Thank you everyone for the helpful responses! To summarize what I've learned: 1. I CAN work during my first month of eligibility (month after turning 62) 2. I need to stay under the monthly earnings limit of $2,340 for 2025 3. SSA counts gross wages when EARNED, not when paid 4. After my first year on benefits, they'll switch to an annual test I'll be careful to reduce my hours enough to stay safely under the limit. My birthday is mid-month so my first eligible month will be the following month. I appreciate everyone sharing their experiences and knowledge!

Great summary! One additional point that might be helpful - if you do accidentally exceed the monthly earnings limit in your first year, don't panic. SSA will send you a notice and you'll just need to repay the benefits for that specific month. It's not the end of the world, though obviously it's better to avoid it. Also, since you mentioned your HR department gave you conflicting information, you might want to double-check with them about how they report wages to SSA. Some payroll systems report earnings based on pay date rather than work date, which could affect your calculations. Make sure you're both on the same page about when your earnings will be reported for each month. Good luck with your retirement planning!

Don't forget that if she buys a home and has money LEFT OVER after the purchase, that excess will count toward her $2000 resource limit!! Also, if the stocks are worth a lot, she might still go over the limit even with the home purchase. The SSI program is designed to TRAP people in poverty!

That's true about leftover funds, but there are other excluded resources she could consider for any excess, like burial funds (up to $1,500), home improvements, or even ABLE accounts depending on when her disability began. She should definitely discuss all options with a benefits counselor before making any decisions.

Does anybody know if changing your withholding affects your Medicare premium too? I'm confused about how all this works together.

Just to update everyone on the timeline: once you submit the new W-4V form, it typically takes the SSA about 4-6 weeks to process the change. The new withholding rate will apply to payments after processing is complete. If you're concerned about owing taxes for 2025, you could also make quarterly estimated tax payments directly to the IRS to supplement your withholding until the new rate kicks in.

I recommend you get something in writing. Call and specifically request a 'benefits verification letter' that shows the breakdown of SSDI and SSI. This is more reliable than what representatives tell you over the phone. Given what you described, it sounds like your sister will receive around $425 in SSDI as a Disabled Adult Child benefit on your father's record, and then a reduced SSI payment to bring her up to the maximum allowed total. The mySSA account will eventually catch up, but official letters are your best bet for accurate information.

I'm going through something similar with my nephew right now after his mom passed. One thing that really helped us was keeping a detailed log of every conversation with SSA - date, time, representative name if they give it, and exactly what they said about the amounts. When we had three different reps give us three different calculations, I brought this log to our local office and the supervisor was able to see the inconsistencies and get us connected with someone who could actually pull up the detailed calculations. Also, don't be afraid to ask the representative to explain WHERE they're getting their numbers from - sometimes they're looking at preliminary calculations vs. finalized amounts. The whole process took about 5 months to fully settle for us, but having that documentation really helped speed things up once we escalated it.

This is such great information! I'm in a similar situation - turning 66 next year and wondering about working past FRA. From reading all these responses, it sounds like the key takeaway is: NO earnings limit once you reach your Full Retirement Age, which is fantastic news for those of us who want to keep working. One question I have though - does anyone know if there are any tax implications to be aware of? Like, will having both Social Security benefits AND work income push me into a higher tax bracket? I'm trying to plan ahead financially and want to make sure I understand the full picture before making my decision. Also, @Olivia Kay, it sounds like you're in a really good position to keep working and building up that college fund for your grandson while also potentially increasing your future SS benefits. That's awesome!

This thread has been incredibly helpful! I'm 64 and was considering claiming early at 62 but after reading all these responses, I'm thinking I should wait until my FRA at 66 and 10 months. The fact that there's NO earnings limit after FRA is huge for me since I love my job and want to keep working. One thing I'm curious about - does anyone know how quickly SSA recalculates your benefits if you keep working after claiming? Like if I start collecting at FRA but then have a really good earning year, will my monthly benefit automatically increase the following year? Or do I need to contact them to request a recalculation? Also want to echo what others have said about using that Claimyr service to actually talk to someone at SSA. The wait times when calling directly are absolutely brutal, so having a way to get through faster sounds like a lifesaver!