This discussion has been incredibly thorough and helpful! I'm in a very similar situation - started collecting at 65 while my FRA is 66+10 months, and I'm doing consulting work. Based on everything shared here, I now understand it's the net self-employment income (after business expenses but before taxes) that counts toward the $23,920 limit. One additional tip I'd like to share: I found it helpful to set up quarterly check-ins with myself to review my year-to-date earnings against the limit. This helps me make informed decisions about taking on new projects in the later part of the year. I use a simple formula: (Current net earnings ÷ months elapsed) × 12 to project my annual total, then factor in any known upcoming projects. Also, for anyone struggling to get through to SSA by phone, I can confirm that the online my Social Security account is much more reliable for basic reporting and checking benefit information. You can also use their online contact form for non-urgent questions, and they typically respond within a few days with written answers you can save for your records. Thanks to everyone who contributed their experiences here - this kind of peer-to-peer knowledge sharing is invaluable when dealing with these complex regulations!

What a fantastic and thorough discussion! As someone who's been working with Social Security beneficiaries for several years, I can confirm that the advice given here is spot-on. For consulting work, it's definitely your NET self-employment income that counts toward the $23,920 annual limit. I wanted to add one important consideration that I haven't seen mentioned yet: if you're doing consulting work that requires professional liability insurance, continuing education, or professional licensing fees, these are all legitimate business expenses that can be deducted before calculating your net earnings for the SSA limit. Many consultants forget about these ongoing professional costs when tracking their expenses. Also, since you mentioned you're 65 with an FRA of 66+10 months, you'll want to be aware that in the year you actually reach FRA, the rules change significantly. The earnings limit jumps to $56,520 for that year, and only earnings BEFORE the month you reach FRA count toward the limit. After the month you reach FRA, there's no limit at all. So it might be worth planning some higher-earning projects for that transition year if possible. The systematic tracking approaches mentioned by others are excellent - staying organized and conservative with your projections really is the key to avoiding any benefit recoupment issues. Good luck with your consulting work!

To summarize for the original poster: 1. Your state pension does NOT count toward the earnings test limit 2. If you work part-time and earn over $21,240 in 2025, benefits will be reduced 3. Your SS benefit will likely be reduced by WEP regardless of when you claim 4. You should check if GPO will affect any spousal/survivor benefits 5. Consider whether it makes financial sense to claim at 63 or wait until FRA or even age 70 6. The earnings test goes away completely once you reach your FRA of 67 Making the right Social Security claiming decision can mean tens of thousands of dollars difference over your lifetime.

One thing to consider that might help with your decision - since you have 15 years of substantial earnings under Social Security, you're getting close to the 30-year threshold that eliminates WEP entirely. If any of those years were close to the "substantial earnings" amount for those years, you might want to check if working a few more years could bump you over that threshold. The substantial earnings amount changes each year (it's $29,700 for 2025). Also, don't forget that your Social Security benefit grows by about 8% per year if you delay claiming past your FRA until age 70. So even with WEP reducing your benefit, that 8% annual increase still applies to whatever your WEP-reduced amount would be. Might be worth running the numbers to see if the delayed retirement credits make up for the years of missed payments, especially since you'll have your state pension covering your expenses.

I'm dealing with this exact same issue right now! Had a scheduled phone appointment for my retirement benefits application last Friday - got the text confirmation, email, AND a mailed letter. They even called Thursday night with an automated reminder. Friday comes and... nothing. No call, no explanation, no follow-up. It's been 5 days now and I've tried calling back twice but keep getting the "all circuits are busy" message. This thread is really helpful because I was starting to wonder if I somehow missed the call or if my phone was acting up. Clearly this is a widespread problem with their system. From reading everyone's experiences here, it sounds like I need to stop waiting around and be much more aggressive about following up. I'm going to try calling first thing Monday morning at 8 AM sharp with all my confirmation numbers ready. It's really frustrating that we have to chase them down when THEY missed the appointment they scheduled. Thanks everyone for sharing your stories - at least now I know this isn't just happening to me!

This is such a widespread problem! I'm a newcomer here but have been lurking and reading all these stories about missed SSA appointments. My elderly neighbor just went through this exact same thing - scheduled appointment for disability review, got all the confirmations, and then crickets when the call time came. What really bothers me is how many people this is happening to with NO explanation from SSA. It's clearly a systemic issue with their scheduling or phone systems, but they're making each of us individually chase them down to fix THEIR mistakes. For those calling back - I've heard from other forums that mentioning you're documenting the missed appointment (date, time, confirmation numbers) and asking for the incident to be noted in your file can sometimes get better results. It shows you're taking it seriously and creates a paper trail if you need to escalate later. The whole system is clearly broken right now. Hope everyone here gets their appointments rescheduled quickly!

You're absolutely on the right track with your plan! One additional resource that might be helpful is your local SSA office - they can provide personalized guidance about your specific situation. Also, when you contact WIPA, ask them about "benefit planners" - they can actually run scenarios showing exactly how different earnings levels would affect your benefits. Since you mentioned being a stay-at-home mom for years, it's worth noting that if you do eventually return to work, even part-time earnings could potentially help fill in some zero-earning years in your Social Security record, which might boost your future retirement benefits. The healthcare piece is really the biggest hurdle for most people in your situation, so it's great that you now know Medicare continues seamlessly. That knowledge alone should help you sleep better! Best of luck with whatever path you choose.

Welcome to the community! I'm glad you found this discussion helpful. As someone who went through a similar journey with my spouse, I can tell you that having access to accurate information makes all the difference in planning your future. A few additional tips from my experience: - Keep detailed records of any work activity if you decide to pursue that route - The SSA's Red Book (available online) is an excellent resource for understanding work incentives and rules - Consider connecting with others who've successfully navigated the return-to-work process through disability support groups The fact that you're researching and asking questions now puts you in a much better position than many people who find themselves caught off guard by benefit changes. This community is a great resource, and don't hesitate to post if you have more specific questions as you move forward with your planning!

Just wanted to chime in as someone who went through this exact same situation two years ago! My husband filed at 62 while I was still working full-time making about $75K. Everyone here is absolutely right - your income will NOT reduce his actual Social Security benefit amount. That's only affected by HIS earnings if he goes over the annual limit. However, I'll share what we learned the hard way about the tax situation. With your $87K income plus his benefits and part-time work, you'll likely owe taxes on 85% of his Social Security benefits. We ended up owing about $2,400 extra at tax time our first year because we didn't plan for it properly. My advice: contact a tax professional NOW to run projections based on your expected 2025 income. We ended up increasing my payroll withholding by about $200/month to cover the extra tax liability, which worked out perfectly. That way we still got his full $1,450 monthly for our debt payoff plan without any nasty surprises come April. Also, make sure your husband keeps really good records of his part-time earnings throughout the year. The SSA is very strict about that earnings test, and going even a little over can trigger benefit withholding. Good luck with paying down that mortgage faster!

I'm so glad you asked this question because I was literally having the same worry! My husband is planning to file at 62 next year while I'm still working, and I've been stressed about whether my income would mess up his benefits. Reading through everyone's responses here has been incredibly helpful - it's such a relief to know that only HIS earnings count for the earnings test, not mine. The tax situation is definitely something I hadn't fully considered though. With everyone mentioning that up to 85% of his benefits could be taxable with our combined income, I think I need to start planning for that now. The idea of increasing withholding from my paycheck instead of his SS benefits makes a lot of sense - that way we can still count on his full benefit amount for our budget. Thank you to everyone who shared their real experiences with this! It's so much more helpful than trying to figure it out from the SSA website alone. I feel much more confident about our retirement planning now.