As someone who just went through this process last year, I wanted to add a few practical tips that might help: 1) Keep detailed records of ALL your income sources throughout the year - wages, self-employment, and yes, even those royalty payments. Even though the royalties shouldn't count against your limit, having documentation will save you headaches if SSA ever questions anything. 2) If you do decide to take that hardware store job, ask your employer upfront about flexible scheduling. Since you're close to the $22,320 limit, you'll want to track your earnings carefully as you approach it. 3) One thing that caught me off guard - if you have any unused vacation pay or severance from a previous job that gets paid out after you start collecting benefits, that DOES count toward your earnings limit for the year it's paid, even if you earned it before retiring. 4) The "first year rule" mentioned earlier is really important for your situation since you just started benefits in January. In your first year of retirement, you can use a monthly test ($1,860/month for 2025) instead of the annual test, but only for months after you retire. This can be helpful if you had high earnings early in the year before starting benefits. Good luck with everything! The SSA phone wait times are absolutely brutal, so definitely consider that Claimyr service or try visiting your local office if you need to speak with someone directly.

As a newcomer here, I'm really grateful for all this detailed information! I'm 61 and planning to file for early retirement benefits next year, so this thread is incredibly timely for me. I have a question that's somewhat related - I currently do freelance graphic design work and have been trying to figure out how that would be treated under the earnings limit. It sounds like since it's active self-employment income (not passive royalties like the OP's situation), it would definitely count toward the limit. But I'm wondering about timing - if I invoice a client in December 2025 but don't get paid until January 2026, which year does that income count toward for the earnings test? Also, does anyone know if there are any special considerations for people who are self-employed when it comes to reporting earnings to SSA throughout the year? I assume it's more complicated than just showing them a W-2 at the end of the year. The complexity of all these rules is pretty overwhelming, but this community seems to really know their stuff! Thanks for sharing your experiences and knowledge.

One more important thing to know: If you're approved for disabled widow's benefits, you'll be automatically enrolled in Medicare after 24 months on benefits, regardless of your age. This is a significant benefit that can help with your healthcare costs. Also, when you reach your full retirement age (probably 67 in your case), your benefit will automatically convert to a regular widow's benefit, which will be 100% of your husband's PIA instead of the 71.5% you receive as a disabled widow. This increase happens automatically.

Just wanted to add some practical advice from my experience helping my sister with her disabled widow's benefits application. Make sure you gather ALL your employment records too, not just medical records. SSA needs to verify when you stopped working consistently to establish your disability onset date. Also, if you have any doctors who treated you back in 2014-2015, try to contact them directly for records - sometimes medical facilities purge older records after 7-10 years. One more tip: keep detailed notes of every phone call and visit with SSA, including names and dates. This helped us tremendously when we had to follow up on her application status. Best of luck with your application, Carmen!

my cousin told me the SSA website has a calculator for this stuff but i couldn't find it lol

I'm in a similar situation and found this thread really helpful! One thing I wanted to add - when you do contact SSA to confirm your earnings situation, make sure to ask them about how they'll handle your September benefit start date. Since you're retiring in September but your FRA isn't until December, they might need to adjust your first few benefit payments to account for the fact that you're technically still in your "FRA year" until December. Also, regarding the severance package - that usually doesn't count as "earnings" for the Social Security earnings test since it's not compensation for current work. But definitely confirm this when you speak with them, especially if any part of the severance is structured as consulting payments or continuation of salary. The peace of mind from getting official confirmation is totally worth the effort to reach them!

One more important thing! The reverse mortgage company will require you to stay current on property taxes, homeowners insurance, and home maintenance. If you don't, they can foreclose. Make sure you budget for these ongoing expenses with your SS benefits. That's where some seniors get into trouble with reverse mortgages.

Just wanted to share my experience as someone who went through this same decision process two years ago. I was 69 and in a very similar financial situation - living on Social Security and a small pension, needed about $40k for home repairs and some medical debt. I can confirm what others have said - my Social Security benefits were completely unaffected, and my Medicare premiums stayed the same. The key thing that helped me was working with a HUD-approved counselor (which is mandatory anyway) who walked me through all the scenarios and helped me understand the true costs. One tip: if you're comparing lenders, pay close attention to the "Total Annual Loan Cost" (TALC) rates they're required to show you - this gives you a better picture of the real cost over time than just looking at interest rates. Also, some lenders offer a "line of credit" option where you only take what you need when you need it, which can save on interest charges compared to taking a big lump sum upfront. The peace of mind of having my roof fixed and medical bills paid off has been worth it for me. Just make sure you're working with a reputable lender and have someone you trust review everything with you. Good luck with your decision!

I'm so glad to hear your update worked out! This is exactly why communities like this are so valuable - people helping each other navigate these complex government systems. Your experience will definitely help others who find themselves in similar situations. It's terrible that SSA doesn't proactively inform people about survivor benefits, but at least you were able to get it sorted out relatively quickly once you knew what to ask for. Wishing you all the best during this transition.

Sara, I'm so sorry for your loss and glad to see you were able to get this resolved! Your story really emphasizes how crucial it is for people to know about these benefits. As someone who works with seniors in my community, I see this situation far too often - people missing out on survivor benefits simply because no one tells them about it. For anyone else reading this thread who might be in a similar situation, I'd recommend also checking if you're eligible for any other widow/widower benefits like reduced Medicare premiums or property tax exemptions at the local level. Sometimes there are additional benefits beyond Social Security that can help during this difficult transition. Thank you for sharing your experience - it will definitely help others who find themselves facing similar circumstances.