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!

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!

I went through this exact situation in 2023. Here's what happened: I was receiving widow's benefits with the earnings limit, then got offered a great job that put me way over the limit. I called SSA and told them my expected earnings for the year, and they calculated exactly how many more months of benefits I could receive before they needed to stop. They didn't ask for ANY money back from what I had already received. However, they did tell me that if I had waited until after I exceeded the limit to report it, I would have had an overpayment to deal with. The most important thing is TIMING. Report BEFORE you exceed the limit and you should be fine. Also, keep in mind that if you're under FRA now but will reach it within a few years, you might want to run the numbers to see if it makes more sense to: 1. Take the job now and stop widow benefits 2. Wait until FRA when there's no earnings limit and then take the job You can always restart widow benefits later if needed.

Just wanted to add another perspective here - I work for a nonprofit that helps people navigate Social Security benefits, and this is a really common question. The key distinction is between VOLUNTARY suspension (what you're planning to do) versus INVOLUNTARY overpayment (what happens when SSA discovers unreported earnings). When you proactively contact SSA to report expected earnings that will exceed the limit, they'll typically: 1. Calculate how many more benefit payments you can receive before hitting the annual limit 2. Stop payments at that point 3. NOT request repayment of benefits already received However, I'd strongly recommend getting this in writing after you call. Ask them to send you a letter confirming the suspension and the reason for it. This protects you if there are any questions later. Also worth noting - if your new job offers health insurance, make sure you understand how stopping widow benefits might affect any Medicare premiums or other benefits you're receiving. Sometimes people forget about these connected benefits when making earnings decisions.

Perfect, thank you! That's exactly what I needed to know. It's so helpful to have clear explanations from people who understand these complex rules.

Great thread everyone! As someone who recently went through this decision process with my spouse, I wanted to add that it's also worth considering getting a personalized Social Security statement from ssa.gov to run the actual numbers. The "my Social Security" online account will show you projected benefits at different claiming ages, which really helped us visualize the long-term impact of taking benefits early vs waiting. Jackson, given your wife's potential spousal benefit of $2,200 vs her own benefit of $1,200, waiting definitely seems like the smart move financially - that's a significant difference that would compound over her lifetime!

I went through this same situation about 6 months ago when applying for spousal benefits with GPO (my husband is a retired postal worker). The SSA office I went to was absolutely adamant about having either the original marriage certificate or a certified copy - they wouldn't even look at my application without it. What really surprised me was that they also wanted documentation showing we were still married (like recent joint tax returns) since apparently some people try to claim benefits on marriages that ended in divorce. The whole GPO process is much more thorough than regular spousal benefits. One thing that helped speed up my county's processing was mentioning it was for Social Security - they have an expedited service for government benefit applications that cut my wait time from 8 weeks to about 10 days for an extra $20 fee. Definitely worth asking about!

I'm in a similar situation - my husband is a retired police officer and I'm getting ready to apply for spousal benefits with GPO. Based on all the responses here, it sounds like getting that certified marriage certificate is absolutely essential for GPO cases, even though it's frustrating to wait. I'm curious though - for those who have been through this process, did the SSA office give you any kind of receipt or documentation showing they verified your marriage certificate? I'm always worried about proving I provided required documents if there are any questions later. Also, has anyone had experience with SSA accepting a marriage certificate from a different state than where you currently live? We got married in Nevada but now live in Arizona, so I'm wondering if I need to go through Nevada's system or if Arizona can provide some kind of verification.