around survivor benefits and optimal claiming strategies can be quite complex, especially when both spouses have their own earnings records.

doesnt matter what u checked or didnt check. my mom got my dads SS after he died but she had to go apply for it they dont do anything automatic. SS never makes anything easy lol

My brother just went thru this. He started SS at 62 last year but kept working. They don't track it by the month u start. Its always Jan-Dec. And they don't check ur earnings until after tax season when they get ur W2 info. Then they send u a letter saying u owe them money if u went over. It's all so confusing and the website is useless!

Your brother's situation sounds like he didn't qualify for the monthly earnings test in his first year. To qualify for monthly tracking, you need to have what SSA calls a \