Thanks everyone for the helpful information! I think I have a much better understanding now. I'll keep my earnings under $22,320 for 2025, and be mindful of that higher threshold in early 2026 before I hit my FRA in June. I'm going to set up a spreadsheet to track my earnings monthly to make sure I don't accidentally go over.

Just wanted to add a heads up about timing - if you're planning to retire mid-year in 2026 when you hit FRA, SSA uses a monthly earnings test for that transition year. So if your FRA is in June 2026, they'll look at your earnings from January-May separately from June onward. This means you could theoretically earn the full $59,520 in those first 5 months, then unlimited after June. But be careful with the monthly breakdown - if you earn too much in any single month before FRA, it can still trigger penalties even if your total for those months is under the limit.

they never sent me ANYTHING about increases and Ive been working part time for 3 years since I got my ss!!!!

Just wanted to add my experience here - I've been in a similar situation for the past two years. Started collecting at FRA in 2022 and continued working as a freelance graphic designer. My earnings in 2023 were about $78K, which was higher than several of my earlier career years. I did get an automatic recalculation that showed up in January 2024, but like others mentioned, the increase was modest - about $41/month. What I found helpful was creating an account on ssa.gov and checking my earnings record regularly to make sure everything was posted correctly. One thing I noticed is that it can take quite a while for self-employment earnings to show up in their system compared to W-2 earnings, probably because of how SE taxes are processed. So don't panic if you don't see changes right away after filing your return. The increase is definitely worth it even if it seems small - that's an extra $492 per year, and it compounds over time with cost-of-living adjustments. Plus you're still building your earnings record which could help with future recalculations too.

As someone new to understanding Social Security benefits, this thread has been incredibly informative! I had no idea that benefits could be recalculated annually based on continued earnings - I always thought once you filed, that was it. A few follow-up questions for the group: Does the recalculation process work the same way for spousal benefits? And for those who have experienced these automatic increases, do you receive any detailed notification from SSA explaining which year was replaced and how the new calculation was done, or is it just a brief notice that your payment amount changed? Also, is there any downside to continuing to work after claiming benefits beyond the obvious tax implications? I'm wondering if higher lifetime earnings could affect Medicare premiums or other benefits down the road.

This is such valuable information! I'm 64 and planning to file at my FRA but was worried about how part-time work might affect things. Reading through everyone's experiences really clarifies the process. One thing I'm curious about - for those who've gotten these automatic increases, roughly how long after the end of the tax year did you see the increase show up? I know several people mentioned October/November recalculations with January effective dates, but I'm wondering if there's any variation in timing. Also, has anyone here ever had a situation where their benefits went DOWN due to a recalculation? I assume this shouldn't happen since they only replace lower earning years with higher ones, but just want to make sure I understand correctly that these recalculations can only help, never hurt your benefit amount. Thanks to everyone sharing their real-world experiences - it's so much more helpful than trying to wade through the official SSA publications!

To add to what others have said - if you're self-employed in this new consulting position, make sure you're actually reporting the income and paying self-employment taxes. I know someone who did consulting work after FRA but tried to minimize taxes by running expenses through the business, and then was surprised when that year didn't help their SS benefit at all. The recalculation is based on your taxable earnings, not gross income.

Just wanted to add another perspective as someone who's been through this process! I claimed at FRA and continued working for 4 more years. The key thing to understand is that the recalculation happens automatically each year, but you might not see the increase until the following October. Also, if you have any years with $0 earnings in your record (maybe from being a student, unemployed, or caring for family), those are the easiest to replace and will give you the biggest benefit boost. Even if all 35 years have earnings, your new higher consulting income could still bump out a lower year from early in your career when wages were much lower. Congratulations on the great consulting opportunity - sounds like a win-win situation!

As someone who just went through this exact same situation 3 months ago, I completely understand your frustration! My application was also stuck on Step 2 for 7 weeks, and like you, I had government employment history that triggered a WEP review. The retired SSA specialist who commented above is absolutely right - it's all about waiting for your state retirement system to respond to SSA's verification requests. What finally helped me was sending a detailed message through MySocialSecurity explaining my timeline and specifically mentioning my government employment. I got a response within 2 days telling me exactly what they were waiting for. Once I knew they needed additional pension documentation, I was able to contact my state retirement office directly and ask them to prioritize their response to SSA. That seemed to speed things up - I was approved about 10 days later. Don't lose hope - you will get your backpay from your filing date, and the wait will be worth it!

I'm going through something very similar right now and this entire thread has been incredibly helpful! My application has been stuck on Step 2 for about 4 weeks after filing in late November. I also have government employment history - worked for a federal agency for 8 years early in my career with FERS retirement. Based on all the insights shared here, especially from the retired SSA specialist, it sounds like my application is probably in WEP review too. I had no idea this was even a thing until reading through these comments! I'm definitely going to send a message through MySocialSecurity today mentioning my federal employment history and asking for specific status information. The advice about contacting the retirement system directly to prioritize their response to SSA is genius - I'm going to try that approach as well. It's so frustrating that there isn't better communication about these potential delays upfront, but at least now I understand what's likely happening and that there are proactive steps I can take. Thanks to everyone for sharing their experiences - it's made me feel much less anxious about the process!